Ole Miss Baseball Falls to Murray State in 15 Innings

OXFORD, Miss. – (Release) Ole Miss and Murray State battled for 15 innings Wednesday, and the Racers came away with a 12-9 victory.

Ole Miss is now 25-23 overall on the season, while Murray State improved to 31-18.

The game was tied 8-8 through nine complete innings, and neither team scored until the 15th. In the top of that inning, Riley Hawthorne singled for the Racers with one out. Ethan Krizen and Parker Estes then drew walks. Then it was Drew Vogel’s grand slam which followed that gave MSU a 12-8 lead.

Ole Miss did score one run in the bottom of the 15th as Treyson Hughes homered to right field to trim the Racer lead to three. But the Rebels could get no more and the game ended after five hours and 40 minutes.

Malik Pogue (2-0), the last of nine pitchers for Murray State, got the win. JT Quinn (1-3), the eighth of 10 Rebel pitchers, got the loss.

After Ole Miss starting pitcher Grayson Saunier had a good top of the first inning for the Rebels, Ole Miss picked up two runs in the bottom of the first but left the bases loaded or their lead would have been bigger. Ethan Groff led off with a walk and stole second. Jackson Ross walked and Will Furniss walked. With one out and bases loaded, Luke Hill was hit by a pitch and Groff scored. After two outs, Campbell Smithwick walked to score Ross.

In the top of the second, the Racers scored two runs, and the score stayed that way until Ole Miss scored a run in the fourth and two in the fifth. Smithwick homered to right in the fourth inning, the first round-tripper of his college career. An inning later Andrew Fischer led off the frame with a home run to right. Later in the inning Smithwick singled up the middle to score Furniss who had reached on a fielder’s choice.

Ole Miss’ 5-2 lead didn’t last long. In the top of the sixth Taylor Howell launched a solo two-out home run to cut the UM lead to 5-3. After Fischer singled, Furniss doubled, and Ole Miss led 6-3. A Luke Hill fly ball to left scored Ross who had reached on a hit by pitch, and it was 7-3.

A four-run top of the seventh for MSU tied the game 7-7, the big shot a three-run homer from Jonathan Hogart. Murray State took the lead 8-7 in the eighth on a double by Hawthorne and a RBI single by Krizen.

After Murray State got no runs in the top of the ninth, the Rebels went back to work. Team captain Reagan Burford got things going when there were already two outs. Burford doubled to right center, followed by back-to-back hits by pitch for Groff and Fischer. Ross reached on a walk, and the score was tied 8-8. That’s when extra innings began and lasted through 15.

The Rebels had 13 hits in the game, led by Smithwick’s 4-for-7 night along with three RBI and his first home run. Vogel had 5 RBI for Murray State.

Ole Miss hosts Texas A&M for three games this weekend with the series opener at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.