Ole Miss baseball falls to Mississippi State in game two; Rebels drop series to Bulldogs

OXFORD, Miss. — No. 18 Ole Miss Baseball dropped its third straight game on Saturday as the No. 6 Mississippi State Bulldogs clinched the series, defeating the Rebels, 6-1, at Swayze Field.

Ole Miss now sits at 19-9 (3-5 SEC) on the season, while the Bulldogs move to an impressive 23-4 (6-2 SEC).

The Recap

Both offenses started slowly as the starting pitchers dominated the first two innings. Hudson Calhoun of the Rebels faced seven batters, allowing one hit and picking up three early strikeouts. Tomas Valincius of the Bulldogs also allowed just one hit by Dom Decker and picked up four early punch-outs.

The first taste of offense came from Bulldog Kevin Milewski when he crushed the first pitch of the third inning over the left field bullpen for a solo home run, giving Mississippi State a 1-0 lead.

Calhoun bounced back after the home run, producing three straight outs, including a strikeout to end the top of the third.

The Rebel offense continued to struggle to produce hits and runs in the bottom of the third. Leadoff hitter Hayden Federico reached on a throwing error, and Judd Utermark reached on a fielder’s choice. Then, with Utermark on second base, Tristan Bissetta grounded out, and cleanup hitter Collin Reuter struck out swinging to end the inning, leaving a runner on base in scoring position. 

State continued to add on, ultimately chasing Calhoun in the fourth after he loaded the bases with no one out.

With Cade Townsend set to return from injury in game three, Wil Libbert — who had been Ole Miss’ Sunday starter — made his first appearance out of the bullpen as a Rebel, allowing two inherited runners to score, though both were charged to Hudson Calhoun.

Offenses were quiet until the Bulldogs got hot in the sixth when Jacob Parker and Gherig Frei launched back-to-back home runs into the student section, extending their lead to 6-0.

Following the home runs, Libbert had a lengthy discussion with Joel Mangrum before allowing a walk that ended his outing, bringing in Terry Hayes Jr. from the bullpen.

Ole Miss finally put themselves on the board in the sixth when Dom Decker slapped an RBI single up the middle into the outfield, but the scoreboard still read 6-1 in favor of the Bulldogs.

Neither side could get the offense going in the seventh and eighth innings, entering the ninth with the same score, 6-1 Mississippi State.

Hancock went back out for the ninth and picked up two strikeouts to strand a runner at second as the Rebels would then head into their final at-bats.

Maddox Webb, who entered in the eighth for Mississippi State, also went back to the mound for the ninth. 

Brayden Randle opened Ole Miss’ final at-bat with a lineout to right field. Hayden Federico followed with a four-pitch walk and moved into scoring position on a passed ball. Judd Utermark then grounded out to second, advancing Federico to third, but the rally stalled there as Tristan Bissetta struck out to end the game.

A Look Ahead

Ole Miss looks to take game three Sunday at 3:00 P.M. CT as key Rebel pitcher Cade Townsend returns to the mound for the first time since March 14, having recovered from shoulder discomfort.