Ole Miss falls to Georgia in 14 innings in game two of DH; Rubber game set for Sunday

OXFORD, Miss. — No. 17 Ole Miss fell to the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs, 9-7, in a marathon game that went 14 innings and ties the series. The rubber game will be Sunday at Swayze with first pitch set for 1:30 p.m. CT.

Ole Miss (31-13, 11-9 SEC) tallied four home runs in the game.

Ole Miss sophomore right-hander Cade Townsend got off to a hot start on the mound against Georgia by retiring the first six sluggers he faced.

The Rebels’ offense stayed hot from the first game of the doubleheader, a 10-8, come-from-behind win. In the second game, Brayden Randle hit a two-out double to right field, and then Austin Fawley smashed a two-run, home run to left that gave Ole Miss a 2-0 lead.

The Bulldogs (33-12, 14-6 SEC) answered in the third with a run after a two-out hit-by-pitch that came in to score on an RBI base knock off the barrel of Daniel Jackson.

Georgia starter Zach Brown had a quick third inning against Ole Miss. Then in the fourth, Ole Miss got him out of the game after a solo home run by Will Furniss and a walk to Hayden Federico.

Brown tossed three plus innings, surrendering three runs on four hits, a walk, and a strikeout.

Georgia knotted the game up at 2-2 in the fourth after two doubles by Kenny Ishikawa and Kolby Branch.

Will Furniss regained the lead for Ole Miss with a solo blast in the bottom of the fourth to right field that put the Rebels up 3-2.

Georgia scored five runs in the fifth off a two-run home run by Ryan Lujo and a three-run shot by Brennan Hudson. The Bulldogs went up 7-3.

Townsend worked 4.2 innings, allowing four runs on five hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.

Mike Bianco

Bianco then turned to Wil Libbert out of the bullpen. Libbert couldn’t record an out, allowing three runs on four hits, a walk, and no strikeouts.

Ole Miss climbed back in the home half of the fifth after a two-out double by Judd Utermark and an RBI base knock up the middle by Furniss. The Rebels cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 7-4 after five complete.

Terry Hayes Jr. kept the Bulldogs at bat quiet in an inning of work as he only gave up a hit before giving the ball to JP Robertson.

In the sixth, Randle delivered a solo home run to right field that cut it to a two-run game, 7-5.

Randle led off the eighth inning with a walk. Collin Reuter followed and got on base on a fielder’s choice that got Randle out at second. Topher Jones drew a walk. Dom Decker lined out to second base. Tristan Bissetta went down on strikes. 

Randle finished the game going 3-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI.

Robertson worked the final 3.1 innings and didn’t surrender a run on two hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

In the bottom of the ninth, Utermark drew a four-pitch walk. Furniss then hit a two-run home run to right field that tied the game at 7-7 and would send the game into extras.

Furniss finished the game going 3-for-5 with two home runs, two runs scored, and four RBI.

Hudson Calhoun came in to pitch in the tenth. He tossed 4.0 innings, allowing two runs on three hits, three walks, and seven strikeouts.

Georgia got a base hit by Jackson to lead off the 10th, and then with two outs in the inning, the Bulldogs loaded the bases for Hudson. Hudson induced a fly out to end the frame, tied at 7-7.

Ole Miss got a lead-off walk to Randle, then moved to second on a sac bunt. However, the Rebels couldn’t get him home to score and the game remained knotted at 7-7.

In the 11th, Georgia managed to get two runners on base, but the Bulldogs’ stranded them. Both teams remained scoreless throughout the 11th, 12th and 13th innings.

Georgia scored a leadoff home run off Calhoun to start the 14th, giving the Bulldogs an 8-7 lead. Coach Mike Bianco brought Owen Hancock in, and he worked 0.2 innings with no runs on a hit with two walks and a strikeout. With bases loaded, Hancock walked in a run and Georgia went up 9-7.

Hancock then turned the ball over to Noah Allen to pick up the final out of the frame with a strikeout.

Brayden Randle struck out to start the bottom of the 14th, but Perera drew a full-count walk. Goldin fouled out to third, but Perera soon advanced to second on wild pitch. Decker drew a walk that gave Ole Miss two runners on with two outs and Tristan Bissetta up to bat. He ground out and that was it for the Rebels in the 9-7 loss.

Rubber Game

Ole Miss and Georgia will play a rubber game on Sunday afternoon, with the first pitch set for 1:30 p.m.