After splitting the doubleheader on Saturday No.3 Ole Miss baseball needed a win Sunday in the rubber game to capture the series over Miss State.
After a blowout game-one loss and decisive game-two win No.3 Ole Miss baseball (27-6, 7-5) needed a huge Sunday performance. A Sunday win would mean Ole Miss would retain its spot atop the SEC West while a loss would give the Rebels their first series loss of the season. Miss State (17-16, 4-8) needed the win to take their first SEC series of the season.
Sunday afternoon in front of a crowd of 6,059 the Rebels and the Bulldogs squared off. After a scoreless top of the 1st the Bulldogs got on the board first with 1 run in the bottom of the inning. The Rebels answered in the top of the 3rd with 2 runs to take the 2-1 lead into the bottom of the 3rd. Miss State scored 1 run to tie the game at 2-2.
With the game still knotted at 2-2 the Rebels added another run in the top of the 5th to retake the lead at 3-2. Miss State answered in the bottom of the 7th with 2 runs to retake the lead at 4-3. Ole Miss added 2 runs in the top of the 9th to once again take the lead at 5-4 but the Bullies answered in the bottom to tie the game at 5-5. With the game in extra innings the Rebels gave up a walk-off homer in the 11th to fall 7-5.
FINAL | A walk-off home run for State as the Rebels fall in Game 3, dropping their first series of the season. pic.twitter.com/Y5yLD1bxo6
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 8, 2018
Of course it’s never fun to see the Rebels drop a series and it’s even worse when it comes at the hands of your rival. Some Ole Miss baseball fans are worried about this team. Don’t be. The Rebels are a solid team and will be fine moving forward. For now we’ll look at the loss by the numbers.
By The Numbers
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Junior right-hander James McArthur (4-0, 2.54) drew the regular game-three start for the Rebels. McArthur went for 5.0 innings on the hill and allowed 2 earned runs on 4 hits. McArthur had 3 Ks and 3 BB. Junior right-hander Dallas Woolfolk (1-0, 1.38, 6) entered in the 6th and went for 1.0 innings allowing just 1 hit. Woolfolk had 2 Ks and 1 BB.
Sophomore right-hander Will Ethridge (1-0, 3.27, 2) entered in the 7th and faced just two batters. Ethridge allowed 1 earned run on 2 hits. Coach Mike Bianco made the call and sophomore right-hander Parker Caracci (2-0, 1.11, 6) took the hill. Caracci went for 4.0 innings and allowed 1 earned run on 2 hits. Caracci had 3 Ks and 1 BB.
Senior right-hander Will Stokes (1-1, 8.25) entered and went 0.2 innings finishing out the game for the Rebels. Stokes allowed 2 earned runs on 2 hits. Stokes had 2 Ks.
At The Plate
On the day 8 Rebels combined for 16 hits with 5 Rebels having multiple hit games. Sophomores Thomas Dillard (.325, 7 HR) and Cole Zabowski (.333, 7 HR) both went 3 for 5 at the plate. Zabowski had 1 RBI. Junior Ryan Olenek (.376, 1 HR) went 3 for 6 while sophomore Grae Kessinger (.309, 1 HR) went 2 for 6. Freshman Tyler Keenan (.342, 4 HR) went 2 for 4 (HR) and had 2 RBI.
Also collecting hits in game-three were senior Will Golsan who went 1 for 3 and junior Chase Cockrell (.375, 3 HR) who went 1 for 4. Golsan had 1 RBI. Junior Nick Fortes (.283, 7 HR) went 1 for 5 and had 1 RBI. While the Rebels produced at the plate there were issues on the mound which cost Ole Miss baseball the series. Of course the MSU series loss stings but the Rebels will be fine moving forward.
Up Next
Ole Miss Baseball will be back in action Tuesday night as they take on the #12 Southern Miss Golden Eagles. First pitch from Trustmark Park in Pearl is set for 6pm CT. Good luck to coach Mike Bianco and the Rebels. Hotty Toddy!