In a gripping showdown, the Ole Miss Rebels faced off against the No. 15 Kentucky Wildcats, ultimately falling 3-1 and splitting the series on Friday night.
The second game kicked off with an intense pitchers’ duel. Rebel hurler Hudson Calhoun was nearly flawless for the first three innings, allowing no hits and facing just one batter over the minimum.
“He was excellent, and some balls fell out of the glove,” Coach Mike Bianco remarked.
Remarkably, Ole Miss kept Kentucky scoreless for 12 consecutive innings in the series until the fourth inning when everything changed.
The Rebels struck first in the third inning with a solid hit from Cannon Goldin that sliced up the middle of the field. On the mound, Kentucky’s Jaxon Jelkin matched Calhoun pitch for pitch through those initial frames.
However, in a dramatic turn of events during the fourth inning, Kentucky capitalized with three runs thanks to a combination of a double, a single, an error, and a triple.
Calhoun concluded his outing after 3.2 innings pitched, giving up three runs on three hits while walking three batters and racking up seven strikeouts. Bianco then called in JP Robertson from the bullpen, who effectively struck out Kentucky’s final batter of that inning.
The Rebels managed another single in their half of the fourth—this time from Judd Utermark with a perfectly placed grounder—but they still struggled to capitalize with runners on base.
After two solid innings from Robertson where he kept Kentucky at bay without allowing any runs or hits, Ole Miss entered the sixth down by three. Austin Fawley broke through with a solo home run to left field—his second of the season—igniting hope among Rebel fans. Despite getting runners on first and second with only one out later in the inning, Utermark struck out followed by Furniss hitting a deep fly-out that ended their rally without further scoring.
Jelkin completed seven strong innings for Kentucky, surrendering just one run on four hits while walking three batters and striking out six.
“He threw all of his pitches for strikes,” Fawley noted about Jelkin’s performance. “Their starter was at 50 pitches through the sixth innings.”
Robertson showcased impressive form as well over his 3.1 innings pitched—no runs allowed along with four strikeouts but one walk issued.
To close things out for Kentucky, Nile Adcock took over in relief for two innings without yielding any runs or hits while striking out one Rebel batter.
Bianco brought Landon Waters into action during the eighth inning to finish strong; he logged two scoreless frames while fanning four batters despite giving up three hits.
In an exciting bottom of the ninth, Ole Miss rallied to put tying runs on base after being hit by pitch and drawing a walk with two outs. Unfortunately for them, Luke Romine struck out to seal their fate as they fell short once again.
The stage is set for an exciting rubber match tomorrow as Ole Miss and Kentucky clash once more at 1:30 p.m., which will be broadcasted live on SEC Network+.
