Ole Miss entered Tuesday evening’s matchup against in-state rival Southern Miss looking to extend its four-game winning streak heading into the opening weekend of conference play, but the Rebels fell short of the mark.
The Rebels were unable to muster their offense despite a good outing for the pitching staff and, in a 2-1 game, dropped their third game of the season to fall to 15-3 on the season with a roadtrip to Austin looming.
Taylor Rabe, making his first start for Ole Miss this season, went 2.2 innings on the mound and did not allow a Golden Eagles baserunner. Rabe was efficient on the night, throwing just twenty-four pitches with nineteen of them falling in for strikes.
In the third inning with two outs, Marko Sipila took the mound for the Rebels. Sipila would throw 1.1 innings giving up just one hit. Owen Kelly came on to pitch in the top of the fifth, Kelly threw 1.2 innings giving up three hits and an earned run.
In the top of the first with one out Judd Utermark had one of the Rebels three hits on the night, a ground rule double down the left field line.
The Rebel’s only run of the night came in the top of the fifth from the bat of Tristan Bissetta. Leading off the inning, Bissetta swung at a first pitch slider and sent it flying over the center-field wall for his eighth home run of the season.
Southern Miss would respond quickly, leading off the top of the fifth with a solo shot off Owen Kelly, to tie the game at 1-1.
In the top of the ninth, with the game still tied, the Rebels would get two runners on after a hit by pitch and a walk but were unable to get a hit to take the lead. After an Austin Fawley single in the top of the fifth, the Rebels were held hitless for the remainder of the game.
In the bottom of the ninth JP Robertson, who had came on to pitch for the Rebels in the eighth, gave up a leadoff single. After getting the next two batters out, Robertson would be pulled and Landon Koenig would take the mound for the Rebels. Koenig would walk the first batter he faced, then he would give up a walk-off single to right center and the Golden Eagles would emerge victorious.
Next Up
The Rebels travel to Austin this weekend to face off against Texas in the opening weekend of SEC play. Hunter Elliot will start on the mound for Ole Miss Friday, with first pitch set for 6:30 PM. The series will be broadcast on the SEC Network+.
