Will Allen swings at the ball during Saturday’s game against Missouri. Photo: Aditya Khare, The Daily Mississippian.
PEARL, Miss. – The Rebels jumped out to a quick lead on the Golden Eagles, but couldn’t hold off a sixth-inning rally as No. 9 Ole Miss (21-5) fell to Southern Miss (13-12) by a score of 5-3 on Tuesday night at Trustmark Park.
Ole Miss pushed a pair of runs across the plate in the third and a single run across in the fourth, but the Golden Eagles responded with a single run in the fourth and then put together a four-run rally in the sixth to claim the win.
Jeremy Massie (1-2) suffered the loss for the Rebels, allowing four runs on eight hits with a career-high six strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work. He left the game with the Rebels two outs on the board and two men on base in the sixth and the Rebels holding to a 3-2 lead.
A.J. Glasshof (2-2) picked up the win in relief for the Golden Eagles, working 2.1 innings with three strikeouts before Bradley Roney picked up his seventh save of the season. The duo combined to hold the Rebels hitless through the final 3.1 innings on the way to the come-from-behind win.
“We just didn’t play well enough in any phase of the game today,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “Our offense just couldn’t get going. We tried to make some things happen with some steals and some hit-and-runs, but we just couldn’t make it happen.”
Dalton Dulin went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, while Braxton Lee went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a walk to lead the Rebel offense.
Ole Miss got on the board in the third inning, taking advantage of a throwing error by the Golden Eagles to push a pair of runs home. Dulin and Lee reached with a single and a bunt to put two men on with one out for the Rebels.
Austin Anderson then hit a ground ball to the hole on the right side that was scooped up by the USM first baseman, but the throw was low and got away from the fielder at second base. Lee jumped to his feet and took off for third, while Dulin scored on the play to score for the Rebels. Will Allen then ground out to short, bringing Lee home from third and giving Ole Miss a 2-0 lead.
Dulin again delivered for the Rebels in the fourth inning, coming up with a two-out single up the middle to score J.B. Woodman. The freshman outfielder reached when he was hit by a pitch and stole second to set up the score on the Dulin hit to put Ole Miss on top 3-0 on the Golden Eagles.
Southern Miss answered in the home half of the fourth, getting a run home with three-straight singles from Michael Sterling, Tim Lynch and Matt Durst to cut the lead to 3-1. Massie then got a groundout and a strikeout of the next two batters to squelch the rally and keep Ole Miss on top by two runs.
The Golden Eagles continued to cut into the lead in the sixth inning with a two-out rally. With two men on and two away, Dylan Burdeaux drove one back off the middle that Massie just missed snagging, but instead hit him in the leg and ricocheted into left field, allowing a run to score and put the score at 3-2. Ole Miss turned to the bullpen for right-hander Cheyne Bickel in relief of Massie.
Bradley Roney then doubled to left center to drive in the tying run as Ole Miss again turned to the bullpen, this time in favor of left-hander Evan Anderson.
Southern Miss moved in front with the next at bat when Austin Roussel delivered a two-RBI single to right to push the Golden Eagles in front 5-3 before Anderson would get a foul fly to end the inning.
Ole Miss could not muster a rally through the final two frames as the Southern Miss pitching kept the Rebels off the board.
Ole Miss will continue to play on the road this weekend, traveling to face the Alabama Crimson Tide in a three-game series. First pitch for Friday night’s series opener is set for 6:30 p.m., while Saturday’s game is set for a 6 p.m. start and will be televised by CSS. Sunday’s finale is set for a 1 p.m. start.
— Ole Miss Sports Information
