BATON ROUGE, La. – In the rubber match of the opening series of Southeastern Conference play, the Ole Miss baseball team suffered a 18-6 defeat to No. 1 LSU Sunday afternoon, March 15. After the Rebels (10-9, 1-2 SEC) struck in the first inning, the Tigers (18-2, 2-1 SEC) countered with 10 unanswered runs en route to claiming the series.
Ole Miss pounded out nine hits on the afternoon behind two apiece from freshman Tate Blackman, freshman Will Golsan and senior Sikes Orvis. One day after driving in the game-winning run, Orvis went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run for his fourth of the season. Three other Rebels recorded hits, while sophomore Errol Robinson and junior Josh Watkins each tallied a RBI. Golsan reached base a career-high four times with a pair of singles and two walks. On the mound, senior Sam Smith (1-3) took the loss, allowing five runs in the first tinning.
LSU scored in six of the eight opportunities at the plate, chalking up 19 hits. Freshman Jake Godfrey (4-0) went 5.2 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and four walks, to remain perfect on the 2015 season.
Ole Miss took advantage of Godfrey’s wildness at the start to plate the game’s first run in the opening inning. Godfrey walked a pair of Rebels and also plunked Blackman. During Blackman’s at-bat, a wild pitch allowed Golsan to slide home safely, putting Ole Miss on the board. However, the Tigers responded with five runs in the bottom half of the inning, forcing Smith out of the game early.
After junior Jacob Waguespack pitched a scoreless second inning, LSU added five more runs over the next three innings to hold a 10-1 cushion. The Rebels chopped down the deficit with a pair of runs in the top half of the sixth. Three consecutive singles by Orvis, Blackman and sophomore Henri Lartigue loaded the bases with nobody out. Robinson and Watkins followed as each knocked in a run.
Despite the Rebels trailing, Orvis continued to put on a show in Baton Rouge, belting a three-run bomb in the top of the ninth. The blast cleared the bleachers in left field and was hit so far that he drew a standing ovation from the LSU fans.
Following a week spent on the road for five games against two teams ranked in the top 10, Ole Miss returns to Swayze Field for a six-game homestand. The Rebels will begin the week hosting Arkansas Pine-Bluff on Wednesday for a midweek matchup. The non-conference affair will begin at 6:30 p.m. CT and can be seen on SEC Network+.
Game 2: Ole Miss 5, LSU 3 (F/14)
Senior Sikes Orvis delivered the game-tying RBI in the top of the ninth before doubling in the game-winning run in the top of the 14th to lift Ole Miss baseball to a 5-3 victory over No. 1 LSU Saturday night at Alex Box Stadium. The win gives the Rebels (10-8, 1-1 SEC) their first victory of SEC play, while also ending the Tigers’ (17-2, 1-1 SEC) 14-game winning streak.
The two conference foes battled it out for four hours and 15 minutes before freshman Will Stokes got sophomore Jake Fraley to fly out to freshman Kyle Watson with the bases full of Tigers. The 14-inning affair was not only the first extra-inning game of the season for Ole Miss, but it was also the longest game the Diamond Rebels have played since going 17 innings against Mississippi State, April 29, 2007.
Game 1: LSU 6, Ole Miss 4
The Ole Miss baseball team opened up SEC play on the wrong end of a 6-4 decision against the No. 1 LSU Tigers Friday night, March 13, at Alex Box Stadium. The loss drops the Rebels to 9-8 on the season, while LSU (17-1, 1-0 SEC) increased its winning streak to 14 games.
