Mississippi players talk at the end of an ending in a game last week. (File Photo | Jason Zhang)
The struggles of Ole Miss baseball continued Thursday as they dropped the opening game of a three-game set at Arkansas by a score of 10-3.
It was an uncharacteristic start for the ace of the Rebels, junior left-hander Christian Trent. Trent gave up five runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings of work. The Razorbacks were all over Trent from the start. Arkansas loaded the bases with three hits in the first, but Trent escaped the inning with only one run allowed.
The offense struggled for the Rebels, only totaling five hits and three runs for the game. Sophomore shortstop Errol Robinson was the only Rebel with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 from the plate.
Ole Miss responded in the third inning with two runs of their own. Junior outfielder Cameron Dishon and sophomore outfielder J.B. Woodman each reached base on a walk before Errol Robinson opened up the scoring for Ole Miss with an RBI single. Ole Miss got another run after senior first baseman Sikes Orvis put in play an RBI groundout and grabbed a 2-1 lead.
The Razorbacks went on to add another run in the third and three more in the fifth with the help of three extra-base hits.
Trent did not appear have his best game. Arkansas hit the junior right-hander hard and capitalized on his mistakes. Trent got in trouble on multiple occasions by leaving balls up in the strike zone, and the Razorbacks made him pay for it in timely hits with runners on base.
Ole Miss added a run in the top of the sixth after an RBI single by senior catcher Austin Knight closed the gap to 5-3. The Rebels threatened to do further damage as they loaded the bases with two outs, but a pop-up by freshman infielder Joe Wainhouse got the Razorbacks out of the inning.
The Rebels again loaded the bases in the seventh with no outs and still could not produce a run. Woodman, Orvis and freshman infielder Tate Blackman all struck out consecutively which ended the scoring threat.
The missed opportunities in the sixth and seventh are the latest examples of what appears to be a reoccurring theme for Ole Miss as it continues to struggle to find timely hitting. The Rebels went 0-4 with the bases loaded on the night and are now a mere 2-34 in that department on the season.
Ole Miss did not do itself any favors in the field either as they tallied four costly errors on the night.
Junior right-hander Jacob Waguespack came on in relief for Trent in the sixth. Waguespack allowed three runs in two innings of work.
Freshman right-hander Drake Robison came on in the 8th and allowed two runs in the Razorbacks’ final at bat.
With the loss, Ole Miss fell to 13-13 (3-4 Southeastern Conference) on the season. Sophomore right-hander Brady Bramlett will take the mound for Ole Miss on Saturday in game two of the series. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
