The Ole Miss offense came to life in the sixth inning of Friday night’s game. The team exploded for seven two-out hits in what was a six-run frame to give it an 8-1 lead and fended off Kentucky for a 9-6 win in the series opener but went cold at the plate for the final two games of the weekend and dropped the series with the 19th-ranked Wildcats in Lexington.
Freshman shortstop Grae Kessinger waits for a pitch to be thrown during Ole Miss’ game against Baylor Friday, March 3, at Minute Maid Park in Houston. (Photo by: Cameron Brooks)
Grae Kessinger began the series opener with a two-run shot in the third inning to give the Rebels a 2-1 lead. He also had an RBI double in the freshman-infused rally in the sixth that saw Thomas Dillard and Cooper Johnson drive in runs. Will Golsan and Ryan Olenek had back-to-back doubles to end the two-out spark and extended Ole Miss’ lead to 8-1 en route to the Thursday night win. Ten of the Rebels’ 14 hits on the night came from newcomers.
But offense was much harder to come by for the remainder of the weekend, as the Rebel bats were silenced with 4-2 and 4-1 losses on Friday and Saturday, each of which involved two Ole Miss defensive blunders, compared to two errorless games by the Wildcats. Outside of Colby Bortles going 2-4 in the final two games, the rest of the Rebel lineup struggles to string together hits, especially timely ones. Ole Miss scattered 14 in hits in the final two games with just three runs to show for it.
It was the end of a 1-3 week for a team that has been struggling to hit the ball. Tate Blackman said Tuesday night after the midweek loss to Memphis at AutoZone Park that it was all about the timely hit, which the Rebels aren’t getting a whole lot of lately. The two-out spark on Friday night that led to six runs was a sign of it, but Ole Miss has struggled to maintain run production and timely hitting lately. The team only scored four runs in the the three losses this week.
The Rebels were stifled by Zach Logue and Justin Lewis in the final two games in the back end of what is a pretty solid rotation on a team that has now swept Texas A&M on the road and taken two of three from the 14th-ranked Rebels to begin conference play. Logue and Lewis each went seven innings in the wins and surrendered just three runs while striking out 15 Ole Miss batters between the two.
All in all, it was a tough series loss against a Kentucky team that has now gotten off to a 5-1 start in SEC play. Kessinger and Johnson hit well at the plate on Friday night, and Colby Bortles continued to swing the bat well, but the timely hit has eluded a lineup that often features four freshman bats.
The weekend did feature a good five-inning return of Rebel pitcher James McArthur, who has missed his last two starts due to a forearm strain. He surrendered a run on five hits and picked up his first win of the season.
The SEC can be a grind, and a road series at Kentucky following an emotional series win over Vanderbilt was quite a splash into SEC play for this team. The good news is that Ole Miss returns home for the next two weeks to face Mississippi State and Alabama, who have struggled this season amidst injuries.
It will be an opportunity for a team still putting together the pieces to improve its record in SEC play before trips to Baton Rouge, Gainesville and Fayetteville arrive. Ole Miss is a team still working out the kinks with many young bats and will certainly welcome this coming home stand.
