After a seven-inning sparring match, Southern Miss delivered the knockout punch to Ole Miss, scoring four runs on their way to a 5-1 victory.

A combination of inconsistent pitching and cold bats were the Achilles heel for the Rebels as they gave up 12 hits and only scored one run.

Starting pitcher James McArthur began strong, pitching five scoreless innings before being replaced by Chad Smith after an RBI single for Southern Miss in the sixth.

“There were some good parts to it and some bad parts to it,” McArthur said. “The game plan was to go out there and just attack early and get ahead.”

Although McArthur got behind in some pitch counts, he said he tried to mix in more breaking balls early, but his main focus was to try and execute more pitches.

“Lately here I’ve been working ahead a little bit better and that’s cutting down walks and getting ahead in the count,” McArthur said.

Ole Miss Head Coach Mike Bianco said McArthur was terrific on the mound, holding a strong offensive team for five innings.

Bianco said he was pleased with McArthur’s performance when facing Southern Miss, pitching 12 innings, giving up only one run.

“He just continues to get better and better and he certainly gave us an opportunity to win tonight, but we just couldn’t do anything offensively,” Bianco said.

Ole Miss was extremely reliant on the bullpen Wednesday. They used eight total pitchers and five in a three-inning span from the seventh to the ninth inning.

There was a glimpse of hope in the bottom of the seventh for the Rebels when Center fielder J.B. Woodman hit an RBI double in the left-center gap to tie the score at one.

That momentum was quickly halted, however, as the Golden Eagles answered, quickly putting four runs on the board to put the game on ice.

“I think there were four times we had runners in scoring position with two outs and strikeout,” Bianco said. “We didn’t give ourselves a chance with the ball squeaking through.”

Looking ahead to the Rebel’s next matchup against an improved Alabama team Bianco said his message to the team is to have better at bats, and not leaving runners stranded on base.

“We just didn’t give ourselves enough opportunities tonight,” Bianco said. “Not enough base runners, not enough offense to get anything going.”

Ole Miss lost their first midweek action of the year, and will look to get back on track at 7 p.m. Friday night in Tuscaloosa against the Crimson Tide.