Rebels Drops Slugfest to No. 1 LSU in Series Finale

LSU scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to wipe out a two-run Ole Miss lead and defeat the Rebels 7-6 Sunday afternoon.

The Tigers (32-7, 12-5 SEC) swept the series as Ole Miss (21-19, 3-15 SEC) will play Mississippi State in Pearl Tuesday night.

The Rebels trailed 4-3 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning when Kemp Alderman homered off Tiger reliever Javen Coleman to tie the game 4-4.

After Mitch Murrell, the third of three pitchers in the game for Ole Miss, got the Tigers out with no damage in the top of the eighth, the Rebels scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth. A one-out walk for Anthony Calarco issued by Coleman brought Judd Utermark to the plate. TJ McCants was in at first to run for Calarco.

On the first pitch he saw in that at-bat, Utermark sent one over the left field wall for a 6-4 Ole Miss lead.

In the top of the ninth, there were two outs when Murrell walked Jared Jones and then hit Brayden Jobert with a pitch. There was a one-ball, two-strike count on the next batter, Hayden Traviniski, when the Tiger hitter launched a baseball over the left field wall to give his team a 7-6 lead.

But the Rebels had the bottom of the ninth to keep things going and almost did. A one-out double by Calvin Harris was followed by a ball off the bat of Ethan Lege that looked for a few moments like it might leave the park. But it fell just short in left field as Tre’ Morgan caught the second out of the inning. McCants popped up to second to end the game.

After LSU took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, Ole Miss answered in the bottom of the frame with a Harris fly out to center to get Gonzalez home after he had reached on a base hit.

Ole Miss led 2-1 after two innings as Will Furniss singled to drive in Calarco who had doubled.

The Tigers were up 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth when Calarco doubled to score Harris who had reached on a double. That’s when the score was 4-3 LSU, and shortly thereafter, Alderman’s blast in the seventh tied things up again.

Calarco, Alderman, Harris, and Jacob Gonzalez all had two hits in the game for Ole Miss, while Dylan Crew paced LSU with a 3-for-4 day.

The fourth of five LSU pitchers, Riley Cooper (2-2), got the win. Murrell (2-2) got the loss. Gavin Guidry got his first save of the season.

Courtesy of Jeff Roberson, Ole Miss Athletics