Ole Miss Baseball Opens Final SEC Series With Loss to Alabama

Ole Miss (25-27, 6-22 SEC) dropped their series opener against Alabama (36-17, 14-14 SEC) Thursday night by a score of 4-1 after a nearly two-hour rain delay.

Alabama opened the game with two quick runs after the first three hitters reached base and a bases-loaded single followed by a walk made it 2-0.

Xavier Rivas settled in after a long first inning, retiring eight of the next nine batters he faced. He allowed just two hits after the opening frame and went seven innings for the first time as a Rebel. The junior struck out at least one hitter in every inning he pitched, racking up a career-high 12 punchouts. His 12 strikeouts were also a season-high by an Ole Miss pitcher in 2023. 

He would give up a solo home run to Andrew Pinckney in the third inning and allowed another run in the fourth as the Crimson Tide worked a 4-0 lead.

The Ole Miss offense struggled to create opportunities for themselves, going just 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position. They scored their lone run in the seventh inning as Will Furniss and Peyton Chatagnier drew back-to-back walks and John Kramer drove home Furniss with a double down the right field line.

Reagan Burford hit a pinch-hit single through the left side and Chatagnier hit an infield single to give the Rebels a chance with one out in the ninth, but they could not bring a run across

Kemp Alderman had two hits in the game to extend his on-base streak to 47 games and his hitting streak to 17 games. Will Furniss reached base three times with a single and two walks.

Ole Miss and Alabama will play game two of the series tomorrow night a 6 p.m.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports