Ole Miss and Oral Roberts split a Sunday doubleheader at Swayze Field, with the Rebels winning the first game of the day 6-2, and the Golden Eagles taking the second game 8-4.
Ole Miss (13-2) won the series, however, with a 16-2 victory on Friday night over ORU (10-5).
Game One | Ole Miss 6, Oral Roberts 2
A three-run second inning for the Rebels along with four innings of solid work on the mound from starter Derek Diamond combined to help lift Ole Miss to the win.
In the bottom of the second after two outs, the Rebels’ Kemp Alderman singled and Ben Van Cleve walked to set the table. A Hayden Dunhurst double got both of them home, and a Peyton Chatagnier triple that followed got Dunhurst across the plate.
It was still 3-0 in the bottom of the third, but Tim Elko added to the Rebels’ lead with a two-out solo home run to center.
Diamond worked four complete, allowing no runs on one hit with five strikeouts and no free passes. The Golden Eagles had not threatened to that point, except for one baserunner who reached third in the second inning but was stranded.
The fifth inning was a productive one offensively for ORU. Dylan DeLucia took over for Diamond to start the frame and ran into some trouble. Before the half-inning was over, the visitors had closed the gap to two runs and trailed only 4-2.
After the Rebels failed to score in the bottom of the fifth, Golden Eagle Caleb Denny reached on an error. DeLucia was replaced at that point by Brandon Johnson who immediately gave up a single to put runners on first and second with no outs.
After Johnson got two outs, he then hit ORU batter Jackson Loftin to load the bases. But Jake McMurray struck out swinging, and the Rebels still had a two-run lead.
In the sixth, that lead increased by two runs to 6-2. TJ McCants launched one out of the park, also scoring Elko, who had walked.
Diamond (3-0) got the win for the Rebels. ORU starter Ledgend Smith (2-1) got his first loss of the year.
Game Two | Oral Roberts 8, Ole Miss 4
Ole Miss battled back from a four-run deficit but was ultimately unable to keep pace with the Golden Eagles, falling at Swayze Field for the first time in 2022.
starter Jack Dougherty was able to get out of a jam in the first but a four-run top of the third inning proved costly. After a Golden Eagle run was already in, a three-run home run by Jackson Loftin chased Dougherty, and he was replaced by Hunter Elliott. The freshman left-hander from Tupelo kept things where they were with a strikeout of Joshua Cox, but ORU led 4-0.
The Rebels answered in the bottom of the third. Dunhurst got Ole Miss on the scoreboard with a solo homer to center. Reagan Burford doubled and Justin Bench drove him in with a double of his own before a Jacob Gonzalez home run to right center tied things at 4-4.
In the top of the fourth, a one-out solo home run over the right field wall by Alec Jones put ORU back on top 5-4. Riley Maddox replaced Elliott with two out in the fifth and finished things up there. In the sixth, after ORU scored three runs, Mason Nichols came in for Maddox, got the final out, and the score was 8-4 Golden Eagles.
The Rebels threatened in the sixth but didn’t score. In the seventh Nichols got an out, and Drew McDaniel came in to pitch and kept the deficit at four. However, Evan Kowalski closed it out on the mound for Oral Roberts in the bottom of the seventh.
Elliott (1-2), one of six Rebel pitchers in the game, got the loss. AJ Archambo (3-0) got the win for ORU.
Ole Miss will now hit the road during spring break, heading to Hammond, Louisiana, for a Tuesday matchup with Southeastern Louisiana before playing three in Auburn Thursday through Saturday. Tuesday’s game can be streamed via ESPN+, with the call available through the Ole Miss Radio Network.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports
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