Ole Miss pitcher Hunter Elliott against Nevada.
Ole Miss pitcher Hunter Elliott against Nevada. | Dylan Cohron-HottyToddy.com Images

No. 25 Ole Miss Drops First Game of Season, Falls to Baylor in 10

BY Taylor Hodges

This weekend, No. 25 Ole Miss has just one objective: win.

Against their first dose of competition against teams from Power 4 conferences, the Rebels had a chance to further establish themselves as worthy of a top 25 ranking. It doesn’t have to be a dominant showing or look pretty. It can even last longer than nine innings.

Ole Miss failed to do that Friday afternoon, losing its first game of the season to Baylor 6-5 in its opening game at the BRUCE BOLT College Classic in Houston’s Daikin Park. 

Tristan Bissetta smashed his fourth and fifth home runs of the season. His first home run in the fifth inning gave Ole Miss a 3-1 lead and his second tied the game 4-4 in the eighth inning.

Two big, game-changing swings. His second was the most impactful, not only because of what it accomplished tying the game. Rather when it was accomplished.

Hudson Calhoun, in relief for Hunter Elliott, gave up a two out walk in the top half of the inning. A right field single put a second runner on base and Hunter Snow hit a three-run home run to take the lead.

Bissetta led off the bottom half of the inning and quickly took the momentum back from Baylor. Collin Reuter was hit by a pitch and pinch-runner Owen Paino advanced to third on a Will Furniss single and later scored the go-ahead run on Austin Fawley’s sacrifice fly to right field.

However, Baylor never gave up. JJ Kennett hit a single to right field to tie the game at 5-5 and in the 10th inning Tyce Armstrong drove in the automatic runner to take a one run lead. Ole Miss failed to get any base hits in its half of the 10th inning, securing its first loss of the season.

Bissetta, Furniss and Reuter was the only Rebel to get more than one hit and was one of only three to record a hit. They did draw four walks, but also struck out nine times.

Elliott had another rough first inning Friday. Elliot gave up a home run against the first batter he faced in the season-opener against Nevada and the following week gave up an unearned run after hitting three batters with pitches against Missouri State.

That trend continued against Baylor with the Rebels’ ace walking two batters, hitting another and giving up a run on a fielder’s choice ground ball.

But just like each of those other games, Ole Miss’ offense eliminated the deficit and Elliott pitched like the ace we’ve come to expect.

Elliott lasted five innings and gave up just one run on two hits and three walks while striking out 11 batters. He recorded six-straight strikeouts in the fourth and fifth innings, too. It was a career high for Elliott and the entire pitching staff who recorded 20 strikeouts against the Bears.

The Rebels tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the second inning on a Bears’ fielding error. Bissetta’s home run came three innings later to put Ole Miss ahead for the first time.

Winning/Losing Pitchers

  • WP: Caleb Bunch (3-1) 2 IP, 2 H, 3 K
  • LP: Landon Waters (0-1) 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 K

Ole Miss Batting Leaders

  • Tristan Bissetta: 2-5, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 K
  • Collin Reuter: 2-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HBP
  • Austin Fawley: 0-4, 2 RBI, 2 K, 1 SF

Next Up

Ole Miss will continue its slate of games at the BRUCE BOLT College Classic early Saturday against Ohio State, who fell 5-4 in the first game of the day Friday. First-pitch is set for 11:05 a.m. and will be streamed on the Houston Astros YouTube Channel.

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