Ole Miss couldn’t make an early lead hold up Saturday at Kentucky Proud Park, falling 9-2 to the Wildcats.
Hunter Elliott took a no decision, allowing two unearned runs over 4.1 innings of work with four strikeouts. Riley Maddox was saddled with the loss in relief, surrendering a pair on three hits and a walk in 1.1 frames.
Much like the day before, Ole Miss (18-8, 3-5 SEC) jumped on the Wildcats early to take a lead in the first. Jacob Gonzalez hit the first pitch of the game for a single. After Justin Bench was plunked, Tim Elko singled to left to score Gonzalez and Bench came home on TJ McCants’ sacrifice fly, making it 2-0 Rebels.
The Wildcats responded with a run in the home half, taking advantage of a dropped pickoff throw to third that would have ended the inning, with Chase Estep scoring on a wild pitch.
Kentucky (18-10, 3-5 SEC) threatened again in the second, putting two in scoring position on a single and a double. However, Elliott was able to escape, beating the runner to the bag on a grounder to first to retire the side.
The Rebel lead lasted until the fifth, when a pickoff attempt that sailed wide proved costly. The errant throw allowed the runner to advance to third, eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly. Kentucky tacked on two more in the sixth to to up 4-2 on John Thrasher’s RBI triple and Hunter Jump’s run-scoring single.
Kentucky went on to add two runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth, putting the game out of reach and evening the series at a game apiece.
The Rebels and Wildcats will play for the series on Sunday at noon CT. Sunday’s action can be seen on SEC Network + and heard through the Ole Miss Radio Network.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports
