Some college baseball games hinge on a single moment.
This one didn’t.
Ole Miss had the better arms, the bigger swings, and the steadier pace from the first inning on. A shutout on the mound and a couple of long balls will do that.
Hunter Elliott had his best outing of the season, Tristan Bissetta hit a pair of home runs, Will Furniss hit his second home run of the season and Taylor Rabe shutdown Kentucky in a relief appearance. Bing, bang, boom and the Rebels celebrated a 5-0 win while ending the longest active win streak in the nation.
On the Mound
Friday started like how most of Elliott’s previous starts have gone. Kentucky’s Jayce Tharnish hit a blooper single to right field on the first pitch of the game.
Elliott escaped that inning without a run allowed and the same in the second after another leadoff walk. Then, just like his previous starts, Elliott settled down and pitched like the ace pitcher he is. He gave up just two more hits after the second inning and ended the game with just four hits allowed, four walks and six strikeouts.
Taylor Rabe was the only other Ole Miss pitcher walk to the mound and matched Elliott’s performance. He hit a pair of batters in 2.2 innings of work and walked another ,but didn’t allow any hits and struck out four.
Combined, Elliott and Rabe held Kentucky to just four hits and nine total base runners. It’s hard to lose a game when a team has a pair of arms pitching like that.
In the Field
Ole Miss had a pair of errors, but both Elliott (see above) and Furniss (see below) erased their miscues with what they did at the plate and on the mound.
Still, Brayden Randle deserves his own spotlight for two standout plays at shortstop, each time making a long throw to beat a runner at first.
That’s two fewer baserunners Kentucky had to use to tap into its elite base‑stealing ability. And for a team that ranks fourth nationally in total steals (64) and seventh in steals per game (3.2), holding the Wildcats to just one stolen base is no small thing.
At the Plate
Situational hitting and taking advantage of runners in scoring position was something Ole Miss had been struggling with. There’s no shortage of outside noise talking about that.
Those concerns weren’t eliminated against Kentucky. The Rebels loaded the bases on back-to-back walks in the third inning, and one out recorded. But they didn’t push any runners across home. In fact, they had just one hit with runners in scoring position.
That was Brayden Randle’s RBI triple down the right field line that scored Austin Fawley to give Ole Miss a 4-0 lead.
None of that matters much when the Rebels are hitting home runs.
Bissetta hit a two-run homer in the first and a solo in the fifth, giving him a team-high 13 home runs this season. Furniss added a late run in the eighth with his second long ball of the season.
Ole Miss still has work to do with runners in scoring position, but nights like this remind you why the Rebels are dangerous.
When the ball is flying and the pitching holds up, the flaws fade fast
Pitching Decisions
- WP: Hunter Elliot (3-0), 6.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K, 94 TP, 62 ST
- LP: Ben Cleaver (1-1), 3.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 72 TP, 48 ST
- S: Taylor Rabe (2), 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 2 HP, 42 TP, 29 ST
Ole Miss Batting Leaders
- Tristan Bissetta: 2-3, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR, 1 BB, 1 K
- Brayden Randle: 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 3B, 1 K
- Will Furniss: 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR, 2 K
- Hayden Federico: 2-4, 1 R
- Austin Fawley: 1-4, 1 R, 1 2B
Next Up
Ole Miss and Kentucky will continue their series Friday. The Wildcats will send right-hander Jaxon Jelkin to start on the mound, but uncertainty remains about Cade Townsend.
The right-hander who normally starts the second game of weekend series was listed as a game-time decision for Thursday’s game. However, his normal start day would be Friday and Ole Miss hasn’t announced who’ll start game two against the Wildcats.
First-pitch is set for 6 p.m. on SECN+.
