Ole Miss Falls to Arkansas in Extras at SEC Tournament
HOOVER, Ala. (WCBI/Ole Miss Athletics) – For the second time this season the Rebels played an extra-inning affair with the Razorbacks, but with a different outcome as No. 21 Ole Miss (37-21) fell to No. 15 Arkansas (36-19) 2-1 in 10 innings on Wednesday.
The loss sends the Rebels into the losers bracket at the SEC Tournament, where Ole Miss will await the loser of Wednesday’s game between Alabama and LSU on Thursday at 9:30 a.m.
With two outs on the board and the bases loaded in the 10th, Arkansas took advantage of a wild pitch to bring home the winning run.
Aaron Greenwood (3-5) suffered the loss despite another solid relief outing. The right-hander worked 3.1 innings before leaving the game with the bases loaded in the 10th. He allowed five hits with four strikeouts and an intentional walk. He was charged with the one run that scored after he left the game, deciding the outcome.
Jalen Beeks (6-1) picked up the win, working the final 2.0 innings and allowing one hit with two strikeouts as he kept the Rebels off the board.
Ole Miss got on the board in the first inning with a two-out single from Stuart Turner that brought Tanner Mathis. Mathis reached on an infield single before back-to-back groundouts moved him to third and set up the score on the Turner hit.
The Razorbacks answered with a two-out rally in the bottom of the first, plating Matt Vinson from second on a single through the right side from Jacob Mahan. Vinson came up with a one-out single to reach before taking second on a groundout back to the pitcher. A hit batter and the single from Mahan got him home before Ole Miss would get out of the inning tied at one.
Arkansas threatened in the third, putting two men on with no outs on back-to-back singles. The Rebels responded, however, picking off the lead runner before two straight flouts ended the inning and kept the game knotted at one.
Smith worked his way out of a jam again in the fifth to keep the score tied. Joe Serrano hit a liner to third that Mistone was able to knock down, but couldn’t hold on to for the first hit. A single up the middle from Vinson put men at the corners before Brain Anderson walked to load the bases. Smith then struck out Ficociello to end the inning and keep the score flush.
The Rebels got a chance in the seventh, putting two men on with one out, but for the second time on the day the Razorbacks turned a double play to get out of the inning and keep Ole Miss from taking the lead back.
Back-to-back singles with one out for Arkansas in the eighth started another attempted Razorbacks rally, but the Rebels escaped it yet again with a little luck.
Anderson and Ficociello’s singles put men at the corners before Tyler Spoon lined out to second, holding the runners in place. With two outs on the board, Jacob Mahan was hit by a pitch to load the bases and bring pinch hitter Eric Fisher to the plate. Fisher hit the ball to first, but it struck the runner for the final out and kept the Razorbacks off the board in the inning.
The Rebels got two on in the ninth, but again Arkansas pitchers won the battle with a strikeout to end the inning and keep the score tied before the game would go to extra-innings.
In the bottom of the 10th, a ground-rule double with one out from Brian Anderson started the rally. A single from Ficociello put men at the corners before Mahan was intentionally walked to load the bases and set up a play at any bag. The Rebels then turned to freshman left-hander Matt Denny out of the bullpen.
Denny got a strikeout of Mahan to put two outs on the board, but the first pitch to Fisher in the next at bat was wild. Anderson came home on the play, plating the run to give Arkansas the 2-1 victory.
#15 Arkansas 2, #21 Ole Miss 1 (May 22, 2013 at Hoover, Ala.)
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Ole Miss…………. 100 000 000 0 – 1 6 1 (37-21)
Arkansas………… 100 000 000 1 – 2 11 1 (40-15)
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Pitchers: Ole Miss – Sam Smith; Aaron Greenwood(7); Matt Denny(10) and Stuart Turner.
Arkansas – Barrett Astin; Jalen Beeks(9) and Jean Ramirez.
Win-Jalen Beeks(6-1) Loss-Aaron Greenwood(3-5) T-2:49 A-0
Weather: 74, Sunny, Wind S 5 mph
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