Ole Miss Baseball Drops Game At No. 8 Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Ole Miss Baseball) – Kicking off five games on the road over a six-day period, the Ole Miss baseball team suffered a 5-3 setback at the hands of No. 8 Louisville Tuesday evening, March 10, at Jim Patterson Stadium. Junior Cameron Dishon homered for the first time in his career with a solo blast in the fifth, but the Cardinals (11-5) scored a run in four-straight innings to help them to victory in the non-conference matchup.

Dishon led the Rebels (8-7) at the plate, going 2-for-4 and scoring twice, including his home run to left field. On the mound, sophomore Evan Anderson (1-2) took the loss in 4.2 innings of work, allowing four runs on 10 hits but tying his career high with six strikeouts. Junior Jacob Waguespack added two scoreless innings out of the bullpen in relief of Anderson.

Louisville finished with 11 hits, including a pinch-hit home run by Blake Tiberi in the bottom of the eighth. Four Cardinals tallied two hits apiece, and Lincoln Henzman (2-0) picked up the relief win on the mound.

Anderson had his work cut out for him at the beginning of the contest. After getting the leadoff hitter out on the first pitch, the lefty gave up three consecutive singles as the Cardinals loaded the bases. However, following a mound visit by head coach Mike Bianco, Anderson was able to get just what the doctor ordered; a groundball to second allowed Tate Blackman, Errol Robinson and Sikes Orvis to turn the 4-6-3 double play and keep the Cardinals off the scoreboard.

Two infield singles led to a Louisville run in the bottom of the second, while the Cardinals plated another one inning later. Anderson limited the damage in the third, getting another double play ball as well as a strikeout to end the frame.

The Rebels got one run back in their next at bat, taking advantage of a Louisville error. Orvis walked with one out before rounding second and heading to third on an error with Henri Largiue at the plate, keeping the inning alive. Robinson made the Cardinals pay for their mistake with a base hit deep in the hole at shortstop that scored Orvis, cutting the deficit in half. However, a triple and a single in the bottom half of the inning catapulted the Cardinals back to a two-run cushion, 3-1.

Once again, Ole Miss answered the Louisville run with one of its own in the top of the fifth. Leading off the inning, Dishon delivered a blast that cleared the fence in left field for a solo home run, the first of his career, to make it a 3-2 ballgame at the game’s halfway point. Nonetheless, the Cardinals responded for another run to increase the margin back to a pair.

Two innings after leading off the fifth with a homer, Dishon sparked another scoring inning for the Rebels in the seventh. The Ole Miss right fielder led off the inning with an infield single before advancing 90 feet on a base knock by Kyle Watson. A pair of four-pitch walks, the latter drawn by Colby Bortles, brought Dishon across the plate to cut the deficit to one, 4-3.

The Rebels will close out the midweek with one more matchup against the nationally-ranked Cardinals. The series will conclude Wednesday afternoon, March 11, at Jim Patterson Stadium. First pitch is set for 2:00 p.m. CT.