Ole Miss Baseball Falls at No. 1 Vanderbilt

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Ole Miss Athletics) — Facing a No. 1 team for the seventh time this season, the Ole Miss baseball team suffered a 6-0 setback to top-ranked Vanderbilt Thursday night, April 9. The Rebels (16-18, 5-8 SEC) were held scoreless for the first time since May 10, 2014, a span of 52 games.

Sophomore Colby Bortles doubled in the fourth inning to continue his hot hitting, reaching base for the 12th straight game. Classmate Errol Robinson also added a single, recording a base hit for the seventh time in the past nine contests.

Left-hander Christian Trent (4-3) went 6.1 innings and allowed six runs (five earned) on nine hits to go along with five strikeouts. The five strikeouts marked the second-straight outing Trent has punched out that amount of opposing hitters. Fellow southpaw Mitchel Babb pitched the final 1.2 innings, keeping Vanderbilt off the scoreboard by retiring all five batters. The relief appearance was the sixth consecutive scoreless outing for Babb.

“He gets out of that second and third jam, and then runs through the bottom of the eighth for us,” said head coach Mike Bianco. “It really saves the bullpen — the last three outings he’s really been lights out.”

Vanderbilt starting pitcher Carson Fulmer pitched a complete game to get the victory for the Commodores (28-7, 11-2 SEC). The home team used three solo home runs to help provide the offense for the game.

The Commodores scored a run in each of the first three innings to hold a 3-0 advantage. Vanderbilt got on the board with solo home runs in the first and third innings, while three two-out hits in the second led to another run across the plate.

Vanderbilt added two more runs in the fifth and another in the seventh. The Commodores tried to add more than one run in the seventh, but Babb got the Rebels out of the jam. With one out and two runners in scoring position, the junior entered the ballgame and retired both hitters to end the inning.

Ole Miss will look to even the series tomorrow night as redshirt-sophomore Brady Bramlett takes the hill for the Rebels. First pitch from Hawkins Field will be at 6:30 p.m. CT. The second game of the series can be heard on the Ole Miss Radio Network as well as viewed on SEC Network+.