Ole Miss Drops Game Two To Tennessee

OXFORD, Miss. (Ole Miss Athletics) — The Ole Miss baseball team fell behind 3-0 early for the third straight game, but unlike comeback victories over Memphis and Tennessee earlier this week, the Rebels (16-15, 5-6 SEC) were unable to battle completely back, falling to the Volunteers (13-14, 3-8 SEC) by a score of 6-3 on Saturday afternoon, April 4, at Swayze Field.

Sophomore right-hander Brady Bramlett (4-2) suffered the loss, his first setback in SEC play this season. He allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits with two walks and six strikeouts. In relief, junior Mitchel Babb pitched a career-high 3.1 scoreless innings, striking out four Volunteers to surpass his entire season total.

Making his second straight start at designated hitter, junior Connor Cloyd tallied his second straight multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a RBI. Sophomore center fielder J.B. Woodman went 2-for-4, while senior catcher Austin Knight reached base three times, going 1-for-2 with a double and two walks.

Tennessee grabbed an early lead for the second straight game. The Volunteers scored a run in each of the first, third and fourth innings, but Bramlett stranded six runners on base through the first four frames to keep the Rebels within striking range.

Ole Miss threatened to break things open in the first, loading the bases with two outs. Freshman left fielder Kyle Watson hit one hard but right at the Tennessee shortstop for the final out of the inning.

The Rebels broke through in the fourth, scoring its first run of the game. With two outs in the inning, junior right fielder Cameron Dishon doubled to left, later scoring on an RBI single by Cloyd.

Tennessee got the run back with a solo home run and took a 4-1 lead in the fifth. Sophomore third baseman Colby Bortles nearly made it a 4-3 game in the bottom of the inning, just missing a two-run home run on a fly ball that was caught at the wall in right.

The Volunteers extended their lead to 6-1 in the sixth, scoring both runs on a throwing error with two outs in the inning. The Rebels got a run back in bottom of the inning on an RBI groundout by freshman second baseman Will Golsan.

Ole Miss closed out the scoring in the bottom of the ninth. Sophomore shortstop Errol Robinson led off the inning with a walk, later scoring on a wild pitch.

Ole Miss and Tennessee will play the rubber match of their three-game weekend series Sunday with first pitch set for 1:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+ and the Ole Miss Radio Network.