The University of Mississippi Athletics
Friday, May 10
Oxford, Miss.
6:30 PM
Ole Miss
32-18, 15-10
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Mississippi State
40-10, 16-9
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Mississippi State
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Ole Miss
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Baseball Drops Delayed Pitchers’ Duel with Bulldogs
5/11/2019 | Baseball
Rebels Suffer First Shutout Loss Since May 18, 2018
OXFORD, Miss. – After two pregame rain delays and one in-game fog delay, No. 11 Ole Miss couldn't generate any offensive momentum on Friday night, falling 2-0 in a pitcher's duel against No. 5 Mississippi State.
Rebel starter Will Ethridge turned in a quality outing, yielding just two runs on six hits over six innings against the dangerous Bulldog offense. Houston Roth picked up where Ethridge left off after the fog delay, tossing three scoreless innings with just two hits allowed. But on the other side, Ethan Small and Jared Liebelt combined to throw nine innings with just six hits allowed, delivering the Rebels' first shutout loss since May 18, 2018.
Ethridge allowed a pair of hits in the first inning but struck out Elijah MacNamee and popped up Justin Foscue to escape the inning. Tyler Keenan singled to left center with two outs in the bottom half but was thrown out at second base trying to stretch it into a double.
The Rebel starter countered with a one-two-three second inning. Ole Miss got a leadoff single from Thomas Dillard in the bottom half but was also retired in order after Dillard was caught stealing later in the inning.
Ole Miss was in a strong position in the top of the third after Ethridge got Jake Mangum to ground into a 6-4-3 double play, but a Jordan Westburg single, followed by a double by Tanner Allen at the end of a nine-pitch battle, put MSU on the board first.
In the fourth, Grae Kessinger extended his reached-base streak on a single that was kept in the infield on a diving stop by MSU third baseman Marshall Gilbert. Keenan then drew a walk, but the Rebels couldn't bring them in as Small escaped the jam with back-to-back strikeouts.
The Bulldogs added one more run in the fifth after a leadoff single by Gunner Halter. He made his way to second on a sacrifice bunt by Marshall Gilbert and a Mangum groundout then came home on a single by Allen, making it a 2-0 game.
Ethridge retired MSU in order in the sixth inning, which proved to be his last on the night. In the middle of the sixth, the game was delayed for 32 minutes due to fog. When play resumed, the Bulldogs replaced Small with senior right-hander Jared Liebelt. Kessinger notched a two-out single off the reliever but was caught in a pickle trying to advance on a ball in the dirt to end the inning.
Houston Roth then came on to relieve Ethridge in the seventh. The junior out of Oxford struck out two in the seventh to nullify a Mangum double and keep it a two-run game. He then worked a one-two-three frame in the eighth.
Ole Miss had a scoring chance in the bottom half after base hits by Cole Zabowski and Kevin Graham to lead off the inning, but a strikeout and a double play ended the Rebel threat.
Roth gave up one double in the ninth but again worked out of it without any damage to give the Rebel offense one last shot. However, the Rebels weren't able to muster a comeback against the Bulldog closer.
Ole Miss will return to action Saturday for Game 2 against MSU. The swing day matchup will feature two of the SEC's top freshmen arms: Ole Miss' Doug Nikhazy and Mississippi State's JT Ginn. The contest is set for a 6 p.m. CT start and will stream live on SEC Network+.
Quick Hits
- Ole Miss fell to 32-18 overall and 15-10 in SEC play.
- Originally scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m., the game was delayed to 7:30, then again to 8:30.
- The contest was delayed for 32 minutes due to fog in the middle of the sixth inning. It was the first fog delay at Swayze Field since February 29, 2008, when the Rebels topped Indiana State, 6-4.
- Ole Miss was shut out for the first time this season.
- Grae Kessinger extended his reached-base streak to 38 games with a single in the fourth inning.
- Kessinger recorded his 24th multi-hit game of the season, a team-high.
- Will Ethridge went 6.0 innings with two runs allowed on six hits with four strikeouts and two walks. It was Ethridge's seventh start with two runs or fewer allowed.
- Houston Roth has allowed just one run in his last five outings. Tonight was his fourth shutout effort in his last five appearances.
Rebel starter Will Ethridge turned in a quality outing, yielding just two runs on six hits over six innings against the dangerous Bulldog offense. Houston Roth picked up where Ethridge left off after the fog delay, tossing three scoreless innings with just two hits allowed. But on the other side, Ethan Small and Jared Liebelt combined to throw nine innings with just six hits allowed, delivering the Rebels' first shutout loss since May 18, 2018.
Ethridge allowed a pair of hits in the first inning but struck out Elijah MacNamee and popped up Justin Foscue to escape the inning. Tyler Keenan singled to left center with two outs in the bottom half but was thrown out at second base trying to stretch it into a double.
The Rebel starter countered with a one-two-three second inning. Ole Miss got a leadoff single from Thomas Dillard in the bottom half but was also retired in order after Dillard was caught stealing later in the inning.
Ole Miss was in a strong position in the top of the third after Ethridge got Jake Mangum to ground into a 6-4-3 double play, but a Jordan Westburg single, followed by a double by Tanner Allen at the end of a nine-pitch battle, put MSU on the board first.
In the fourth, Grae Kessinger extended his reached-base streak on a single that was kept in the infield on a diving stop by MSU third baseman Marshall Gilbert. Keenan then drew a walk, but the Rebels couldn't bring them in as Small escaped the jam with back-to-back strikeouts.
The Bulldogs added one more run in the fifth after a leadoff single by Gunner Halter. He made his way to second on a sacrifice bunt by Marshall Gilbert and a Mangum groundout then came home on a single by Allen, making it a 2-0 game.
Ethridge retired MSU in order in the sixth inning, which proved to be his last on the night. In the middle of the sixth, the game was delayed for 32 minutes due to fog. When play resumed, the Bulldogs replaced Small with senior right-hander Jared Liebelt. Kessinger notched a two-out single off the reliever but was caught in a pickle trying to advance on a ball in the dirt to end the inning.
Houston Roth then came on to relieve Ethridge in the seventh. The junior out of Oxford struck out two in the seventh to nullify a Mangum double and keep it a two-run game. He then worked a one-two-three frame in the eighth.
Ole Miss had a scoring chance in the bottom half after base hits by Cole Zabowski and Kevin Graham to lead off the inning, but a strikeout and a double play ended the Rebel threat.
Roth gave up one double in the ninth but again worked out of it without any damage to give the Rebel offense one last shot. However, the Rebels weren't able to muster a comeback against the Bulldog closer.
Ole Miss will return to action Saturday for Game 2 against MSU. The swing day matchup will feature two of the SEC's top freshmen arms: Ole Miss' Doug Nikhazy and Mississippi State's JT Ginn. The contest is set for a 6 p.m. CT start and will stream live on SEC Network+.
Quick Hits
- Ole Miss fell to 32-18 overall and 15-10 in SEC play.
- Originally scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m., the game was delayed to 7:30, then again to 8:30.
- The contest was delayed for 32 minutes due to fog in the middle of the sixth inning. It was the first fog delay at Swayze Field since February 29, 2008, when the Rebels topped Indiana State, 6-4.
- Ole Miss was shut out for the first time this season.
- Grae Kessinger extended his reached-base streak to 38 games with a single in the fourth inning.
- Kessinger recorded his 24th multi-hit game of the season, a team-high.
- Will Ethridge went 6.0 innings with two runs allowed on six hits with four strikeouts and two walks. It was Ethridge's seventh start with two runs or fewer allowed.
- Houston Roth has allowed just one run in his last five outings. Tonight was his fourth shutout effort in his last five appearances.
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Small, Ethan (7-1)
L: Ethridge, Will (5-5)
S: Liebelt, Jared (5)
.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
Batting:
2B: Mangum, Jake 1 ; Allen, Tanner 1 ; Hancock, Luke 1
RBI: Allen, Tanner 2
SH: Gilbert, Marshall 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Westburg, Jordan 1 ; Halter, Gunner 1
Base Running:
CS: Kessinger, Grae 1 ; Dillard, Thomas 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
IF
/ BaseballIF
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
LHP/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
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