The University of Mississippi Athletics
Saturday, May 11
Oxford, Miss.
6 PM
Ole Miss
32-19, 15-11
5
vs
8
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Mississippi State
41-10, 17-9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Mississippi State
0
0
1
1
0
0
6
0
0
8
10
3
Ole Miss
2
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
5
8
1
Nikhazy's Strong Start Not Enough in Game 2 Defeat
5/11/2019 | Baseball
Box Score<i class="icon-video"></i> Highlights<i class="icon-paper"></i> Box Score (PDF)<i class="icon-camera"></i> Photos
Rebel Freshman Goes 6.0 Innings with Two Runs Allowed in 8-5 Loss
OXFORD, Miss. – Freshman left-hander Doug Nikhazy turned in another quality start for No. 11 Ole Miss, leaving the game with a 4-2 lead after six innings, but No. 5 Mississippi State rallied for six runs in the seventh to clinch the series with an 8-5 victory.
Nikhazy started red-hot, striking out Jake Mangum and Jordan Westburg before getting Tanner Allen to fly out to center field to cap a one-two-three inning. That set the Rebel bats up to take the early lead.
Tyler Keenan started the rally with a two-out base hit and made his way to second on an error by Mangum in center. Then, after a Thomas Dillard walk, Cole Zabowski smacked one into the right center gap to send Keenan home. Next, Cooper Johnson lined one into center to plate Dillard. Zabowski made it to third on the play thanks to another Mangum error, and after a walk by Kevin Graham, the Rebels looked destined for an even bigger inning. However, on a ground ball to the right side by Jacob Adams, Graham was called out after colliding with MSU second baseman Justin Foscue after the ball had skipped under Foscue's glove and into right field.
Mississippi State got its first hit off Nikhazy in the second, but Cooper Johnson erased it, picking Foscue off the basepath to end the inning. Nikhazy found himself in hot water in the third when a walk, a bunt single and a hit by pitch loaded the bases with no outs. He walked in one run during the jam. However, the rookie out of Windermere, Florida, induced a shallow pop fly from Mangum and got Allen to ground into a check-swing one-two-three double play to end the inning with the Rebels still ahead, 2-1.
The Bulldogs tied it up in the fourth after a leadoff double down the left field line by Elijah MacNamee. Nikhazy then walked Foscue and MacNamee advanced to third on a wild pitch. The Rebel starter got Rowdey Jordan to ground into a double play, but the tying run came home in the process.
Nikhazy put Marshall Gilbert on with a hit by pitch in the fifth but induced a Mangum flyout before sending Westburg back to the dugout with a strikeout to end the frame. Ole Miss reclaimed the lead in the bottom half after Keenan reached on a third-strike passed ball with two outs and came around to score on a wild pitch.
The Rebels added another in the sixth, starting with back-to-back singles by Graham and Adams. Josh Hall sent Graham home on an RBI fielder's choice, making it 4-2, Rebels.
Mississippi State took over in the seventh, though. Austin Miller relieved Nikhazy and gave up back-to-back doubles, followed by a walk and a single to tie the game and bring Parker Caracci out of the bullpen. Caracci then walked Westburg and gave up a two-RBI single to Allen. Jordan sent two more home on a base hit to left to make it 8-4, Bulldogs.
Ole Miss got one run back in the bottom half. Keenan and Dillard each walked with one out, and Zabowski sent Keenan home on a shot deep into the right field corner. Dillard also attempted to score on the play but was thrown out at the plate.
Tyler Myers then entered out of the bullpen and worked two outs around a walk and a base hit before giving way to Kaleb Hill to face the left-handed hitting Allen. The freshman lefty needed just one pitch to retire the Bulldog three-hole hitter and escape the inning. Hill also got the first out of the ninth inning before giving way to Connor Green, who retired the only two batters he faced.
In the bottom of the ninth, Grae Kessinger extended his reached-base streak to 39 games with an infield single, but a double play ended the Rebels' shot at a comeback.
Ole Miss will look to avoid the sweep Sunday at noon on ESPN2. Freshman right-hander Gunnar Hoglund will throw for the Rebels against MSU's senior right-hander Peyton Plumlee.
Quick Hits
- Ole Miss fell to 32-19 overall and 15-11 in SEC play.
- Doug Nikhazy has gone 6.0 innings or more in each of his last three outings and has allowed two runs or fewer in each of the last three.
- Grae Kessinger extended his reached-base streak to 39 games, the longest by a Rebel since Tanner Mathis reached in 41 straight in 2011.
- Cole Zabowski recorded his 18th multi-hit game of the season, second on the team to Kessinger's 24.
- Zabowski notched his ninth multi-RBI game, tying him for the second-most on the team behind Keenan's 15.
Nikhazy started red-hot, striking out Jake Mangum and Jordan Westburg before getting Tanner Allen to fly out to center field to cap a one-two-three inning. That set the Rebel bats up to take the early lead.
Tyler Keenan started the rally with a two-out base hit and made his way to second on an error by Mangum in center. Then, after a Thomas Dillard walk, Cole Zabowski smacked one into the right center gap to send Keenan home. Next, Cooper Johnson lined one into center to plate Dillard. Zabowski made it to third on the play thanks to another Mangum error, and after a walk by Kevin Graham, the Rebels looked destined for an even bigger inning. However, on a ground ball to the right side by Jacob Adams, Graham was called out after colliding with MSU second baseman Justin Foscue after the ball had skipped under Foscue's glove and into right field.
Mississippi State got its first hit off Nikhazy in the second, but Cooper Johnson erased it, picking Foscue off the basepath to end the inning. Nikhazy found himself in hot water in the third when a walk, a bunt single and a hit by pitch loaded the bases with no outs. He walked in one run during the jam. However, the rookie out of Windermere, Florida, induced a shallow pop fly from Mangum and got Allen to ground into a check-swing one-two-three double play to end the inning with the Rebels still ahead, 2-1.
The Bulldogs tied it up in the fourth after a leadoff double down the left field line by Elijah MacNamee. Nikhazy then walked Foscue and MacNamee advanced to third on a wild pitch. The Rebel starter got Rowdey Jordan to ground into a double play, but the tying run came home in the process.
Nikhazy put Marshall Gilbert on with a hit by pitch in the fifth but induced a Mangum flyout before sending Westburg back to the dugout with a strikeout to end the frame. Ole Miss reclaimed the lead in the bottom half after Keenan reached on a third-strike passed ball with two outs and came around to score on a wild pitch.
The Rebels added another in the sixth, starting with back-to-back singles by Graham and Adams. Josh Hall sent Graham home on an RBI fielder's choice, making it 4-2, Rebels.
Mississippi State took over in the seventh, though. Austin Miller relieved Nikhazy and gave up back-to-back doubles, followed by a walk and a single to tie the game and bring Parker Caracci out of the bullpen. Caracci then walked Westburg and gave up a two-RBI single to Allen. Jordan sent two more home on a base hit to left to make it 8-4, Bulldogs.
Ole Miss got one run back in the bottom half. Keenan and Dillard each walked with one out, and Zabowski sent Keenan home on a shot deep into the right field corner. Dillard also attempted to score on the play but was thrown out at the plate.
Tyler Myers then entered out of the bullpen and worked two outs around a walk and a base hit before giving way to Kaleb Hill to face the left-handed hitting Allen. The freshman lefty needed just one pitch to retire the Bulldog three-hole hitter and escape the inning. Hill also got the first out of the ninth inning before giving way to Connor Green, who retired the only two batters he faced.
In the bottom of the ninth, Grae Kessinger extended his reached-base streak to 39 games with an infield single, but a double play ended the Rebels' shot at a comeback.
Ole Miss will look to avoid the sweep Sunday at noon on ESPN2. Freshman right-hander Gunnar Hoglund will throw for the Rebels against MSU's senior right-hander Peyton Plumlee.
Quick Hits
- Ole Miss fell to 32-19 overall and 15-11 in SEC play.
- Doug Nikhazy has gone 6.0 innings or more in each of his last three outings and has allowed two runs or fewer in each of the last three.
- Grae Kessinger extended his reached-base streak to 39 games, the longest by a Rebel since Tanner Mathis reached in 41 straight in 2011.
- Cole Zabowski recorded his 18th multi-hit game of the season, second on the team to Kessinger's 24.
- Zabowski notched his ninth multi-RBI game, tying him for the second-most on the team behind Keenan's 15.
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Self, Riley (2-0)
L: Miller, Austin (4-1)
S: Gordon, Cole (9)
.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
Batting:
2B: MacNamee, Elijah 1 ; Skelton, Dustin 1 ; Halter, Gunner 1
RBI: Mangum, Jake 1 ; Westburg, Jordan 1 ; Allen, Tanner 2 ; Jordan, Rowdey 2 ; Halter, Gunner 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mangum, Jake 1 ; Westburg, Jordan 1 ; MacNamee, Elijah 1 ; Foscue, Justin 1 ; Skelton, Dustin 2 ; Halter, Gunner 1 ; Gilbert, Marshall 1
SB: Foscue, Justin 1
CS: Foscue, Justin 1
HBP: Gilbert, Marshall 2
PO: Foscue, Justin 1
Batting:
2B: Zabowski, Cole 1
RBI: Zabowski, Cole 2 ; Johnson, Cooper 1 ; Hall, Josh 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Keenan, Tyler 3 ; Dillard, Thomas 1 ; Graham, Kevin 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
3
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballC/OF
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP/IF
/ Baseball
C
/ BaseballIF
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP/OF
/ BaseballIF
/ BaseballThe Season: Ole Miss Baseball - Omaha Challenge (2025)
Thursday, December 18
Baseball's New Faces - Daniel Pacella & Tristan Bissetta
Thursday, October 16
New Faces: Freshmen Pitchers
Friday, September 19
PRESSER | Mike Bianco & Luke Hill - Oxford Regional Final vs. Murray State (06-02-25)
Monday, June 02