The University of Mississippi Athletics
Baseball Closes Out Fall Season with 2023 Pizza Bowl
11/3/2023 | Baseball
OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss baseball team wrapped up its fall season Friday night with the annual tradition of the Pizza Bowl at Swayze Field.
It was Team Murrell led by captain Mitch Murrell that tasted the sweet victory of the night with an 8-5 win over the team led by Xavier Rivas. The win put the finishing touches on a six-week-long fall season with the Rebels playing exhibitions against Jacksonville State and Memphis.
Reagan Burford went 2-for-5 with two solo home runs on the night. Brayden Randle went 2-for-4 with a home run. Kaden Irving had two hits with two runs scored and an RBI. Jackson Ross and Drew Markle each hit a home run in their first Pizza Bowl debuts.
Team Murrell opened up the 2023 Pizza Bowl and capitalized on the get-go. Leadoff batter John Kramer singled to center field and stole second base during the next at-bat. A single by Andrew Fischer advanced him to third and Campbell Smithwick brought him with a sacrifice fly to give Team Murrell an early lead.
Team Rivas was quick to respond as shortstop Brayden Randle stepped up to the plate. Randle hit a 412-foot bomb to right field, just missing the Swayze showers, to tie up the game.
Senior pitcher Rivas came out in the second inning hot, only letting Will Furniss free with a walk. Rivas struck out three batters to end his night with five punchouts.
Grayson Saunier started the game for Team Murrell and pitched for two inning, only giving up the homerun to Randle, putting together a 1-2-3 inning in the second.
Gunnar Dennis was the first man out of the bullpen for Team Rivas, throwing two hitless innings and striking out two batters.
The bottom of the fourth was a key inning for Team Rivas as their bats started to get hot. Randle singled to start the inning and continue his hot streak. Jackson Ross shot a 386-foot two-run homer to extend the lead to 3-1.
JT Quinn came out of the bullpen in the fifth for Team Rivas and put together two innings with three strikeouts, but surrendered a homerun to Burford in the sixth inning, making it 3-2.
Liam Doyle made an impressive appearance in the sixth and seventh for Team Murrell, facing the minimum over two innings while striking out four.
Kyler Carmack took the mound for Team Rivas in the top of the seventh, striking out two of the three batters he faced.
Ryne Rodriguez came in the eighth and gave up a leadoff single to Luke Hill and a walk to Smithwick. Rodriguez was unphased, striking out his final two batters to leave the tying run on base for Team Murrell.
After starting the game in right field, Wes Mendes then came into pitch the eighth for Team Murrell, striking out all three batters he faced.
Kaden Irving took over as designated hitter in the ninth and immediately got his first hit of the game with a single down the left field line. He would steal second and come around to tie the game on back-to-back wild pitches.
Mason Nichols pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth to keep Team Rivas off the board and send it to the final inning.
Burford led off the inning with his second home run of the night to give Team Murrell the lead for the first time since the first inning. They would go on to score four more runs, highlighted by Hill's triple to right center.
Team captain Mitch Murrell put himself in the game to close it out. Murrell threw for back-to-back strikeouts before Drew Markle hit a two-run home run to cut the lead to 8-5. Murrell responded with another strikeout to give Team Murrell the victory.
Ole Miss will wrap up its fall season in two weeks, competing against each other in the annual Omaha Challenge from November 13-17.
It was Team Murrell led by captain Mitch Murrell that tasted the sweet victory of the night with an 8-5 win over the team led by Xavier Rivas. The win put the finishing touches on a six-week-long fall season with the Rebels playing exhibitions against Jacksonville State and Memphis.
Reagan Burford went 2-for-5 with two solo home runs on the night. Brayden Randle went 2-for-4 with a home run. Kaden Irving had two hits with two runs scored and an RBI. Jackson Ross and Drew Markle each hit a home run in their first Pizza Bowl debuts.
Team Murrell opened up the 2023 Pizza Bowl and capitalized on the get-go. Leadoff batter John Kramer singled to center field and stole second base during the next at-bat. A single by Andrew Fischer advanced him to third and Campbell Smithwick brought him with a sacrifice fly to give Team Murrell an early lead.
Team Rivas was quick to respond as shortstop Brayden Randle stepped up to the plate. Randle hit a 412-foot bomb to right field, just missing the Swayze showers, to tie up the game.
Senior pitcher Rivas came out in the second inning hot, only letting Will Furniss free with a walk. Rivas struck out three batters to end his night with five punchouts.
Grayson Saunier started the game for Team Murrell and pitched for two inning, only giving up the homerun to Randle, putting together a 1-2-3 inning in the second.
Gunnar Dennis was the first man out of the bullpen for Team Rivas, throwing two hitless innings and striking out two batters.
The bottom of the fourth was a key inning for Team Rivas as their bats started to get hot. Randle singled to start the inning and continue his hot streak. Jackson Ross shot a 386-foot two-run homer to extend the lead to 3-1.
JT Quinn came out of the bullpen in the fifth for Team Rivas and put together two innings with three strikeouts, but surrendered a homerun to Burford in the sixth inning, making it 3-2.
Liam Doyle made an impressive appearance in the sixth and seventh for Team Murrell, facing the minimum over two innings while striking out four.
Kyler Carmack took the mound for Team Rivas in the top of the seventh, striking out two of the three batters he faced.
Ryne Rodriguez came in the eighth and gave up a leadoff single to Luke Hill and a walk to Smithwick. Rodriguez was unphased, striking out his final two batters to leave the tying run on base for Team Murrell.
After starting the game in right field, Wes Mendes then came into pitch the eighth for Team Murrell, striking out all three batters he faced.
Kaden Irving took over as designated hitter in the ninth and immediately got his first hit of the game with a single down the left field line. He would steal second and come around to tie the game on back-to-back wild pitches.
Mason Nichols pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth to keep Team Rivas off the board and send it to the final inning.
Burford led off the inning with his second home run of the night to give Team Murrell the lead for the first time since the first inning. They would go on to score four more runs, highlighted by Hill's triple to right center.
Team captain Mitch Murrell put himself in the game to close it out. Murrell threw for back-to-back strikeouts before Drew Markle hit a two-run home run to cut the lead to 8-5. Murrell responded with another strikeout to give Team Murrell the victory.
Ole Miss will wrap up its fall season in two weeks, competing against each other in the annual Omaha Challenge from November 13-17.
Players Mentioned
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