Baseball Blasts Way to Series Win Over No. 20 South Carolina

BY JEFF ROBERSON

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss scored eight runs in the eighth inning to break open a close game and defeat No. 20 South Carolina 12-3 on Saturday at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field.

The Rebels (15-5 overall, 2-0 SEC) led 4-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth, and there was one out when things got rolling for the Rebels and unraveling for the Gamecocks (14-5, 0-2).

Treyson Hughes singled to center field to drive in Luke Hill and Drew Markle, who was pinch running for Will Furniss. Both Hill and Furniss had reached on walks.

After Eli Berch and Ethan Groff both singled to score two more runs, Andrew Fischer homered to right field with a three-run shot. Fischer had three home runs in the game. Before the eighth inning was over, Ethan Lege had homered, and the Rebels led by nine runs.

Mason Morris came in to pitch the top of the ninth for the Rebels and got a strikeout and a fly out before hitting a Gamecock batter. Another fly out then ended the contest.

Rebel left-hander Liam Doyle started and pitched solidly into the sixth. He struck out an impressive 10 Gamecock hitters, allowing just three earned runs on six hits with one walk, in addition to his double-digit strikeouts.

A leadoff double from Kennedy Jones in the top of the first was followed by three straight strikeouts for Doyle. Like USC, the Rebels got a leadoff double in the bottom of the first from Groff. A Jackson Ross single with one out scored the game's first run. After an inning Ole Miss was up 1-0.

After a scoreless second inning, the Rebels added a run in the third on Fischer's first home run of the day. South Carolina cut the lead in half in the fourth and took the lead in the fifth. Ethan Petry led off the fourth with a home run, while Jones sent one out of the park with a two-run shot in the fifth for a 3-2 USC advantage.

But the Rebels answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth. Back-to-back homers by Groff and Fischer moved the home team back in front 4-3.

After a one-out walk in the sixth, Wes Mendes came in to pitch for Doyle. Mendes finished the sixth, allowing no runs on two hits with a walk and two strikeouts.

In the top of the seventh, after a two-out single by Brewer, Josh Mallitz came on in relief of Mendes and took the Rebels through the rest of the seventh and the eighth with no runs for USC.

With the score still 4-3, up came the Rebels in the bottom of the eighth to basically put this one away. South Carolina, which used five pitchers in the contest, tried three different ones in the eighth but could not slow down the Rebel offense.

Ole Miss ended the day with 13 hits, led by Fischer's 3-for-5 day along with his five RBI. Groff was 3-for-5 with two RBI. Fischer now has nine home runs on the season to lead the Rebels.

The Gamecocks had nine hits in the game, led by Jones who was 3-for-4 with two RBI, and Parker Noland who was 2-for-3.

Doyle (2-0) got the win for Ole Miss, while USC starter Eskew (2-2) got the loss.

Ole Miss and South Carolina complete the three-game series Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The Rebels won Friday night 5-4.

Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Rebels by following Ole Miss baseball on X at @OleMissBSB, on Facebook at Facebook.com/OleMissBaseball, on Instagram at Instagram.com/officialolemissbsb and on TikTok at @olemissbsb. Also, follow head coach Mike Bianco on X at @CoachMikeBianco.

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Team Stats

Ethan Groff

Andrew Fischer

Jackson Ross

Treyson Hughes

Players Mentioned

Eli Berch

Liam Doyle

Andrew Fischer

Will Furniss

Ethan Groff

Luke Hill

Treyson Hughes

Ethan Lege

Josh Mallitz

Drew Markle

Wes Mendes

Mason Morris

Jackson Ross

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