The University of Mississippi Athletics
Friday, March 8
Oxford, Miss.
6:30 PM
Ole Miss
10-5
10
vs
3
Morehead State
7-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Morehead State
0
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
5
0
Ole Miss
2
4
1
2
0
1
0
0
X
10
13
2
Baseball Wins Fourth-Straight With Friday Night Win Over Morehead State
3/8/2024 | Baseball
BY JEFF ROBERSON
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss got solid pitching from Gunnar Dennis, Mitch Murrell, and Sam Tookoian to take game one of a three-game series 10-3 against Morehead State.
The three Rebels combined for 12 strikeouts, and the Eagles got no runs after the third inning.
Ole Miss (10-5) had an opportunity to grab a substantial lead in the early innings, but some miscues kept the game close. After three complete, Ole Miss led 7-3.
After Rebel starter Dennis had a three up, three down top of the first, the Rebels scored twice in the bottom of the frame. After a two-out Jackson Ross single, Ethan Lege homered down the left field line for a 2-0 Ole Miss lead after one complete.
In the top of the second inning, the Eagles (7-6) got two runs to tie things up. But a big Ole Miss bottom of the second gave the Rebels a 6-2 lead. With one out, Will Furniss walked, followed by a Campbell Smithwick double to score Furniss. After a Brayden Randle base hit, a single by Ethan Groff scored Smithwick. Then after a double steal by Randle and Groff, an Andrew Fischer single scored them both. It was 6-2 Ole Miss through two.
Morehead State got a run in the top of the third, and Ole Miss matched it in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, Luke Hill singled through the left side, followed by a Furniss double to right field to score Hill. Ole Miss led 7-3 after three.
After a scoreless fourth for the Eagles, a two-out double by Treyson Hughes got two runs home after Fischer walked and Lege singled. The Rebels' lead was 9-3.
Dennis pitched five innings, and in the fifth got the Eagles three up, three down, just as he had in the first inning. That would be it for the left-handed junior, who allowed just one earned run on five hits with five strikeouts, a walk, and a hit batter. Senior right-hander Mitch Murrell took over to start the sixth. Prior to that, the Rebels got nothing in the bottom of the fifth.
Murrell was efficient in two innings, facing six Eagles, none of them reaching, with three striking out. In the Rebel sixth, a one-out double by Fischer was followed by a two-out single from Lege for a 10-3 UM lead.
Sophomore right-hander Sam Tookoian took over for Murrell to begin the eighth. Tookoian got to the Eagles quickly with a fly out, a groundout, and a strikeout. Smithwick walked to start the Rebel eighth. After pinch hitters John Kramer struck out and Seth Farni flew out, pinch hitter Trenton Lyons singled, and there were runners at the corners. But Ross flew out to first in foul territory to end the frame.
Tookoian went back out to try to finish the game in the ninth. And he did just that. The Eagles were not able to get any runs as Tookoian struck out one, then hit a batter, but struck out two more to end it.
Dennis (3-0) got the win, and Morehead State starter Luke Helton (3-1) sustained his first loss of the season.
The Rebels out-hit the Eagles 13-5 in the contest and were led by Lege's 3-for-5 night, including the home run he hit in the way back in the first inning. He also had three RBI and two runs scored.
Game two between Ole Miss and Morehead State is at 4 p.m. Saturday.
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.
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss got solid pitching from Gunnar Dennis, Mitch Murrell, and Sam Tookoian to take game one of a three-game series 10-3 against Morehead State.
The three Rebels combined for 12 strikeouts, and the Eagles got no runs after the third inning.
Ole Miss (10-5) had an opportunity to grab a substantial lead in the early innings, but some miscues kept the game close. After three complete, Ole Miss led 7-3.
After Rebel starter Dennis had a three up, three down top of the first, the Rebels scored twice in the bottom of the frame. After a two-out Jackson Ross single, Ethan Lege homered down the left field line for a 2-0 Ole Miss lead after one complete.
In the top of the second inning, the Eagles (7-6) got two runs to tie things up. But a big Ole Miss bottom of the second gave the Rebels a 6-2 lead. With one out, Will Furniss walked, followed by a Campbell Smithwick double to score Furniss. After a Brayden Randle base hit, a single by Ethan Groff scored Smithwick. Then after a double steal by Randle and Groff, an Andrew Fischer single scored them both. It was 6-2 Ole Miss through two.
Morehead State got a run in the top of the third, and Ole Miss matched it in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, Luke Hill singled through the left side, followed by a Furniss double to right field to score Hill. Ole Miss led 7-3 after three.
After a scoreless fourth for the Eagles, a two-out double by Treyson Hughes got two runs home after Fischer walked and Lege singled. The Rebels' lead was 9-3.
Dennis pitched five innings, and in the fifth got the Eagles three up, three down, just as he had in the first inning. That would be it for the left-handed junior, who allowed just one earned run on five hits with five strikeouts, a walk, and a hit batter. Senior right-hander Mitch Murrell took over to start the sixth. Prior to that, the Rebels got nothing in the bottom of the fifth.
Murrell was efficient in two innings, facing six Eagles, none of them reaching, with three striking out. In the Rebel sixth, a one-out double by Fischer was followed by a two-out single from Lege for a 10-3 UM lead.
Sophomore right-hander Sam Tookoian took over for Murrell to begin the eighth. Tookoian got to the Eagles quickly with a fly out, a groundout, and a strikeout. Smithwick walked to start the Rebel eighth. After pinch hitters John Kramer struck out and Seth Farni flew out, pinch hitter Trenton Lyons singled, and there were runners at the corners. But Ross flew out to first in foul territory to end the frame.
Tookoian went back out to try to finish the game in the ninth. And he did just that. The Eagles were not able to get any runs as Tookoian struck out one, then hit a batter, but struck out two more to end it.
Dennis (3-0) got the win, and Morehead State starter Luke Helton (3-1) sustained his first loss of the season.
The Rebels out-hit the Eagles 13-5 in the contest and were led by Lege's 3-for-5 night, including the home run he hit in the way back in the first inning. He also had three RBI and two runs scored.
Game two between Ole Miss and Morehead State is at 4 p.m. Saturday.
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.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Dennis, Gunnar (3-0)
L: HELTON, Luke (3-1)
Batting:
RBI: KUNTZ, Roman 1 ; GERMANN, Davis 1
Base Running:
RUNS: BECKER, Colton 1 ; GOODEN, Nick 1 ; SEPULVEDA, Gabriel 1
HBP: GOODEN, Nick 1 ; GRABOSCH, Ryan 1
Batting:
2B: Fischer, Andrew 1 ; Hughes, Treyson 1 ; Furniss, Will 1 ; Smithwick, Campbell 1
HR: Lege, Ethan 1
RBI: Groff, Ethan 1 ; Fischer, Andrew 2 ; Lege, Ethan 3 ; Hughes, Treyson 2 ; Furniss, Will 1 ; Smithwick, Campbell 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Groff, Ethan 1 ; Fischer, Andrew 2 ; Ross, Jackson 1 ; Lege, Ethan 2 ; Hill, Luke 1 ; Furniss, Will 1 ; Smithwick, Campbell 1 ; Randle, Brayden 1
SB: Groff, Ethan 1 ; Randle, Brayden 1
CS: Fischer, Andrew 1
PO: Markle, Drew 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
3
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
1
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
IF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballC/UT
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
IF/OF
/ Baseball
C/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
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Brayden Randle Hits First HR of The Season vs Murray State
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