The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
27-23, 0
Texas A&M
41-10, 0
Seniors Boost Baseball to Series Win Over No. 2 Texas A&M On Senior Night
5/11/2024 | Baseball
The Rebels' series win over the Aggies was their first since 2019 and their first series win over a top-five ranked team since 2021 when they beat No. 2 Vanderbilt.
Liam Doyle and Josh Mallitz combined to allow just five hits and one earned run to one of the best offenses in the SEC. Doyle earned the win and posted his second quality start of the season, working six innings and allowing just one earned run. He struck out seven Aggies and did not issue a single walk in his outing.
Rebel pitching has now allowed just three earned runs in the series while racking up 24 strikeouts.
Every starter on the Rebel offense has at least one hit in the win and all but two came around to score at least once. Ethan Groff went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Reagan Burford had a home run and three RBI. The senior trio of Groff, Burford, and Jackson Ross went a combined 4-for-13 with six RBI and two runs scored.
After a clean first inning from both sides, Ole Miss posted a five-run second to get things started. After Campbell Smithwick was hit by a pitch, Burford worked a full count and then hit his fourth home run of the season to straight-away center field to make it 2-0.
Treyson Hughes and Eli Berch each followed up with singles and then Luke Hill made it 3-0 with a single to center field that scored Hughes. After a Texas A&M pitching change, Andrew Fischer doubled in both Berch and Hill to make it 5-0 Rebels.
Jace LaViolette got the Aggies on the board in the third with a two-out solo home run to right field.
Burford added another run to Ole Miss' lead in the third with a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Will Furniss from third.
The Rebels hung another crooked number in the fourth inning as Ross knocked in two runs with a bouncing single over the first baseman's head and Groff doubled down the left field line to bring him home later. Ole Miss held a 9-1 lead after four complete innings.
After giving up the solo home run to LaViolette, Doyle settled in and retired the next seven batters he faced. He faced the minimum the rest of the way, cruising to a six-inning outing.
Mallitz relieved Doyle in the seventh, working the final three innings of the game. He allowed just one hit and an unearned run while striking out four batters.
The Rebels almost ended the game in the eighth inning as Smithwick doubled down the left field line with Furniss and Groff on base. Furniss scored to make it 10-1, but Groff was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first base.
Texas A&M scored an unearned run in the ninth with the help of a passed ball, but Mallitz was able to limit the damage and close out the series win.Ole Miss will go for the sweep of No. 2 Texas A&M tomorrow at 5 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
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: Doyle, Liam (3-2)
L: Justin Lamkin (2-2)
Batting:
HR: Jace LaViolette 1
RBI: Jace LaViolette 1 ; Jackson Appel 1
SF: Jackson Appel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jace LaViolette 1 ; Braden Montgomery 1
Batting:
2B: Fischer, Andrew 1 ; Groff, Ethan 1 ; Smithwick, Campbell 1
HR: Burford, Reagan 1
RBI: Hill, Luke 1 ; Fischer, Andrew 2 ; Ross, Jackson 2 ; Groff, Ethan 1 ; Smithwick, Campbell 1 ; Burford, Reagan 3
SF: Burford, Reagan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hill, Luke 2 ; Ross, Jackson 1 ; Furniss, Will 2 ; Smithwick, Campbell 1 ; Burford, Reagan 1 ; Hughes, Treyson 1 ; Berch, Eli 2
HBP: Hill, Luke 1 ; Fischer, Andrew 1 ; Groff, Ethan 1 ; Smithwick, Campbell 2
