No. 9 Ole Miss salvages split with Kentucky in doubleheader off Campbell Smithwick's heroics
Friday presented a lot of opportunities for observations of how this Ole Miss baseball team is heading into the midpoint of the season but one that tops all is it is able to find ways to win games it would not have in recent years.
The No. 9 Rebels split their doubleheader with Kentucky off the heroics of Campbell Smithwick and his pinch-hit two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning for the 3-1 win over the Wildcats. This just hours after Ole Miss (23-7, 7-4 Southeastern Conference) lost 5-4 in 10 innings in game one of the day.
Smithwick’s home run was maybe the shot that the Rebels needed after being lackluster at the plate for most of the day. In total they scored seven runs in 20 innings of play on Friday. Until the go-ahead home run in the second game the Ole Miss bats mustered only five runs off 20 combined hits in 19 innings.
There were also 19 runners left on base in both games combined by Rebel hitters, hitting a combined .150 with runners in scoring position (3-for-20) on the day.
On the mound it was not a bad day for Ole Miss though ace Hunter Elliott struggled with not one of his better outings. The left-hander hit four Kentucky batters and walked three others while allowing four runes — all earned — off three hits. Elliott did finish with four strikeouts in five innings of work.
Mason Morris picked up the loss in game one, working 4.1 innings in relief after Elliott.
In game two Riley Maddox needed a strong outing and gave Ole Miss exactly that. He went five innings, allowing a run — unearned — off four hits while striking out six and issuing only one walk.
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Ryne Rodriguez worked one scoreless inning in relief and while Will McCausland picked up his second win of the season with three scoreless innings of work striking out five. McCausland retired nine straight Kentucky batters, striking out the side in the ninth inning.
There are still questions that need answering by this Ole Miss team but Friday ended with a better feeling than it was starting off with. It currently has a Top 10 ranking but there is still a desire to prove it is worthy of it.
How game two played out was good start in the Rebels earning their keep and looking how a top team should in what could be viewed as a must-win game within a bubble.
Ole Miss will try for its third-straight SEC series win on Saturday with game three’s first pitch now set for 10 a.m. CT due to the threat of more severe weather rolling into the Lexington area later in the day.
