OXFORD | Calvin Harris hit an RBI single in the fourth inning that scored the fifth run of the day off Florida front man Brandon Sproat.

Sproat hadn’t allowed a run over his past two starts and was coming off a one-hit complete game shutout of Alabama.

He’d allowed a max of three earned runs in a game this season, but the Rebels got to him for eight hits and pushed him out of the game after only 5.1 innings.

“I thought we did a great job against Sproat and got him out of the ballgame,” Mike Bianco said.

Ole Miss scored seven runs and got into the Florida bullpen relatively early. It was a commendable effort in game one of an SEC series.

In game two, the Rebels sent 10 men to the plate in the third inning and scored five runs off Hurston Waldrep. In total, the Rebels tagged Waldrep with six runs in five innings.

That’s half of the earned runs Waldrep allowed all season entering the day.

During the doubleheader, Ole Miss scored 15 runs against Florida’s elite one-two punch and didn’t have an error defensively.

“Our offense was pretty good today,” Bianco said. “We did a good job of hitting balls in the middle of the zone and not chasing anything.”

The Rebels lost both games.

Ole Miss is playing through multiple key pitching injuries, so the offense carrying it often is a requirement. The bats can’t do it alone, though. On Saturday, Ole Miss pitchers simply didn’t give the Rebels a chance to win.

Florida (21-4, 4-1) swept the doubleheader with a 9-7 victory in game one and a 12-8 win in game two. Ole Miss is 0-5 in the SEC for the first time since an 0-6 start in 1996 — Don Kessinger’s final season as head coach.

Sunday’s finale is at 2 p.m.

Ole Miss (15-8) had a three-run lead in the eighth inning of game one, when Mason Nichols, the Rebels’ most experienced reliever, entered. Nichols gave up a leadoff home run and a three-run double with two outs, as Florida stormed ahead.

“He had no command and no breaking ball,” Bianco said. “It wasn’t a normal day for him.”

Sam Tookoian gave up two more in the ninth, and Ole Miss left two men in scoring position when the game ended.

“We didn’t get six outs before giving up six runs,” Bianco said.

All in all, starter Jack Dougherty was fine, giving up three runs in 4.2 innings in a role that doesn’t best suit him.

Florida, in the nightcap, scored single runs in the first two innings and then put up a four-spot in the third inning. Even with the five-run frame offensively, Ole Miss still trailed.

“We didn’t even get out of the gate on the mound,” Bianco said.

It’s possible to nitpick missed chances offensively and the fact that Ole Miss sent a runner home with no outs in game one, and he was thrown out by 10 feet. There were mistakes, sure, but perfection being necessary isn’t a place the Rebels can successfully live.

Grayson Saunier started and allowed six hits and five runs in two innings. JT Quinn, likely Ole Miss’ next starter option, yielded four hits and four runs in four innings. It wasn’t terrible, and he didn’t walk a batter for the second straight outing.

“He isn’t commanding pitches and isn’t getting in a rhythm,” Bianco said of Saunier. “He’s better than that and needs to pitch better than that.”

Bianco was proud of Quinn's toughness despite the runs.

Out of 18 weekend starts this season, Ole Miss starters have gone at least six innings just twice and at least five innings only five times. No Ole Miss starter has gotten an out in the seventh inning.

It’s not a way to win in the SEC, and the Rebels can’t have to average double digit runs to win games. Ole Miss pitching has allowed 48 runs in 42 SEC innings.

“We have to continue to battle,” Bianco said. “The pitchers have to grow up and make more pitches. It’s disappointing because they are better than this. At the end of the day you are who you are. We have to be better.”

Mitch Murrell threw 2.1 innings in game one without allowing a hit. He was at 31 pitches when Ole Miss went with Nichols to start the eighth inning.

“He did his job and we thought we were in a good spot after he pitches more than two innings,” Bianco said. “He’s been our most reliable guy, starter or reliever.”

Bianco met with the pitching staff for approximately five minutes following the normal postgame team meeting.

Ole Miss has lost five of the last six SEC home series, going 5-12 in the games during those series.

There are two sweeps in that stretch and for the Rebels to avoid another one on Sunday, the pitching has to be competitive.

“It’s tough. We have to be better on the mound.”