OXFORD | Hunter Elliott put up another excellent effort, and Ole Miss ran away from Eastern Kentucky, 8-0, to open the series in Oxford.

Game two is at 1:30 on Saturday. The Rebels are 4-1 on the season, while Eastern Kentucky remained winless through five games. Riley Maddox will start on Saturday for Ole Miss.

Elliott looked like midseason form for the second straight week, blanking EKU over six innings and facing just one more the minimum. He hasn't allowed a run through 11 innings to start the season and scattered three hits while throwing 57 of his 78 pitches for strikes.

The Tupelo native tied a career high with 10 strikeouts, equaling his total from the 2022 Hattiesburg Super Regional against Southern Miss. Elliott picked off two of the three runners who reached and didn't walk anyone.

Elliott's fastball was in the low 90s early despite the cool temperatures and screwed the Colonels into the ground with his changeup. He didn't throw a pitch with a runner in scoring position.

Ole Miss pitching coach Joel Mangrum called Elliott's pickoff move to first base "horrendous" in the offseason. Elliott, after some tweaks, has three pickoffs in two weeks. Ole. Miss, as a team, has five pickoffs.

Campbell Smithwick's first hit of the year came with two men on in the fifth inning. The two-RBI shot through the infield pushed Ole Miss out to a three-run lead that wasn't challenged the rest of the way. Up until that point, the Rebels had stranded six runners through four innings.

Luke Hill and Isaac Humphrey walked to open the inning and set up Smithwick's single. Ryan Moerman and Judd Utermark struck out prior to Smithwick's at-bat.

Smithwick also had an RBI single in the eighth inning.

Mason Morris pitched the final three innings with three strikeouts and one hit. The right-hander threw 22 of 37 pitches for strikes and helped the Rebels face just two over the minimum for the game. Morris has allowed one run in 5.2 innings this season.

Ole Miss threw 68 of its pitches for strikes -- 13 percent higher than Eastern Kentucky.

Luke Hill and Will Furniss each reached base three times, two hits and a walk for both players. Furniss was 0-for-7 on the season before Friday. He hit a home run in the seventh inning. Hill is hitting .444 on the season.

It improved to 6-for-21 as the game went on, but Ole Miss was 1-for-11 with runners on base through four innings. Similar to Tuesday's offensive struggles against Arkansas State, Ole Miss didn't move runners and execute at-bats. It's fine against Eastern Kentucky, but it's something to follow as the competition stiffens. The Rebels were 4-for-15 with runners in scoring position.

Ole Miss offensively walked nine times including three by Humphrey. The Rebels struck out 13 times, including three each from Utermark and Owen Paino.

Mitch Sanford and Hill both scored twice.

The Rebels scored two runs in each of the fifth, sixth and eighth innings.

"It's how you view it. I take a good approach to it. I know the hitters aren't taking great swings and aren't super comfortable up there. They don't want to take big hacks and take it off the end or off the hands. It's a great day to pitch and pitch super free and not worry about it going out of the yard." -- Elliott on pitching in low temperatures

"I use this little hand warmer while in the dugout and be out on the mound as short as you can. I feel the ball fine in this weather with that as help." -- Elliott on feeling the ball in cold weather

"I used a lot of changeups today. I'm working hard on the slider to get the velocity up to what it it was this fall. i'm working on it in the bullpen, but today the changeup was there, so we went with it." -- Elliott on his offspeed pitches today

"Hunter was so good. The numbers don't usually tell the whole story, but they did today. He said in our meeting he didn't want to walk anybody and fill up the zone, and he did just that. He also missed plenty of bats." Smithwick on Elliott

"It felt good to get that first hit. (Brad Henderson) was saying that's the hardest one to get, and no one know more than (Henderson) around here when it comes to hitting. I've been really trying to extend at-bats. Obviously I haven't felt great but today just extended bats and saw pitches and things were better.. The goal is to not get out, whatever that takes." Smithwick on getting his first hit of the season.

"Mason Morris terrific. He took over that piggyback role, and his stuff is wipeout. Joel calls him the most talented pitcher on the staff, and I believe that as well. When he's on, he's about unhittable." Smithwick on Morris.