Ole Miss led at the end of two of the 31 innings played in Lexington this weekend.
That was enough for the Rebels to take the series over Kentucky, punctuated with a 5-4 win in 12 innings on Saturday. Ole Miss isn’t flashy or polished or at its ceiling. It is, most importantly, 24-7 overall and 8-4 in the SEC with Tennessee heading to Oxford this coming weekend.
Kentucky is 18-11 and 5-7 in the SEC.
Luke Hill hit a two-run home run in the top of the 12th after Brayden Randle singled, and Alex Canney got the final three outs around some theatrics. Kentucky hit a solo home run off Landon Waters to start its 12th inning, bringing in Canney.
The Tampa transfer hit a batter with his first pitch, and home plate umpire Travis Eggert said a full count pitch missed right after that. Mike Bianco was ejected because of someone in the dugout objecting following the ball call.
UK sacrificed the runners into scoring position, and Canney got a line out and a 2-2 strikeout to end the game. He gave an emphatic thumbs down at Kentucky following the last out and then slammed his glove to the turf and celebrated with teammates.
Ole Miss allowed only two runs in regulation and only three runs over the course of the final two games of the weekend prior to the extra three frames. The pitching showed up to bail out the offense, which had been Ole Miss’ best path to winning games.
Connor Spencer returned from a week off due to shoulder tightness to throw 2.2 scoreless innings and retire all eight batters faced.
Overall, the Rebels used eight pitchers on Saturday. Mason Nichols gave up two in 3.2 innings as the starter. The bullpen threw 6.1 scoreless innings until Brayden Jones walked both batters he faced to start the 11th inning. After a bunt, Waters walked his first batter and got a fly out before a two-out single tied the game. Mitchell Sanford threw out the winning run at the plate.
Ole Miss had loaded the bases with no outs in the top half but only scored one run after a fielder’s choice, a ground out and a fly out.
The Rebels are No. 10 in RPI as of Saturday evening, and the eight wins through 12 SEC games is their best mark since 2021. Ole Miss is guaranteed a winning record at the halfway point which shifts the conversation to whether the Rebels can do enough the rest of the way to host for the first time in four seasons.
The offense didn’t do its typical damage at Kentucky but Campbell Smithwick and Hill hit essentially game-winning home runs. Spencer looked healthy and excellent on Saturday, and Canney has given up only two earned runs in 12 innings this season.
Jones is a wild card Ole Miss needs. He looked elite with his high-90s fastball in a save against Florida in that series opener but has allowed eight of the last nine batters he’s faced to reach base.
Situational offense needs to get better, as Ole Miss is very fly ball-oriented, but the Rebels walk a lot and have some measurables that make sense. Ole Miss had two outfield assists in the finale.
While it worked this weekend, starting pitching needs to extend, even just a little bit to save what is capable and flawed bullpen.
For now, though, all that is noise. The Rebels are tough, and they are winners. That’s the most important thing until it’s no longer true. Then, we’ll dissect further. Ole Miss took advantage of the series at hapless Missouri but also had to deal with Omaha-worthy Arkansas. Florida is floundering but talented, and Kentucky is a difficult assignment with its brand of baseball, especially on the road.
Only three innings truly mattered over the weekend. Ole Miss won two of them. Tennessee is next, but it’s less critical because of the Rebels’ perseverance in Kentucky.
