OXFORD | Ole Miss got solid pitching from Gunnar Dennis, Mitch Murrell, and Sam Tookoian to take game one of a three-game series 10-3 against Morehead State.
The three Rebels combined for 12 strikeouts, just one walk, and the Eagles got no runs after the third inning.
Ole Miss (10-5) has won four in row and eight of its last nine. Game two between Ole Miss and Morehead State is at 4 p.m. Saturday.
The Rebels were 10-for-18 with runners on and 5-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
After Rebel starter Dennis had a three up, three down top of the first, the Rebels scored twice in the bottom of the frame. After a two-out Jackson Ross single, Ethan Lege homered down the left field line for a 2-0 Ole Miss lead after one complete.
In the top of the second inning, the Eagles (7-6) got two runs to tie things up. But a big Ole Miss bottom of the second gave the Rebels a 6-2 lead. With one out, Will Furniss walked, followed by a Campbell Smithwick double to score Furniss. After a Brayden Randle base hit, a single by Ethan Groff scored Smithwick. Then after a double steal by Randle and Groff, an Andrew Fischer single scored them both. It was 6-2 Ole Miss through two.
Morehead State got a run in the top of the third, and Ole Miss matched it in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, Luke Hill singled through the left side, followed by a Furniss double to right field to score Hill. Ole Miss led 7-3 after three.
After a scoreless fourth for the Eagles, a two-out double by Treyson Hughes got two runs home after Fischer walked and Lege singled. The Rebels’ lead was 9-3.
Dennis pitched five innings, and in the fifth got the Eagles three up, three down, just as he had in the first inning. That would be it for the left-handed junior, who allowed just one earned run on five hits with five strikeouts, a walk, and a hit batter. Senior right-hander Mitch Murrell took over to start the sixth. Prior to that, the Rebels got nothing in the bottom of the fifth.
Murrell was efficient in two innings, facing six Eagles, none of them reaching, with three striking out. In the Rebel sixth, a one-out double by Fischer was followed by a two-out single from Lege for a 10-3 UM lead. Murrell threw 22 of 29 pitches for strikes.
Sophomore right-hander Sam Tookoian took over for Murrell to begin the eighth. Tookoian got to the Eagles quickly with a fly out, a groundout, and a strikeout.
Smithwick walked to start the Rebel eighth. After pinch hitters John Kramer struck out and Seth Farni flew out, pinch hitter Trenton Lyons singled, and there were runners at the corners. But Ross flew out to first in foul territory to end the frame.
Tookoian went back out to try to finish the game in the ninth. And he did just that. The Eagles were not able to get any runs as Tookoian struck out one, then hit a batter, but struck out two more to end it.
Dennis (3-0) got the win, and Morehead State starter Luke Helton (3-1) sustained his first loss of the season.
The Rebels out-hit the Eagles 13-5 in the contest and were led by Lege’s 3-for-5 night, including the home run he hit in the way back in the first inning. He also had three RBI and two runs scored.
