Burford, Alderman Spark Rebels To First Win In Conference Play Over Texas A&M

It took until the first day of April, but the Ole Miss Rebels now hold a win in SEC play after taking down the Texas A&M Aggies 14-7 in College Station on Saturday night.

The Rebels (16-10, 1-7 SEC) were outhit 13-10 in the win, but they were beneficiaries of 11 walks and three RBIs apiece from third baseman Reagan Burford and left fielder Kemp Alderman as well as two from shortstop Jacob Gonzalez.

BURF GOES YARD!

Reagan Burford launches one over the right field fence to tie this game up! pic.twitter.com/onE1XWhDBP
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 2, 2023

Mid 5 | They can't 𝙖𝙡𝙡 be 115 off the bat. @KempAlderman's bloop double makes it a five-run lead.

Ole Miss 10, TAMU 5 pic.twitter.com/1bfCXwYOFj
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 2, 2023

Burford's two-run homer came in the second inning to knot the game at two, but the contest was a back-and-forth affair until the fourth and fifth innings where the Rebels accounted for eight total runs to extend their lead.

On the mound, Ole Miss turned to Xavier Rivas in its revamped pitching rotation on Saturday, and although he surrendered five runs over 4.2 innings, he did enough to give his team its first win in conference action. Rivas was relieved in the fifth inning by Brayden Jones who was credited with the win in his 3.0 IP.

Following Jones' outing, Jordan Vera and Cole Ketchum combined to get the final outs in College Station.

With a conference win finally under its belt, Ole Miss will look to take its first series of SEC play on Sunday when it once again faces the Aggies. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.

You can follow John Macon on Twitter at @JMakeGillespie.

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