Ole Miss Baseball Falls in Series Opener to Alabama 7-4

OXFORD, Miss. — Coming off an SEC series win versus the Kentucky Wildcats last week, the Ole Miss Rebel baseball team got the weekend off to a slow start with a Friday night 7-4 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide at Swayze Field.

Freshman southpaw Hunter Elliott got the start on the mound for the Rebels on Friday night and had a middle-of-the-road outing. Elliott threw the first three innings, putting up four strikeouts but giving up three earned runs, three hits and one walk. Junior right-hand pitcher Dylan DeLucia replaced Elliott in the top of the fourth inning.

Starting first baseman Tim Elko got the Rebels on the board to start the night with two hits and two RBIs. The Rebel offense got off to a hot start on Friday, forcing 38 pitches before the second inning.

Tim Elko

Calvin Harris

The Crimson Tide then responded by adding on four unanswered runs, extending their lead to 5-2 by the top of the fifth inning.

DeLucia made it one inning before being replaced by sophomore right-hand pitcher Josh Mallitz at the beginning of the fifth inning. DeLucia gave up four hits, two runs and two walks in his Friday night outing. Mallitz allowed two more runs in the fifth inning, making it 7-2 Alabama.

While he did allow two of DeLucia’s inherited runners to score, Mallitz was one of the few bright spots for the Ole Miss pitching staff on Friday. Mallitz went for 4.1 innings, fanning seven strikeouts and allowing no earned runs.

Mallitz spoke after the game on what got him through his best start of the season.

"My slider," said Mallitz. "It felt really good tonight, threw a lot of strikes. My changeup was also working well against lefties, just tried to pound the zone."

Sophomore utility player Calvin Harris tried to get a comeback going in the bottom of the fifth with a base hit double but was thrown out sliding into third base one at-bat later.

Harris made his first start in right field on Friday night while the usual DH, sophomore Kemp Alderman, got the night off to rest.

Alabama finally made its first pitching change in the bottom of the sixth but the Ole Miss bats stayed quiet until the bottom of the ninth.

The Rebels may have lost on Friday, but senior outfielder Kevin Graham returned from his wrist injury on the night, a welcome sight for Rebel fans. Graham made a splash in the ninth inning with a two-run bomb over the right-field wall making it a 7-4 game, his fifth home run of the season.

"Wrist feels fine," said Graham. "Still have to be careful with certain stuff. Wrist feels 100 percent though, especially in the [batter’s] box."

Ole Miss has not lost a series to Alabama since 2016, so the Rebels will have two more chances to keep that streak alive. Ole Miss hosts Alabama Saturday at Swayze Field with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. CT.

Kevin Graham

Hunter Elliott

Josh Mallitz

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