Rebels Secure Series Win Over Auburn With Game-Deciding Run in 9th Inning

Saturday night's game was not as high-scoring as the series opener, but the end result was the same. The Ole Miss Rebels captured a series win over the Auburn Tigers with a 5-4 win in Game 2 thanks to a deciding single run in the ninth inning.
This marks Ole Miss' (25-21, 9-14 SEC) first series win since April 12-14 when it took down the Mississippi State Bulldogs at home, and it is its first road conference series win of the season.
Auburn struck first in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run double, but Ole Miss responded with an unearned run on a fielder's choice in the second inning followed by a flyout from Jackson Ross in the third to tie the score at two. The Tigers would regain the lead in the bottom of the fourth with a pair of runs on a sacrifice fly and an infield single, but the Rebels answered in the top of the next inning on a two-run home run by Andrew Fischer, once again knotting the score.
From the fifth inning on, the game remained tied at four until Auburn seemed to unravel on the hill in the ninth inning with a flurry of free passes.
A trio of walks loaded the bases for the Rebels in the top of the ninth, and Fischer brought home another run via a sac fly to give Ole Miss the 5-4 lead. Wes Mendes was called upon for a third inning of duty on the hill in the bottom half, keeping the Tigers off the board to secure the win.
Liam Doyle got things started on the hill for Ole Miss with 3.2 innings of two-hit, four-run ball with two of those runs being earned. He was relieved by Josh Mallitz who threw 2.1 innings before giving way to Mendes who closed things out. Mendes' efforts also earned him the winning decision on Saturday night.
The Rebels will look to complete the road series sweep on Sunday, and first pitch at Plainsman Park is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on SEC Network.

John Macon Gillespie has a journalism background spanning 10 years and earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from the University of Mississippi in 2020 and 2022, respectively. His experience in the field includes work on the Ole Miss beat for nine years and high school sports coverage in the state of Mississippi for the Calhoun County Journal. He is currently a columnist for Ole Miss On SI and a high school journalism teacher in North Mississippi.
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