Ole Miss Suffers Late-Inning Loss to Auburn, Fails to Secure First SEC Sweep

Despite holding the lead numerous times, the Ole Miss Rebels were unable to pull out a win versus the Auburn Tigers on Sunday afternoon.

Ole Miss Andrew Fischer vs. Morehead State in Oxford, Miss.. on Sunday, March 10, 2024. Ole Miss won / Bruce Newman/Special to Clarion Ledger /

The Ole Miss Rebels were unable to complete their sweep of the Auburn Tigers on Sunday afternoon, as they lost 10-9 on the road in Auburn.

The Rebels (26-21, 10-14 SEC) locked up the series on Saturday night with a tight 5-4 win over Auburn, but were unable to take care of business the following day. Ole Miss has still not swept an SEC opponent this season.

Ole Miss designated hitter Andrew Fischer got the scoring started on Sunday afternoon with his third home run of the weekend in the top of the first inning. Fischer’s bomb scored two, and right fielder Treyson Hughes followed that up with his own three-run homer to give the Rebels a 5-0 lead before the bottom of the first.

Junior RHP Mason Nichols started on the mound for Ole Miss on Sunday afternoon, but his fourth career start only lasted 2.1 innings, as the Tigers managed to tack on four runs by the bottom of the third. Things got interesting in the bottom of the fourth when Auburn tied the game at 5-5 with an RBI double. The Tigers nearly took the lead an inning later after loading the bases with two outs, but the Rebels managed to get out of the jam.

Auburn broke the tie in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI double, but Ole Miss managed to knot things up at 6-6 thanks to a solo home run from left fielder Jackson Ross in the top of the eighth. The Tigers hit two solo home runs to break the tie once again in the bottom of the eighth, but hope was not lost for the Rebels.

Ole Miss loaded the bases for Fischer in the top of the ninth and he knocked in a bases-clearing double to put the Rebels up 9-8 with two outs. Despite the late heroics from Fischer, Auburn was able to rally in the bottom of the ninth thanks to an RBI single and wild pitch to avoid the sweep.

Nichols was relieved by a combination of five Rebel relievers: Mason Morris (2.1 IP), Brayden Jones (1.1 IP), Gunnar Dennis (0.0 IP), JT Quinn (2.2 IP), and Connor Spencer (0.0 IP). In total, the Ole Miss bullpen allowed six runs and three walks on Sunday.

Without a series sweep under their belt, the Rebels will now return to Oxford to host the Murray State Racers on Wednesday night. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised on SEC Network+.