Ole Miss Rebels Drop Game 2 on Saturday, Lose Series to No. 15 Kentucky Wildcats

The Ole Miss Rebels baseball team lost its second straight SEC series on Saturday following a crushing loss to the No. 15 Kentucky Wildcats.

Ole Miss third baseman Ethan Lege (9) reacts after scoring against Vanderbilt on a sacrifice fly hit / Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA

OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss Rebels were beaten 17-9 by the No. 15 Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday afternoon at Swayze Field and have now lost their second straight SEC series after losing to the Cats on Friday night.

The Rebels got on the board in the bottom of the first to try and get a lead for sophomore LHP Liam Doyle, but Kentucky quickly tied the game in the top of the second, and then scored four more runs a frame later to go up 6-2 over Ole Miss. Entering the bottom of the fourth, the Rebels were down 7-2 but managed to cut Kentucky’s lead down to one run thanks to the bottom of Ole Miss’ order and leadoff man Luke Hill.

The comeback buzz was short-lived, however, as Kentucky opened things up again in the top of the fifth with a two-run bomb. As mentioned above, Doyle started on the mound for Ole Miss on Saturday but had arguably his worst outing all season versus the Wildcats. In his eighth appearance of 2024, Doyle allowed four hits, six earned runs, and four walks in 2.2 innings of work.

Doyle was relieved by a combination of five Ole Miss relievers: Mason Morris (1.2 IP), Brayden Jones (1.0 IP), Wes Mendes (1.2 IP), Sam Tookoian (1.0 IP), and Ryne Rodriguez (1.0 IP). Combined, the Rebels’ bullpen gave up 11 runs and six walks.

Ole Miss scored two more runs in the eighth and ninth innings, but by then the Wildcats had already done enough damage. Senior outfielder Ethan Groff led Ole Miss at the plate on Saturday with two hits, an RBI, and a home run in four at-bats.

The Rebels will now host the Wildcats at 1:30 p.m. CT on Sunday at Swayze Field for game three of their weekend series to try and avoid getting swept by Kentucky.