Ole Miss Rebels Claim 'Kids Day' Midweek Win Over North Alabama Lions

The Ole Miss Rebels had little difficulty claiming a midweek win on Tuesday against the North Alabama Lions.

OXFORD - The Ole Miss Rebels took care of business on Tuesday, taking down the North Alabama Lions by a final score of 9-4 in the annual "Kids Day" game at Swayze Field.

The game, which had a rare start time of 11 a.m. CT, was rather nondescript at its beginning, but Ole Miss (22-18) broke through in the bottom of the third with five runs coming from a pair of RBI singles (Will Furniss, Jackson Ross) and a three-run home run by second baseman Luke Hill. UNA pushed across one run in the top of the fourth on a solo home run, but the Rebels responded with three more tallies in the bottom half, two of which came off the bat of Andrew Fischer on a two-run shot to right field.

The top of the fifth inning saw the Lions return to the scoreboard on a three-run home run to center field, but an RBI double from Ole Miss third baseman Judd Utermark in the bottom of the seventh proved to be the final run of the day in the Rebels' winning effort.

On the hill, Grayson Saunier (W, 4-3) got things started for Ole Miss with four innings of four-hit, one-run ball. He also walked a man and struck out three.

Behind Saunier, the Rebels turned to relievers Kyler Carmack, Sam Tookoian, Mason Morris, Wes Mendes and Connor Spencer, all of whom threw exactly one inning apiece. Carmack was tabbed with three runs in his outing, one that featured the three-run home run in the fifth inning.

North Alabama did outhit the Rebels 8-7 on the day, but Ole Miss returned to the win column in preparation for a big conference series this weekend against the Alabama Crimson Tide. That series will begin on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. CT at Swayze Field, and the game will be televised on ESPNU.