The Recap: Ole Miss Baseball Run-Ruled By No. 9 Vanderbilt Commodores in Game 3

The No. 23 Ole Miss Rebels were dealt a crushing 13-0 run-rule loss to close out the series against the No. 9 Vanderbilt Commodores on Sunday afternoon at Swayze Field.

Vanderbilt's first two hitters were retired quickly, but Rebels starter Mason Nichols allowed a hit into right field to ignite the Commodores offense.

From there, Vanderbilt loaded the bases for Mac Rose who roped a single passed a diving Judd Utermark to drive in the first two runs of the game as the Commodores took a 2-0 lead in the first.

After taking a full trip through the lineup without a hit yesterday, Rebels third baseman Luke Hill doubled off the wall in the first inning, however the Rebels could not convert on the one-out two bagger as the next two hitters were retired in order.

Vanderbilt continued their early offensive hot streak in the second as Jonathan Vastine sent a no doubt lead-off homer into the second row of the student section in right field to extend the Vanderbilt lead to three.

Nichols' day was cut shortly after, as he allowed a walk and a single to the following two batters before Mike Bianco had seen enough. He then turned to Walker Hooks out of the pen after just 1+ inning pitched.

Hooks was not kindly greeted as RJ Austin roped two-RBI single into left field to extend the Vanderbilt lead to five with no one down in the second.

Austin was quickly caught in a run down as the Rebels finally got the first out of the second inning.

Hooks settled in nicely in the second after the pick-off as he retired the next two to get the Rebels out of the inning.

The bottom half of the inning started with fire as after the a fly out from Ryan Moreman, tempers flared between Bianco and the home plate umpire.

Bianco came out of the dugout with flames surrounding him and was quickly ejected prior to coming back for more as he was fuming walking off the field.

The game simmered down for a bit but the Rebels' offense continued to struggle and Vandeerbilt found themselves another insurance run as Colin Barcazi smacked an RBI double to keep on adding, making it 6-0.

After the RBI double, Joel Mangrum, the Rebels pitching coach, stepped in for Bianco and turned to Mason Morris despite Morris tossing over 40 pitches on Friday.

Barcazi was quickly brought home by Jonathan Vastine who roped an RBI single through the 3-4 hole and was brought home after just 3 pitches to Mike Mancini to extend the lead to 8-0.

The Rebels finally found themselves back in the hit column for the first time since Hill's single in the first inning as Isaac Humphrey went the other way for a base knock to lead off the fifth.

However, the Rebels were then retired in order all via the strikeout as the offense continued to look measly through five innings.

Vanderbilt continued to add on and put themselves into the run-rule threshold in the sixth as they tacked on three runs behind a pair of singles and a sac fly making it 11-0.

From there, the Rebels once again could not get any offense going; sending it to the seventh with the run-rule just a few outs away.

Vanderbilt added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh as a single and a sacrifice fly made it 13-0 with just three outs to get.

Vanderbilt starter Connor Fennell finished his outing after going the full seven innings to complete a shut out and earn his fifth win of the season.

Rapid Reactions: Rebels Fall on Sunday, Still Claim 2-1 Series Win

It was a tough day all around for the Rebels with pitching struggles; specifically early on as Vanderbilt jumped out quick, punching Ole Miss in the throat.

The bats never responded after the quick start for Vanderbilt and continued to struggle throughout the game as they finished the day with just three hits and were dominated by Fennell all afternoon.

Fennell finished the outing going the full 7.0 innings pitched while recording multiple strikeouts and just one walk.

This loss gives the Rebels a 31-13 record on the year and moves them to 12-9 in SEC play, while Vanderbilt matches both records moving to 31-13 on the year and 12-9 in the conference play as well.

The Rebels will return to the diamond on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. CT before heading to Oklahoma for a three-game weekend series.

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