Weekend Recap: How Did Ole Miss Perform at the Shiners Children's College Showdown?

The Ole Miss Rebels opened up their season in Arlington, Texas, against three top 25 teams, so how did they perform?

Ole Miss infielder Luke Hill (7) fields, steps on second for an out, and throws to first for a double play in the 2nd inning at Swayze Field in Oxford, Miss., on Friday, Apr. 12, 2024. | Bruce Newman/Special to the Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Ole Miss Rebels' baseball season is officially underway, and they have concluded their first weekend stretch of the year as they took on three preseason top 25 squads in the Shriners Children's College Showdown in Arlington, Texas.

The Rebels opened their season on Friday as they took on the No. 21 Arizona Wildcats. This game saw the return of Ole Miss stud left hander Hunter Elliott. After being sidelined for the majority of 2023 and the entirety of 2024, Elliott had a strong comeback performance, going 5.0 innings, allowing no runs, and serving up three strikeouts. The only downside of Elliott's game was the free passes as he allowed three walks and hit one batter.

Since Elliott and the ensuing relievers were brilliant in only allowing one run, Ole Miss took its first win of the year as Luke Hill drove in a run to open the scoring on a sac fly, and Louisville transfer Isaac Humphrey launched his first home run, giving Ole Miss a 2-0 advantage at the time, ultimately leading to a 2-1 victory.

Friday was an exciting victory for the Rebels, but on Saturday, the cattle came roaring through as they took on the No. 19 Texas Longhorns in their first loss of the year in blowout fashion.

This matchup ended with Texas taking a 10-0 win in just seven innings as the run rule was put into effect. Ole Miss only recorded two hits on the day, one coming from Ryan Moerman and the other coming from Judd Utermark.

The Rebels bounced back in the closing game of the weekend, however. Ole Miss finished the weekend facing off against the No. 15 Clemson Tigers, who opened their weekend with two top 25 wins before heading into Sunday's matchup.

Ole Miss opened the scoring quick as Moerman launched a three-run jack with no outs in the first. The Rebels stayed on the pedal in the second as Hayden Federico and Luke Hill drove in a pair, extending the lead to 5-0.

This was just the beginning of Hill's phenomenal game as he proceeded to finish the day with two home runs, generating an offensive spark for the Rebels.

Hill was not alone as the Rebs kept riding the long ball, finishing the game with four total home runs including shots from Moerman, Hill and Utermark who launched a 450-foot bomb into the final row of the second deck, as Ole Miss reversed the roles onto Clemson, run-ruling them in seven innings. The Rebels' 15-5 win made them finish the weekend 2-1 against top 25 opponents.

Ole Miss will open its home schedule on Tuesday at 4 p.m. CT as it takes on Arkansas State in the first of a 13-game homestand at Swayze Field. The game will be televised on SEC Network+.