OXFORD, Miss. - No. 14 Ole Miss starter Nathan Baker held the
University of New Orleans without a hit for the first five innings as
the Rebels jumped out to a 5-0 lead, holding off a Privateer rally on
way to a 5-4 win on Tuesday night.
Baker (2-0) would not give up a hit until
Tyler Sanford broke through with a single to open the sixth inning for UNO (13-17), after striking out six of the first 15 Privateer batters he faced.
Three UNO runs would score on Baker, who gave up three in 5.2 innings of work. When the left-handed pitcher was lifted, the bullpen picked up where Baker left off for Ole Miss (23-8). Rory McKean held the Privateers without a hit for 2.1 innings before Jake Morgan picked up his third save of the season by closing out the ninth.
Jake Henderson (3-3) took the loss for UNO, who saw their four-game winning streak snapped. The right-handed UNO starter allowed five runs, three of which were earned over four innings of work.
Jay Morris was the lone batter for the Privateers with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI.
The Rebels got on the board five times during the first three innings of the game.
Ole Miss scored two times in the first, hitting three consecutive singles with two outs on the board to bring across the runs. The Rebels added an additional run in the second inning before taking advantage of three Privateer miscues in the field to score two more runs.
The Sanford single to break up the hitless string for UNO was the first of five hits in the sixth for the Privateers. After
Justin Edwards hit into a double play, the squad reached base with the next four batters, highlighted by a two-run double by
Rodarrick Jones, who later scored on a Morris double.
Morris would be involved in the scoring once more in the ninth, opening the frame with a single. The right fielder would score on a
Tyrone Wethers groundout, which was the second out of the inning.
An
Alan Harris single would put the tying run at first base.
Craig Schnell pinch ran for Harris, stealing second base before Morgan retired Sanford to end the game.
The two teams will continue their mid-week set on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
