OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss Rebels were persistent on Friday night, and they rode that commitment to a 5-4 win over the No. 20 South Carolina Gamecocks to open SEC play at Swayze Field. The Rebels (14-5, 1-0 SEC) accumulated nine hits en route to the win, and they had to play the comeback role in the middle innings to come out on top.
South Carolina broke through first on Friday night with a two-run top of the second inning, but the Rebels would respond in the bottom half with a notch of their own on a run-scoring double play, a theme that would persist throughout the game in the back-and-forth affair.
In the fourth inning, the Gamecocks would score another run, but Will Furniss’ RBI groundout in the bottom half of the inning allowed Ole Miss to respond once more. The true game-changer, though, came in the bottom of the sixth inning, when Luke Hill doubled for Ole Miss, giving them their first lead of the game at 4-3.
Treyson Hughes grounded into a double play in the bottom of the seventh inning to add another run for the Rebels, who would hold the lead the rest of the game. Ole Miss starter Gunnar Dennis didn’t have the best outing on the hill, but he did make some crucial pitches in crucial circumstances to keep the Rebels in the contest. After five innings, he gave up five hits, three runs, two walks, and seven strikeouts before calling it a day.