Ole Miss Baseball Rallies Past No. 15 Kentucky 12-9, Wins SEC Series

After Kentucky turned a 5-2 deficit into an 8-5 advantage with a six-run fifth inning, Ole Miss answered with seven runs over the game's final three frames to beat No. 15 Kentucky 12-9 Saturday at Swayze Field, clinching the three-game SEC series in Oxford.

The comeback started with an unlikely hero. Daniel Pacella, batting .154 entering the afternoon, drove a grand slam in the fourth inning to give Ole Miss a 5-2 lead. Kentucky's Carson Hansen matched the blast immediately in the fifth, his grand slam the centerpiece of a six-run explosion that erased the Rebel advantage and put the Wildcats ahead 6-5. Center fielder Jayce Tharnish and shortstop Luke Lawrence each added RBI singles later in the same inning to stretch the Kentucky lead to 8-5, capping a stunning momentum shift at Swayze Field.

Ole Miss chipped back a run in the sixth before retaking the lead in the seventh. Kentucky reliever Connor Mattison gave up a leadoff home run, a single, and another home run in the bottom of the frame as the Rebels surged ahead 9-8. Kentucky had an immediate answer: sophomore Tyler Bell launched a solo home run on a full count to lead off the eighth and knot the game at 9-9.

The tie lasted exactly one half-inning. Ole Miss loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth and pushed across three runs, the decisive blow a two-run single from first baseman Will Furniss that clinched both the game and the series. The win moved the Rebels to 19-6 overall and 3-3 in Southeastern Conference play; Kentucky dropped to 19-4 on the year and 4-2 in the conference.

Walker Hooks was the critical piece on the mound, working 4.2 innings of one-run baseball out of the bullpen with five strikeouts. Kentucky starter Nate Harris lasted three innings and allowed five runs, four earned, on four hits. Reliever Jack Bennett steadied the Wildcat staff with three scoreless innings of one-hit work before Mattison absorbed the damage in the seventh. Burkely Bounds was charged with the loss, falling to 2-1.

Hudson Brown's two-run double in the top of the first had given Kentucky the early edge and set the tone for an afternoon of trading blows. Postgame commentary from the Ole Miss staff pointed to situational hitting and bullpen depth as the keys to a come-from-behind series win over a nationally ranked opponent at home.