Ole Miss drops opener to Mississippi State, 5-2

Things didn’t go the Rebels’ way for game one in Starkville on Friday night as Ole Miss fell 5-2 to Mississippi State.

Ole Miss (25-9, 8-5) held a brief lead partway through the game when a T.J. McCants solo home run put the Rebs up 2-1, but State answered with a solo shot of its own and three runs late to earn the game one victory.

Derek Diamond threw in relief of Gunnar Hoglund who had another gem of a game but was credited with the loss. Diamond got roughed up in the bottom of the eighth, giving up two insurance runs to the Bulldogs to stretch its lead to three. His role in the pen is yet to be set, so it’ll be interesting to see where he fits in moving forward.

It’s one game, and it was an emotional one for State. Dudy Noble stadium was rocking with fans (as it always is when Ole Miss is in town), so the Rebels will have to overcome that in order to backend this series. We’ll see where it goes, but tomorrow is Doug Day, and it will be his turn to cook on the mound.

Regardless, the bullpen has to get outs when the ball is handed to them (#analysis), and State is a scrappy team, so they’ll have their work cut out for them for sure.

First pitch tomorrow between the Rebels and Bulldogs is set for 2pm on SEC Network+.