Rebels Use Late-Night Rally, Top Hawaii in Extra-Inning Season Opener

The Ole Miss Rebels needed 13 innings in their season opener, but they took down the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors on Friday night/Saturday morning.

It began Friday night and ran well into Saturday morning, but the Ole Miss Rebels managed to begin the season with a win in their 2024 season opener, taking down the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 5-4 in 13 innings.

Ole Miss jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning and added another run in the third, but Hawaii would match that score with a three-spot of its own in the bottom of the fourth. The score remained knotted at 3-3 until the Rainbow Warriors broke through with a run in the bottom of the eighth.

Ole Miss Athletics

Ole Miss managed to tie the game once again in the top of the ninth, this time at four runs on a sacrifice fly from Ethan Groff, part of a three-RBI day for the Rebels centerfielder. The game then inched on through extra innings in a scoreless affair until Ole Miss finally pushed another run across in the top of the 13th inning on an RBI single from Ethan Lege.

That 5-4 advantage held through the bottom half as Connor Spencer came on for the save, and the Rebels held on for a win in a game that concluded after 3:30 a.m. CT.

Mason Nichols was credited with the win on the mound for Ole Miss, throwing 4.1 innings of five-strikeout ball. He was one of four relievers used after the start by JT Quinn, an outing that lasted 3.1 innings and saw three earned runs for Hawaii.

PREVIEW: Ole Miss Baseball Opens Season in Honolulu vs. Hawaii

Offensively, it was “The Night of the Ethans” as Ethan Lege (2) and Ethan Groff (3) tallied the only RBI for the Rebels. Groff was also responsible for the first home run of the season for Ole Miss, a solo shot that came in the second inning.

The Rebels and Rainbow Warriors will run it back for two games tomorrow in Honolulu with a doubleheader that is set to begin at 5:05 p.m. CT.