Ole Miss Rebels Lose 8th Straight, Drop Series Opener to Mississippi State Bulldogs

The Ole Miss Rebels' skid continued on Friday night against the in-state rival Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Mississippi State infielder Connor Hujsak (7) steals third as Ole Miss infielder Andrew Fischer (3) attempts to apply the tag. / Bruce Newman/Special to the Clarion

OXFORD - The Ole Miss Rebels lost their eighth straight game on Friday night, falling to the No. 22 Mississippi State Bulldogs 8-0 at Swayze Field in the series opener.

Ole Miss (18-16, 3-10 SEC) starting pitcher Riley Maddox and Mississippi State's Khal Stephen were locked in a battle for the first half of the game, but the Bulldogs were eventually able to pull away beginning with a single run in the fifth inning.

That runner reached base thanks to a two-base throwing error from Ole Miss third baseman Andrew Fischer, and he later came home on a groundout. Mississippi State standout Dakota Jordan accounted for a two-run home run in the sixth, and the Bulldogs pushed across a total of seven runs in that frame as the Rebels' night unraveled quickly.

Maddox was relieved by two-sport athlete Austin Simmons on the mound in the sixth, and following Simmons on the hill was a combination of Mitch Murrell and Gunnar Dennis. The Bulldogs out-hit Ole Miss 8-3 on the night as Stephen worked through the eighth and kept the Rebel bats at bay.

With the loss, Ole Miss is behind the eight ball in this weekend series against its in-state rival, and it will look to even things up on Saturday night at Swayze Field. Liam Doyle is slated to take the hill for the Rebels, facing off against ambidextrous pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje for State.

First pitch is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised on ESPN2.