LIVE UPDATES: No. 1 Ole Miss Opens Series vs. No. 5 Tennessee

The Rebels and Volunteers square off in game one tonight in Oxford.

OXFORD, Miss. -- Ole Miss and Tennessee, both ranked No. 1 by separate polls, will square off this weekend at Swayze Field in Oxford. 

The Rebels enter with a somewhat-hobbled roster, still missing names like Kevin Graham and Calvin Harris from its batting order, but they did take two of three on the road last week at Auburn. Tennessee comes into town with a 20-1 overall record and a 3-0 mark in SEC play after sweeping South Carolina last weekend.

This weekend marks Ole Miss' SEC home opener, and it will be just the second time ever that Rebels and Volunteers have met as ranked opponents. In the most recent meeting in 2019 in Knoxville, Ole Miss was ranked No. 15, while Tennessee came in at No. 23.

The series pits the SEC's two highest scoring offenses against one another, with Tennessee pacing the league at 11.4 runs per game, second in the nation, and Ole Miss ranking second in the conference at 9.8 runs per, the nation's eighth-highest average.

The three games at Swayze Field will begin at 6:30, 7 and 1:30 p.m. CT. The first and final games of the series will be broadcast on SEC Network+, and game two will be on SEC Network. 

Pregame

Ole Miss released its planned uniform combinations for the weekend on Thursday night. The Rebels will don red jerseys on Friday night, pinstripes on Saturday and powder blue on Sunday against Tennessee.

SEC home opener #RebThreads

Friday: 🔴
Saturday: 𝙋𝙄𝙉𝙎
Sunday: 💧 pic.twitter.com/dKFgwLTa5D

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 25, 2022

The Rebels also released their starting lineup for Friday's game. TJ McCants makes his return to the lineup after tweaking his hamstring last weekend at Auburn.

Here's how the REBS will take the field tonight! #PackSwayze pic.twitter.com/y6lftg3jqw

— Coach Mike Bianco (@CoachMikeBianco) March 25, 2022

First Inning

John Gaddis strikes out the side to start things off at Swayze.

MID 1: Ole Miss 0, Tennessee 0

The Rebels are sat down in order in the bottom half.

END 1: Ole Miss 0, Tennessee 0

Second Inning

Tennessee strikes first on an RBI single after Gaddis walks the first two he faces. Tennessee 1, Ole Miss 0

Vols with a three-run triple followed by a two-run home run. Tennessee 6, Ole Miss 0 

Dylan DeLucia comes in and gets two outs to end the frame.

MID 2: Tennessee 6, Ole Miss 0 

The Rebels are retired in order in the bottom half. 

Third Inning

Dylan DeLucia works a quiet inning.

MID 3: Tennessee 6, Ole Miss 0 

The Rebels go down quietly in the third, and they have yet to record a hit.

END 3: Tennessee 6, Ole Miss 0

Fourth Inning

Dylan DeLucia surrenders a solo home run to RF. Tennessee 7, Ole Miss 0 

Nothing else for the Vols in the frame.

MID 4: Tennessee 7, Ole Miss 0 

Ole Miss still has yet to put a runner on base, and it goes scoreless in the fourth.

END 4: Tennessee 7, Ole Miss 0 

Fifth Inning

DeLucia surrenders a three-run home run to the Ole Miss bullpen. 

MID 5: Tennessee 10, Ole Miss 0 

A Justin Bench single ends a perfect game bid for the Vols, but the Rebels get nothing else in the frame.

END 5: Tennessee 10, Ole Miss 0 

Sixth Inning

Jared Dickey with another home run for Tennessee.

MID 6: Tennessee 11, Ole Miss 0 

Reagan Burford gets aboard via an E6 and advances to second, but nothing else for the Rebels in the sixth.

END 6: Tennessee 11, Ole Miss 0 

Seventh Inning

Tim Elko with a home run to put Ole Miss on the board. 

END 7: Tennessee 11, Ole Miss 1 

Eighth Inning

Calvin Harris gets a pinch hit opportunity in the bottom half of the eighth. Harris hasn't seen the field in recent days due to an abdominal injury. He stays in the game to catch. 

Ninth Inning

A solo shot is added by the Vols, and Ole Miss goes quietly in the bottom half.

FINAL: Tennessee 12, Ole Miss 1 

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