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Schedule Update: Ole Miss Baseball vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs in Game 3
Head coach Mike Bianco (5) huddles with his players during the Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State Governor's Cup baseball game at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss., Tuesday, April 25, 2023. TCL OleMissvMSU205 Hannah Mattix/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK

No. 24 Ole Miss will return to action on Saturday for a Southeastern Conference matchup against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville.

Hunter Elliott propelled the Rebels to a Game 1 win in the first game on Friday after firing 5.2 IP with seven strikeouts.

“I thought we punched them early, which is always super big on game one Friday night,” Elliott said. “I thought the offense was incredible.

"I really thought we won the momentum game. When they kind of had just a little bit of momentum we brought it to a halt and punched them right back.”

Fast forward to Game 2 and it was the Bulldogs that got off to a fast start in Starkville.

Now, the stage has been set for a critical rubber match on Saturday night with the series finale being moved up due to expected inclement weather in the area.

A look into the pitching matchup for Saturday night's Game 3, the broadcast information and recap from Friday's doubleheader.

The Preview: Ole Miss Rebels vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs

The Pitching Matchup: Game 3 Edition

Ole Miss: RHP Mason Nichols (3-1, 5.40 ERA)
Mississippi State: RHP Karson Ligon (4-5, 6.75 ERA)

Broadcast Information:

Sunday's game will be streamed live onSEC Network+ with Bart Gregory (PxP) and Charlie Winfield (analyst) on the call.

Fans can listen to all games, home and away, on theOle Miss Radio NetworkwithDavid Kellum(PxP) and Brad Henderson (analyst) on the call.

The Doubleheader Recap: Rebels Split Friday's Slate

No. 24 Ole Miss baseball split a doubleheader against Mississippi State Friday night, winning the first game 10-4 and losing the second game 4-1.

The series finale has been moved up from Sunday to Saturday and will now start at 7 p.m.

Starting pitching was good for the Rebels in both games as Hunter Elliott and Riley Maddox combined for 12 total innings and gave up just four runs while punching out 15 hitters.

Elliott worked 5.2 innings and gave up two earned runs on just three hits while striking out seven batters in game one.

He has now given up just five earned runs and struck out 20 hitters over his last three outings.

Maddox worked 6.1 innings and gave up just two earned runs on four hits while striking out a career-high eight batters. He has matched or set a new career-high in strikeouts in back-to-back outings against the Bulldogs.

Judd Utermark went 3-for-8 on the night with a three-RBI home run in the first game and a double in game two.

Mitchell Sanford went 2-for-6 with three walks and two runs scored, reaching base a combined five times.

Austin Fawley hit his 16th home run of the season in the first inning of game one to put the Rebels up 2-0. He has now hit 10 home runs in his last 16 games.

The Bulldogs tied things up with a solo home run in the first inning and an RBI triple in the fourth.

Ole Miss took the lead on a sacrifice bunt that turned into an error and then followed it up with three home runs. The first was a three-run shot right down the left field line by Utermark that made it 6-2.

Collin Reuter hit a solo shot later in the fifth inning and Ryan Moerman followed with a solo shot of his own in the sixth inning.

The Rebels would score two more runs in the eighth inning on an RBI groundout from Luke Cheng and an RBI single from Luke Hill to extend their lead to 10-2.

The Bulldogs put up two runs in the eighth inning, but a hitless 1.1 innings of work from Will McCausland silenced the threat and locked down the win.

The Rebels had seven hits in game two but could not string anything together until the ninth inning.

Mississippi State's Evan Siary worked eight innings and struck out 15 Rebels without issuing a walk. Ole Miss had just two runners reach second base through eight innings.

They were able to put together a rally in the ninth inning with Siary out of the game but scored just one run on a sacrifice fly as they dropped game two.

Game three of the series will be played Saturday at 7 p.m.

More Ole Miss News:

The 2025 NFL Draft Recap: Ole Miss Sees Multiple Rebels Selected

Ole Miss Lands Commitment From Sought-After Transfer Safety

Super Bowl Champion, Ole Miss Star Wide Receiver AJ Brown Earns Prestigious Honor

This article first appeared on Ole Miss Rebels on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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