A weekend sweep was exactly what Ole Miss baseball fans were hoping for and its exactly what it got over Eastern Kentucky.
But it was the way in which the Rebels (6-1) took care of business with just complete domination. It was facing a winless Atlantic Sun program, lets keep it in perspective, but the execution was there all weekend.
In total, Ole Miss outpaced EKU 26-7 over the weekend with an 8-0 win Friday, 9-4 win Saturday and 9-3 win on Sunday. This was the lowest weekend series run total given up by the Rebels since February 2023 against Delaware.
FRIDAY
Hunter Elliott (2-0) looks to be very back and absolutely in line for comeback player of the year for college baseball. Six innings of shutout work and a career high ten strikeouts capped off his performance against the Colonels. The lefthander started the season last Friday with five shutout innings in a 2-1 win over top 25 Arizona.
Will Furniss got his first hit of the season and then his first home run of the season as part of the 8-0 win. Campbell Smithwick notched three runs batted in going 2-for-4 while Luke Hill scored two runs and added two RBI.
SATURDAY
Riley Maddox (1-1) kept the shutout going in game two by logging five zeroes on the scoreboard as the Rebels built another lead en route to a 9-4 win.
The Colonels finally broke their drought in the sixth inning scoring three runs to tighten the game to 5-3, but Ole Miss responded with three runs of its own in the bottom half of the inning.
Luke Hill, Collin Reuter, and Ryan Moerman all hit solo home runs in the rout. It was the first home run of the year for Olive Branch native Reuter who transferred in this season from BYU.
Freshman Hayden Federico added two RBI after being added to the lineup this weekend. Head coach Mike Bianco clearly saw what fans did in the first games of the season, and Fed has gotten off to a ridiculously hot start with a .615 batting average in four games played.
SUNDAY
A series win is absolutely the goal every weekend, but let’s be real this is one of those weekends the Rebels need to sweep and move on to bigger and better things.
Mason Nichols (1-0) got the start on day three and provided four innings of work only allowing one run on three hits with five strikeouts. Five Ole Miss relievers took it from there and kept EKU in check in the 9-3 win.
Mitchell Sanford had a three RBI day going 2-of-3 from the plate. Smithwick slapped his first homer of the season, a two-run dinger in the second inning. The sophomore catcher had a much more solid weekend and looks to have shaken off a slow start to the season.
Next up for the Rebels is a visit from in-state Southern Miss on Tuesday at 5 p.m. The Golden Eagles have already toppled Mississippi State this season and will be full of piss and vinegar to claim some kind of rite as best baseball team in the state.