FAYETTEVILLE - Ole Miss just complicated things a little more in the SEC West.
The Rebels beat No. 18 Arkansas 2-1 Thursday night at Baum Stadium. That result, coupled with losses by Auburn and Mississippi State, leaves the two teams in a four-way tie for second place behind Alabama in the division.
Ole Miss (30-23, 13-15 SEC) scored two runs off Razorbacks starter DJ Baxendale in the top of the seventh inning to take the lead after Arkansas had got on the board a half-inning earlier.
The Rebels had three straight singles with one out in the inning, the last of which was an RBI by Matt Smith to tie the game 1-1. Matt Tracy followed with a sacrifice fly to give Ole Miss the lead for good.
“You almost felt like the game would turn on one hit,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “They got a big hit and we didn’t. That was the difference in the game.”
Arkansas (34-18, 13-15) threatened in the bottom half of the inning, loading the bases with only one out. Ole Miss reliever Jake Morgan worked out of the jam, however, getting Razorbacks shortstop Tim Carver to hit into an inning-ending double play.
Morgan worked 2 2/3 innings out of the bullpen, allowing just one hit and one walk.
“He’s terrific,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. “One of the reasons he’s so good, we call him the closer, but he’s the guy at the end. He can come in and finish the game in the seventh, which really makes him special.
“He’s a guy that you’re not losing a guy n the end at the ninth, you’re losing a guy that can really finish the game for you.”
The Razorbacks had taken a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning on a Collin Kuhn solo home run. It was one of just six hits on the night for Arkansas, which stranded six base-runners.
“They pitched well and kept us off-balance all night,” Kuhn said. “We just really couldn’t put anything together. We had a big inning in the seventh and they got us to hit into a double play.
“It was a big momentum swing for us if we get the hit. It was just a big play and it happened to go their way, and we weren’t able to come back from it.”
Baxendale picked up the loss despite pitching 8 1/3 innings and striking out a career-high eight batters. The sophomore right-hander didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning and walked only one.
Ole Miss starter Matt Crouse earned the win by allowing just five hits in 6 1/3 innings on the mound.
“They pitched well and we pitched well,” Van Horn said. “It was a pretty good defensive game, but they got one more big hit than we did.”
The two teams will meet again Friday at 6 p.m. Sophomore left-hander Randall Fant will take the mound for the Razorbacks, while Ole Miss will counter with junior right-hander David Goforth.
Arkansas needs two wins this weekend to assure itself of a spot in the eight-team SEC Tournament next week.
“I’m just worried about winning our game tomorrow,” Van Horn said. “We just need to play our game; I’m not concerned about anybody else. If we don’t win tomorrow, we’ll get ready for regionals.”
You can follow Matt Jones on Twitter @NWAMatt.
I feel bad for Baxendale. Kid threw one heck of a game. Aside from him and Kuhn, the rest of the team just laid there and took it.