Catcher Kaden Amundson runs around the bases. He recorded one run and one hit during the game at Ole Miss.

After a promising start to a contest between an SEC giant, the Red Wolves sputtered out in a 7-6 loss to the Ole Miss Rebels. 

In a pattern similar to the three-game series against Stony Brook this weekend, A-State came onto the field Tuesday with the hot hand, but found its offense stalling in the middle of the game.

The only difference here is that it took the Red Wolves an inning to figure it out.

Being up first at bat in the first inning, A-State found itself in a hole after two strikeouts from Ole Miss pitcher Owen Kelly. After outfielder Ashton Quiller and infielder Lane Walton failed to get a hit at the plate, infielder Patrick Engskov, who ended the game with two hits and a run, bunted a pitch to make the first move on offense. 

Engskov decided to make a gutsy move while outfielder Jalen Foxx made his return to the mound following an injury Friday and stole two bases on his way to third. It would all be in vain, however, after Foxx gave up the third strikeout of the inning, stranding Engskov. Engskov and infielder Derek Martinez felt the brunt of the stagnant offense this game, ending up left on base a team high of three times.

Meanwhile, pitcher Collin Maloney made the most of his first start this season, pitching two strikeouts but also allowing a walk. Over in the outfield was a different story. A fielding error allowed Ole Miss to put the first run of the night on the scoreboard, but the infield picked up the slack to send the A-State batters back out on the field for the second inning with a groundout. 

The second inning shot a spark of life into the A-State offense early. While only being the cause of one run this inning, multiple errors from the Ole Miss defense allowed a few runners to get in position to score at the bases. 

To get the first run of the night for A-State this inning, outfielder Evan Griffis was able to make his way home for the first run of the night for A-State off his own single and stolen base, along with the help of a single from infielder Cougar Cooke and a flyout from designated hitter Aiden Houseworth.  

Quiller made up for his strikeout in the first inning by hitting a single that sent Walton to home plate, giving the outfielder his fourth RBI of the season. To cap off the three-run possession, catcher Kaden Amundson made his way home after a fielding error allowed him to run for the hills.

After the crucial mistakes this inning from the Rebels, they were able to put a stop to A-State’s offense with a flyout on Engskov, giving them the opportunity to strike back.

While Ole Miss was unable to send a counter-attack the next inning, they made it known for the following two defensive possessions that those mistakes were not going to come as easily anymore. A-State found itself in a position where batters could not make plays against the opposing pitchers. When they did, they found their balls were hitting Rebel defenders before they could get to base. 

Unlike in the Stony Brook series this past weekend, the A-State defense couldn’t do enough to keep the team afloat while the offense went dry. After his success in the first two innings, the offense had Maloney figured out and squeezed two ERs out of him in the third inning, but not before he could end the inning with two consecutive strikeouts.

After a shutout fourth inning for both teams, the game was tied at 3-3. In an attempt to grab the lead for the remainder of the game, A-State had itself another three-run inning. Ole Miss slipped up once again with a few defensive errors and allowed batters to get good positioning on bases. 

However, the two scoring spurts off of errors in the second and fifth innings were not enough to win the game for the Red Wolves. Their offense completely fell off for the remainder of the game, going scoreless after the fifth period. It seemed as though the team would not have succeeded at all if not for the mistakes on defense from Ole Miss.

Even after changing up pitchers multiple times following the third inning, the adjustments were not enough to throw off the Ole Miss offense. The Rebels slowly chipped away at the three-run deficit following scores in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings until they retook the final lead of the game. 

A promising 3-0 start after hosting Stony Brook has been soured by an offensive standstill against the Rebels. The Red Wolves hope to bounce back in another three-game series this weekend against Eastern Illinois on home turf. 

Categories: Sports