Ole Miss baseball's undefeated streak ends, offense goes cold in 1-0 12-inning loss to UCF
Through nine games, No. 2 Ole Miss baseball never scored fewer than eight runs and rarely played more than seven innings. On Saturday, the Rebels couldn't score one run in 12 innings.
The Rebels lost their first game of the season Saturday, falling 1-0 in 12 innings in Orlando against UCF. Ole Miss (9-1) wasted stellar pitching performances from John Gaddis and Mason Nichols because the often-dominant offense had no answers for UCF's pair of overpowering arms.
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UCF starter Connor Staine threw seven shutout innings, striking out 10 batters and only allowing two hits and one walk. Right-hander Chase Centala threw five innings of shutout relief behind him, allowing one hit and three walks with six strikeouts. Ole Miss never got a runner past second base.
The Rebels' best offensive opportunity came after catcher Hayden Dunhurst drew a leadoff walk in the 11th inning. Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco called on pinch hitter Ben Van Cleve to try to bunt Dunhurst to second base but the move backfired when Van Cleve bunted into a double play.
The lack of offensive output wasted a dazzling start from Gaddis, who threw seven shutout innings. Gaddis gave up four hits and had eight strikeouts with zero walks. Freshman Mason Nichols threw 2⅓ clean relief innings behind Gaddis, allowing only one hit and striking out three.
Freshman left-hander Hunter Elliott took the loss. After throwing 1⅔ clean relief innings, he walked the first two batters he faced in the 12th inning. Bianco replaced him with right-hander Mitch Murrell, who allowed a sacrifice bunt and a walkoff single.
Saturday was the first time Ole Miss baseball was shut out since May 16, 2019.
Ole Miss and UCF will play the deciding third game of this series on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Ole Miss baseball vs. UCF: Live score updates
What time, TV channel is Ole Miss baseball on?
First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT. The game will not be broadcast on television. It will be available to stream online via ESPN+. ESPN+ is not the same thing as WatchESPN and it requires a subscription to access.
Contact Nick Suss at 601-408-2674 or nsuss@gannett.com. Follow @nicksuss on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss baseball loses for first time 1-0 to UCF in 12 innings
