The first midweek action of the season is always a welcome sight for those around the country, especially for those at Swayze Field, as discounted hot dogs and tickets turn into a fun night of baseball for those of all ages and walks of life in Oxford. Tuesday night was no different as the hometown Ole Miss Rebels welcomed a familiar foe in Arkansas State in one of the most underrated midweek matchups of the week. Both the Rebels and Arkansas State Red Wolves came into Tuesday night’s matchup with a perfect 3-0 record after sweeping through Opening Weekend against Nevada for Ole Miss and Stony Brook for Arkansas State. 

In years past, Ole Miss and Arkansas State would play two midweeks agaisnt either home with a home-and-home series, but this year’s Tuesday night matchup is the only matchup this season between the two. 

Starting pitchers for both Ole Miss and Arkansas State on Tuesday night are as follows: Owen Kelly for the Rebels and Collin Maloney for the Red Wolves. Kelly was the first to get the call to be replaced as he finished his night through three complete innings, giving up four hits, three runs, and only striking out three Arkansas State batters while managing to walk none. Ole Miss struggled on the mound early, going through three different pitchers through five innings. Tyler Weimer would come in to pitch for Arkansas State in the bottom half of the 4th inning after Maloney gave three whole innings, giving up two earned runs, four hits, four strikeouts, and two walks. 

Ole Miss jumped out to an early 1-0 lead off the bat of Will Furniss, who hit into a fielding error that scored Judd Utermark to make it 1-0 Ole Miss at the end of the first inning. Arkansas State would plate three runs in the second, taking a 3-1 lead over Ole Miss at the end of the second inning. From there, Ole Miss would add two runs in the bottom half of the third to tie the game at three. Arkansas State would add three runs in the top half of the 5th inning to take a 6-3 lead over the Rebels. Collin Reuter would bring the Rebels within two with a solo shot to left field to make it 6-4 at the end of the 5th inning. Ole Miss would add another run in the bottom of the 7th to cut the Arkansas State lead to 6-5 heading into the final two innings of play. Despite tying the game at six in the bottom of the 8th, the Rebels would leave the bases stranded as they would head to the 9th inning tied with Arkansas State. Lady Luck would side with the Rebels on Tuesday night as they cheated disaster and escaped with a walk-off in the bottom of the 9th to come out on top 7-6. 

Baseball has a funny way of humbling teams. Arkansas State had every chance to bury Ole Miss, but the Rebels found a way to win and improve to 4-0 on the season. Some will try to downplay the midweek wins, but any win is a good win, and every game is a learning expereince, pitching for either team was an issue tonight, but both took advantage with the bats delivering a fun night of baseball at Swayze Field. Ole Miss got the job done by scoring three unanswered runs to complete the comeback on Tuesday night. 

For the visitors from Jonesboro, Arkansas State will return home this weekend, welcoming Eastern Illinois to Tomlinson Stadium at Slayton Family Field for a three-game series. 

Ole Miss has another home midweek game on Wednesday night against Jackson State, before welcoming Missouri State to Swayze Field for a three-game weekend slate starting on Friday. 

Photo Credits- Ole Miss baseball on X