Razorback rally falls short in rubber match with Rebels, 11-10

Diamond Hogs drop contested game two to Ole Miss, 5-4

Quarterback battle to continue into August

Arkansas Finding Solutions in Secondary

Early-inning runs raise Hogs over Rebels, 6-4

Spring Practice Headquarters

BOX SCORE: MISS 11, ARK 10

Arkansas (19-9, 5-4) refused to quit Saturday, scoring 8 runs in the seventh and eighth innings, but fell one run short, losing the rubber match and the series to the Rebels in Oxford, 11-10.

The Razorbacks struggled on the mound and in the field most of the day, going through five pitchers and committing two errors in the loss. Arkansas hit 4 home runs as a team, getting two bombs and 6 RBIs from Eric Cole and Grant Koch alone, but couldn't hold the Rebel offense in check. Kacey Murphy got the loss, giving up 4 runs on 5 hits in 4 1/3 innings on the mound.

Ole Miss starter James McArthur went six innings strong, surrendering 3 runs on 4 hits and striking out two batters. The Rebels got 7 combined RBIs from Kessinger, Olenek and Keenan and hit .313 as a team. With the win, Ole Miss takes sole possession of first place in the SEC West.

Here's how the Hogs lost their second straight SEC series:

Heston Kjerstad recorded Arkansas' first hit of the game, opening up the second inning with a double down the right field line. After he advanced to third on a foul out and Dominic Fletcher walked, Kjerstad was caught in a pickle between third and home, but Ole Miss' catcher failed to get the out, loading the bases with one out. Grant Koch's sacrifice fly to left scored Kjerstad, putting Arkansas up 1-0. A Carson Shaddy strikeout ended the top of the inning.

In the bottom of the fourth, Carson Shaddy committed his second error of the series on an infield fly, allowing Kessinger to reach first. Ryan Olenek continued to make the Hogs pay with a double, advancing Kessinger to third. Nick Fortes' sacrifice fly to center brought Kessinger home and tied the game 1-1.

Cole Zabowski led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo homer to push the Rebels out to a 2-1 lead. After two straight singles, Jackson Rutledge entered to relieve Murphy and immediately surrendered two runs on an error by Jax Biggers and a sac fly from Olenek. Following a walk, Thomas Dillard hit an RBI single to give Ole Miss a 5-1 advantage. Jacob Kostyshock then took the mound and forced a line out to end the inning.

The Rebels added 3 runs on 2 hits in the bottom of the sixth to extend their lead to 8-2. They loaded the bases with no outs and scored three times on a walk, a sac fly and an RBI groundout.

Arkansas' seventh-inning rally started with a solo home run by Dominic Fletcher. Jordan McFarland then took first on an HBP and was brought home when Koch launched a two-run bomb down the left field line to make it 8-5. Kjerstad came through with a two-out RBI single to left center to pull the Hogs back within 8-6.

Ole Miss answered immediately with a three-run homer that barely cleared the wall from Tyler Keenan to give the Rebels an 11-6 lead in the bottom of the seventh.

The Razorbacks refused to quit, scoring 4 more runs in the top of the eighth on 3 hits. Biggers' RBI double down the right field line made it 11- 7 Rebels and put runners at second and third. The very next at bat, Cole lifted a three-run bomb to bring Arkansas back within one run, 11-10. Ole Miss retired the Hogs' next two batters, ending the damage in the top of the eighth.

Luke Bonfield hit a leadoff double to start the top of the ninth, but Arkansas' next three batters were retired, cutting the rally one run short, 11-10.

Untimely errors have haunted the Hogs most of the season and did again today. With two errors in today's game, Arkansas now has committed 31 errors on the year and have given up 33 unearned runs in 28 games.

After failing to hit a home run last night, breaking a 12-game streak, the Razorbacks started a new streak with four bombs today, each from a different player.

Including today's loss, six of Arkansas' nine defeats have been by two runs or less with five of them being by only one run. The Hogs are 6-5 in games decided by two runs or less.

WIN: James McArthur (Ole Miss): 6.0 IP (81 pitches), 4 H, 2 K's, 1 BB, 3 ER

SAVE: Parker Caracci (Ole Miss): 1 2/3 IP (23 pitches), 1 H, 1 K, 0 BB, 0 ER

Arkansas heads home for most of April, starting with a two-game midweek series against Louisiana-Monroe. The first game of the series will be Tuesday, April 3 at 6:30 pm (CDT). Both games can be seen on SEC Network+.