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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Errors and miscues proved to be the undoing of Ole Miss on Saturday as the Rebels lost 6-4 to Tennessee at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Alex Yarbrough hit his second home run of the weekend, going 2 for 3 with two runs scored and an RBI to pace a Rebel squad that notched nine hits, but committed four errors in the loss.
Ole Miss (17-7, 2-3 SEC) and Tennessee (18-5, 2-3 SEC) will decide the series today in a game that starts at 1 p.m.
David Goforth (0-4) took the loss for the Rebels as he allowed four runs on six hits with three walks and four strikeouts in six innings.
"It was a tough game," said Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco. "We struggled early and made it really hard on David Goforth. We made him work hard and he had to keep working out of jams against a very good Tennessee club. They are a tough team to strike out and they put the ball in play. We didn't execute like we needed to today."
Nick Williams (1-1) won in relief, working two innings with five strikeouts.
Ole Miss got on the board in the first inning when Tanner Mathis scored from third on a wild pitch to Matt Tracy. Mathis reached on an infield single, took second on a sac bunt and reached third on a foul fly .
Tennessee took the lead in the third inning, pushing two runs across with aggressive base running. Chris Pierce opened with a single before stealing second. He took third on a wild pitch and then scored on a single up the middle from Khayyan Norfork. Norfork then moved to second on a walk of Andrew Toles before scoring on a single through the right side from Matt Duffy.
The Rebels tied things in the fifth when Taylor Hightower scored from third on a sac fly to center from Mathis. Hightower opened the inning with a triple to right center. A double play ended the Rebel rally with the game tied at 2.
Tennessee broke open the game, tied at 3, with three runs in the seventh. The Vols had three singles, including a two-run hit by Josh Liles, and stole three bases during the inning.
Ole Miss had the go-ahead run at the plate in the ninth but Williams - who'd walked two Rebels - got three strikeouts, the last one looking.
• Game summary, Page 2B