By Ole Miss Sports

Hunter Elliott tied his career high with 10 strikeouts on Friday afternoon as Ole Miss defeated Eastern Kentucky 8-0 at Oxford-University Stadium.

The Rebel left-hander pitched six innings of shutout baseball in the opening game of this three-game series. Elliott, who a week earlier had pitched five innings in a 2-1 Ole Miss win against Arizona in the season opener, allowed only three hits with no walks and picked off two runners at first.

Ole Miss got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third inning when Luke Hill singled home Mitchell Sanford, who had reached on a fielding error and advanced to second on the play.

In the fifth inning Rebel catcher Campbell Smithwick singled up the middle scoring Hill and Isaac Humphrey, both of whom had walked against EKU reliever Nathan Lawson, to make the score 3-0.

The Rebels scored two more runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 5-0 lead. A Hill single scored Brayden Randle and Sanford, both who had also reached on singles.

Mason Morris relieved Elliott and went the rest of the way. The right-hander pitched three innings with one hit and three strikeouts.

The Rebels added a run in the seventh with a leadoff home run by Will Furniss, his first homer of the season.

In the eighth, Ole Miss put two more runs on the scoreboard. Smithwick singled to score Hill who had reached on an error. Connor Chisolm scored from third on a wild pitch after getting on base with a walk.

Elliott (2-0) got the win, while EKU starter Ryker Walton (0-2), the first of five pitchers for the Colonels, got the loss. Ole Miss had nine hits to EKU’s four. The Rebels were errorless, while the Colonels had four miscues in the field.

Ole Miss (4-1) and Eastern Kentucky (0-5) meet Saturday at 1:30 p.m. for game two. The finale is set for Noon on Sunday.