Observations (3/19): Kentucky blanked 5-0 by Ole Miss
Kentucky's 13-game winning streak ended on Thursday night in Oxford.
No. 15 Kentucky suffered its first SEC loss and had its 13-game winning streak snapped by Ole Miss in a 5-0 shutout on Thursday night. The Wildcats moved to 18-3 overall and 3-1 in SEC play.
Below are some takeaways from the game.
Hunter Elliott and Taylor Rabe shut down Kentucky
The Rebels sent ace left-hander Hunter Elliott to the mound in the opener. He was facing a Kentucky lineup that came into town rolling following a sweep over Alabama to open SEC play. Elliott gave up four runs in five innings of work against Texas in his first SEC start.
This set the stage for his home SEC debut and center fielder Jayce Tharnish tagged him for a single to lead off the game. Elliott got two outs before a botched pick-off attempt sent Tharnish to third. However, he did not score as Elliott got a flyout to end the frame.
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First baseman Hudson Brown got a single to start the second, but the next three batters were retired in order to end the frame. The lefty tossed a three-up, three-down third inning and got two quick outs in the fourth before Brown got another single, but was stranded again.
Elliott kept it rolling with an out to start the fifth before walking left fielder Will Marcy. However, he picked off Marcy for the second out of the frame. Catcher Owen Jenkins kept the inning alive with a single, but was stranded to end the frame. The lefty retired the side in the sixth inning.
The Rebels ace was back on the hill in the seventh and walked Brown to start the inning, but got two quick outs before hitting Marcy. This led to Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco pulling his starter to end a tremendous outing. Sophomore right-hander Taylor Rabe came on and got a groundout to escape the jam.
Rabe was back on for the eighth and struck out Tharnish before hitting shortstop Luke Lawrence. However, the rally fell short yet again as second basemen Ethan Hindle and DH Tyler Bell struck out looking to end the frame.
Brown led off the ninth with a walk, but did not score as pinch hitters Carson Hansen and Braxton Van Cleave, along with Marcy, got out in order to end the game. Rabe did not allow a hit in his 2.2 innings of relief and struck out five.
The offense finished 4-30 (.133) overall, 0-8 with runners in scoring position and 0-16 with runners on. Kentucky also left eight runners on in the loss and struck out 11 times.
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Ben Cleaver gives more length
Things have been going well on the hill for Kentucky in 2026, especially during the winning streak. However, it's been a struggle in recent weeks for junior lefty Ben Cleaver. His worst start of the season came last weekend against Alabama as he did not make it out of the first inning.
He got the nod in this unique Thursday night game and things escalated quickly as he gave up a single and home run to the white-hot Tristan Bissetta. The lefty settled in and retired the next three batters in order and struck out two. The leadoff man got on in the second due to an error, but Cleaver buckled down and got out of the inning without allowing a run.
The third played out like several innings have for Cleaver during this stretch as he gave up a leadoff single, got an out, then walked two batters to load the bases. Cleaver struck out the next batter before getting a ground ball to get out of the inning.
Cleaver was back on in the fourth to face the bottom three hitters in the lineup, and he took care of the first two before giving up a single. With the top of the order up for the third time, UK coach Nick Mingione came out to get his starter. The lefty finished with the following line: 3.2 innings pitched, four hits, two runs, two walks and four strikeouts.
Bullpen keeps Kentucky around
Cleaver departed in the fourth with Kentucky facing a 2-0 deficit and junior righty Ryan Mullan came on and got out of the inning. Bissetta tagged Mullan for a solo shot to make it 3-0, but he retired the next three in order to end the fifth.
Redshirt sophomore righty Oliver Boone was next in the sixth and he got two quick outs before former Wildcat Austin Fawley doubled and Brayden Randle tripled for a run to make it 4-0 Rebels. The righty got in more trouble in the seventh as he walked the leadoff man, who then moved to second on a passed ball and took third on a fly ball. Jenkins helped Boone out with a back-pick to the runner on third for the second out. Boone struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Sophomore lefty Leighton Harris came on in the eighth and was greeted with a leadoff solo shot by Will Furniss. Harris walked the next batter before settling in and getting out of the inning with the lone run allowed. The bullpen trio finished 4.1 innings of work in which they each surrendered a run.
Kentucky will try to even the series in game two on Friday at 6:30 pm.
