OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss got off to a fast start in the first two innings Friday and held off a Missouri State club that had plenty of chances throughout the contest to hand the Bears an 11-6 loss in the series opener at Swayze Field.
 
The Rebels (6-0) hit a grand slam in a five-run first and a two-run homer in the second to build a 7-1 lead, while MoState (3-2) competed all game with 20 baserunners reaching safely.
 
Missouri State scored in the top of the first when Carter Bergman was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and the Bears' senior catcher added a two-run homer in the third on the way to equaling his career high with three hits while driving in four runs.
 
Ole Miss used a two-out double to make it 9-3 in the fourth, and two-out singles by Bryce Cermenelli and Jax Ryan got the runs back in the fifth for a 9-5 tally.
 
The Rebels got a sac fly in the sixth, Bergman hit an RBI single in the eighth, and Ole Miss tacked on a solo home run in the eighth for the 11-6 final.
 
Missouri State got multiple runners on base in six of nine innings, including 13 total in 4.2 frames against Ole Miss starter Hunter Elliott, rated as one of the nation's top pitchers entering the season. The Bears drew nine walks and were hit by three pitches in addition to eight hits but stranded 13 runners against the 2022 national champions.
 
The Bears used six pitchers in the contest and struck out 13 Ole Miss batters, with the final four MoState hurlers yielding a combined two runs on two hits in the final 4.1 innings, highlighted by scoreless outings from Adyn Schell and Charlie Spoonhour. Schell retired all four batters he faced with three strikeouts.
 
Game two of the series is at 2 p.m. Saturday.