OXFORD — Ole Miss baseball was in a dangerous position repeatedly Saturday against rival Mississippi State. After suffering an 8-0 defeat in Friday’s opener, the Rebels were facing a potential eighth-straight series defeat against the Bulldogs.

On top of potentially failing to force a rubber match, Ole Miss was approaching a ninth-straight loss on the season.

The Rebels trailed by four in the eighth inning. They trailed in the 11^th. They trailed again in the 12^th, this time without coach Mike Bianco who had been ejected following a home run from MSU’s Johnny Long.

However, in the face of frequent adversity, Ole Miss found ways to rally and regain momentum.

Eventually, the Rebels capitalized to secure a 10-9 win. Thanks to a two-run walk-off single from Jackson Ross, Ole Miss (19-16, 4-10 SEC) has a chance Sunday (1:30 p.m., SEC Network+) for its first series win against MSU (22-13, 7-7) since 2015.

Liam Doyle cruises before Ole Miss defense struggles

Like teammate Riley Maddox on Friday, Ole Miss starter Liam Doyle was strong through the first four innings. Doyle’s lone blemish entering the fifth was a solo home run allowed to Connor Hujsak.

However, like Maddox, Doyle’s success stalled. Due in large part to poor defensive play by catcher Trenton Lyons, Ole Miss’ Saturday night starter didn’t make it through the fifth.

The frame started with Mississippi State third baseman Logan Kohler getting hit by a two-strike pitch. That was followed by Long working back from down two strikes to draw a walk.

Amani Larry looked to advance both hitters with a sacrifice bunt, but a throwing error from Lyons allowed the MSU second baseman to reach. A David Mershon single to score Kohler followed and was the lone hit in the frame.

However, a passed ball and wild pitch allowed MSU to score two more runs to cap a three-run frame in which Mississippi State flipped a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead.

Ole Miss ties game with late rallies

The four-run rally by Ole Miss in the eighth was fueled by the bottom half of the order, with Will Furniss, Ross and Campbell Smithwick getting a trio of hits to open the frame. A double from Brayden Randle brought the game within one before Ethan Groff’s two-out double tied the contest.

The big inning for the Rebels started against Cam Schuelke who had thrown a scoreless seventh inning. The double from Groff came against left-handed relief pitcher Tyler Davis.

Mississippi State scored two runs in the top half of the frame to stretch its lead, adding significance to the Rebels' ability to regain momentum.

Hunter Hines again gave Mississippi State a lead with a solo shot in the 11th. However, Ole Miss forced a 12th inning when Smithwick scored on an error by Larry.

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Jurrangelo Cijntje exits after three innings

MSU had to shake up its pitching plans earlier than expected. After three innings of work, starter Jurrangelo Cijntje was removed despite only throwing 54 pitches. Lemonis said postgame it was due to a, "tight back."

Cijntje, the Bulldogs’ ambidextrous sophomore, made his ninth start of the season. He allowed three runs on four hits and a walk. In the abbreviated outing, his ERA jumped from 3.45 to 3.80.

Against the Rebels last season as a freshman at Dudy Noble Field, Cijntje allowed one earned run in 5⅔ innings.

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson Ross helps Ole Miss baseball even series vs Mississippi State