Kentucky baseball (18-10, 5-6 SEC) split a doubleheader against No. 9 Ole Miss (23-7, 7-4 SEC) by scores of 5-4 and 3-1.

Game one could not be decided in the ninth as the Rebels and Wildcats were tied 4-4 heading into the 10th. James McCoy was on the mound for his second inning of work and gave up a one-out single to Luke Cheng.

McCoy tried to pick off Cheng, but first baseman Hudson Brown couldn’t haul the throw in, which allowed Cheng to advance to second. A flyout moved him over to third, but McCoy got another flyout to end the frame.

Patrick Herrera was hit by a pitch to open the bottom half and was pinch ran for by Kyuss Gargett. A balk allowed Gargett to move into scoring position.

Gargett moved 90-feet from ending the game on a botched pickoff attempt by the Rebels.

Devin Burkes ended the game with a single to left for the Wildcats first walk-off win since Mitchell Daly’s home run in the Men’s College World Series.

“The first game was phenomenal, just the way our guys competed,” Head Coach Nick Mingione said. “Really happy for Devin to that big hit and the walk off.”

Nate Harris got a promotion from his midweek role to start game one and pitched two scoreless innings to kick off his outing.

His offense got going in the second inning when Tyler Bell doubled, Ethan Hindle was hit by a pitch and Burkes walked to load the bases. Shaun Montoya was plunked to open the scoring and give Kentucky a 1-0 lead.

After Harris tossed a three-up, three-down third, the offense reloaded the bases on two hit-by-pitches and a walk. Griffin Cameron singled up the middle to bring home two runs.’

“Proud of Nate,” Mingione said. “His first SEC start game and I thought he handled himself with great composure.”

Burkes brought home another run on a single that extended the Cats’ lead to 4-1.

Tommy Skelding came on in relief of Evan Byers and gave up two singles along with a stolen base to give Ole Miss two runners in scoring position.

Luke Hill singled to bring home two runs and cut the Wildcats lead in half to 4-2.

Kentucky’s offense went silent after the third inning as it only added two more hits in the next six innings.

This allowed Ole Miss to creep back in the ballgame and it drew one run closer on a home run in the seventh before tying the game in the eighth on a single leading to the ninth and extra innings.

Burkes finished the game 2-4 including the walk off hit with two RBIs, which was tied for the team lead with Cameron.

McCoy earned his first win of the season with his two-inning effort in the game one win.

Moving on to game two, runs were at a premium as both teams engaged in a pitchers’ duel.

Like game one, this game was decided in the late innings as a two-run pinch hit homer by Campbell Smithwick gave the Rebels the decisive 3-1 lead.

Nic McCay got the ball for Kentucky and worked around a walk and stolen base in the first.

The right-hander worked out of jam in the second as he gave up a single and walk but struck out Brayden Randle to end the frame.

Herrera led off the second with a single and advanced to second on an error with two outs. Herrera then swiped third before Burkes roped a single to left that gave Kentucky a 1-0 lead.

McCay pitched a three-up, three-down third prior to getting into trouble in the fourth after he gave up back-to-back one out singles.

Hayden Federico hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game 2-2.

Scott Rouse took over for McCay on the mound in the fifth and worked around two singles to keep the score knotted at 2-2.

“Love the way we pitched this last game,” Mingione said. “Threw the ball great, defended the field great, and we were one pitch away from this being a different ballgame.”

Over the next two innings, Rouse retired the Rebels six-up, six-down. The only issue is that the Bat Cats went quiet from the fourth through the rest of the game as Wildcats final 16 batters fell to end the game.

“I just tip my cap, that starter did a really good job, he threw the ball exceptionally well,” Mingione said.

Following the doubleheader split, Kentucky and Ole Miss will play in a series-deciding game three on Saturday, April 5, with first pitch set for 11 a.m. ET.