OXFORD, Miss. –
Cooper Chaplain enjoyed a special homecoming Tuesday afternoon at Ole Miss. The Trojans second baseman, and Jackson, Miss., native led the charge as Little Rock upset No. 11 Ole Miss at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field. Chaplain was 3-for-5 with 3 RBI in the 7-3 win. His RBI single in the 8
th inning broke a 3-3 tie and his 2-RBI single in the ninth inning padded the advantage putting the game out of reach.
"My dad went to [Mississippi State], so I grew up not looking at these guys," said Chaplain, who also threw out an Ole Miss runner trying to score. "It makes it 100 percent sweeter to beat them. It was good getting out here with the guys. We had some momentum going after sweeping Morehead State, and it felt great just to keep that momentum going."
The Trojans (16-19) have won six straight games, including four in Ohio Valley Conference play. They have overcome a slow start as they dealt with a rash of injuries.
"It is definitely a game you look back at and say, 'This is where we got going,'" Little Rock head coach
Chris Curry said. "We went on the road and got a big sweep of Morehead State, which is tough to do. We got a big win against Conway last Tuesday. I remember when we dropped six in a row, and now we are plus six. We aren't going to get too high, and we didn't get too low. We have had a lot of injuries, but now we are getting guys back one by one. And the guys that have had more at-bats with the injured players being out are improving so this version of the 2025 Trojans is coming together."
The last time Little Rock beat a ranked team was an 11-4 win over No. 5 Arkansas in April of 2023. The victory snaps a 10-game losing streak to the Rebels. Little Rock won at Ole Miss 9-6 in 2010.
"This is a great win for the program," Curry said. "I've got a lot of respect for Ole Miss, and they are an [NCAA Regional-type team], and if you want to get to a Regional and achieve that goal, that is the kind of team you will have to beat."
Little Rock trailed 1-0 in the third when
Ryan Geck came up big. With one out,
Jayce Blalock was hit by a pitch and
Reed Willbanks walked.
Alex Seguine singled and Geck, the burly junior college transfer from California, smoked a line-drive double off the wall to score all three runs and give the Trojans a 3-1 lead.
Ole Miss (27-10) got a run back in the fourth and tied the game with a single run in the seventh.
In the eighth inning, Little Rock took the lead for good.
Sammy Harris was hit by a pitch and Geck singled. After
Ty Rhoades popped out in foul ground, Chaplain singled scoring Harris.
Cade Martin struck out for the second out, but
Angel Cano drove Geck home with a bloop single to right field giving the Trojans a 5-3 advantage.
In the ninth, Chaplain struck again. With two runners on, Ole Miss elected to intentionally walk Geck. After getting Rhoades to strike out, Chaplain punched a ground ball through the right side again scoring two and giving the Trojans more insurance than they needed.
"We made a statement," Chaplain said. "Coach said this morning that no one expects us to win except the guys in the dugout. That is very true. I feel like the performance we put on today kind of solidifies that we are a team that can compete. The beginning of the season does not define us."
Blake Van Cleve picked up the win pitching 3.1 innings of relief. He gave up one hit, one run and an earned run while striking out 5 and walking 2.
Starter
Zach Busick went three innings and scattered four hits with an earned run with two walks and three strikeouts.
The Rebels are No. 8 in the nation in home runs but didn't hit one Tuesday. Their lone extra-base hit was a triple by Isaac Humphrey. Luke Hill had three of Ole Miss's seven hits.
Ole Miss used six pitchers. Alex Caney took the loss giving up three hits and two earned runs.
Little Rock gets back to OVC play at 6 p.m., Thursday night at Gary Hogan Field as they play Western Illinois. The series continues at 4 p.m., Friday and concludes Saturday at 1 p.m.
