OXFORD, Miss. — Down five runs in the top of the seventh, the Memphis Tigers got the opportunity they wanted with slugger Hunter Goodman in the batter’s box and the bases loaded.

The Ole Miss Rebels mainly had fed Goodman off-speed pitches all game. But after reliever Max Cioffi got ahead with an off-speed offering that Goodman was on, but fouled straight back, he went after the Tigers’ No. 3-hole hitter with a 91-mph fastball.

Tigers’ Hunter Goodman gets national and AAC recognition after huge week

Goodman hit a high bouncer to the third baseman that became an easy double play to end the inning.

This also ended the Tigers’ best chance at a comeback as the No. 8 Rebels (11-1) extended their winning streak to 11 games with an 8-1 victory Tuesday night at Swayze Field.

Goodman, however, did drive in the Tigers’ lone run with flare single to right field in the third inning. It was his 30th RBI this season and he was coming off a ridiculous 22-RBI weekend against Western Illinois that also included four home runs, three of them grand slams.

He entered Tuesday’s game tied for second in home runs nationally with seven, and also second in runs batted in.

“They made a really good pitch on that double play,” said Memphis coach Daron Schoenrock, who saw his team’s seven-game winning streak stopped. “They bored it in on him and it had just enough velocity to beat him a little bit.”

The Memphis pitching staff, which had allowed just 37 walks in the first 11 games as the Tigers got off to an 8-3 start, handed out 11 free passes, hit a batter, and tossed five wild pitches — four from starter Walker Brockhouse, who was charged with four earned runs in four innings and took the loss.

Schoenrock had four freshmen in the starting lineup. They went a combined 3-for-14 and second baseman Max Hildreth had two of the hits, including a ninth-inning double for the Tigers’ lone extra-base hit.

Coming off a weekend in which the offense ravaged Western Illinois for 55 runs in three games, the competition represented several steps up in class, and playing in a large SEC stadium added to the emotions.

“There were definitely a lot of guys that had nerves,” Hildreth said. “We’re playing a lot of young guys, including myself. We got caught up in the moment and just didn’t play our best.”

Said Schoenrock: “I saw it in some at-bats, in guys that went to the mound. I wish we weren’t so close to them. If we were in Texas somewhere, and these kids didn’t grow up around Ole Miss, maybe the moment wouldn’t gobble them up so much.

“We had a lot of puppies that were kind of starry-eyed tonight. Hopefully, they grow up in the process.

“But you gotta credit Ole Miss, too,” he said. “They pitched us tough, pitched us more like what (we are) gonna see in conference. They can open up counts with breaking balls, they can cross-count you. It’s different territory for these guys to experience.

“We just didn’t pitch enough to create a vibe, `We’re gonna stay in this thing.’ ”

While the seventh inning was the Tigers’ most obvious shot to narrow the gap, they left 10 runners on base Tuesday night.

“We had opportunities with runners in scoring position,” said Hildreth. “We just couldn’t capitalize.”

The Tigers next play a three-game series at the University of North Carolina Wilmington this weekend. It will be a homecoming for Hildreth, who played at Wilmington’s New Hanover High.

“It’s exciting,” he said. “My family doesn’t get a whole lot of opportunities to come see me play. It’ll be cool. I’ll have 28 people on the pass list.”

 Notable

• Of the six Memphis pitchers who worked in the game, Joshua Scheer was the one to shine; he entered a bases-loaded jam in the fifth after one run had already scored and struck out all three batters he faced.
• Ole Miss outfielder Hayden Leatherwood (Christian Brothers) went 1-for-3 with an RBI-single and a walk.
• Tigers freshman and leadoff man Jaylen Wilbon (St. Benedict) walked three times and stole his team-leading sixth bag of the season.
• Ole Miss starter Jackson Kimbrell gave up one earned run in three innings and earned the win.

The road ahead … literally

After playing 10 of their first 11 games within the friendly FedExPark confines, the Tigers on Tuesday began a stretch of nine straight road games and 12 of their next 13.

The Tigers won’t play at home again until they face Lipscomb on March 17.