HOOVER, Ala. — The Rebels were unable to string together hits, as No. 7 Ole Miss (40-16) left 12 men stranded on the way to a 6-3 loss to No. 21 Georgia (36-20) in the first-round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Wednesday.

Third-seeded Ole Miss will now face second-seeded Florida in an elimination game at 10 a.m. today at Regions Park.

Senior left-hander Brett Bukvich (9-2) will take the mound for the Rebels, while Florida will start freshman right-hander Anthony DeScalfani (5-3).

The Rebels belted out 10 hits, but were unable to put together a big inning while Georgia strung together a pair of hits and drew a walk before a grand slam from Matt Cerione pushed Georgia into the lead and out of reach of the Rebels. A grand slam also proved to be the difference in the first game between the two teams — a game the Rebels also lost 6-3.

Drew Pomeranz (6-4) suffered the loss for the Rebels as he allowed four runs on five hits with three walks and six strikeouts.

Justin Grimm (3-4) picked up the win for the Bulldogs, as he held the Rebels to two runs — one earned — on eight hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Dean Weaver picked up his 10th save of the season as he worked the final 1.2 innings and held the Rebels hitless while striking out two.

Kyle Henson — the reigning SEC Player of the Week — led the Rebel offense with a 3-for-5 night and an RBI.

“Sometimes you out-hit the other guy, but they get the big hit — and it was one of those games today,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “Georgia was able to put the big inning on the board today and that’s something we’ve been good at staying out of this season. We’ve also been good at putting together innings.

“It wasn’t just one inning today, but it was a combination of innings. We squandered too many opportunities against a very talented Georgia team, and a team I still believe is the most physically gifted team we’ve seen this year.”

Ole Miss got on the board in the fifth when Kevin Mort scored from third on a wild pitch. Mort singled before taking second on a single from Evan Button. Jordan Henry then laid down a sac bunt to move both runners into scoring

position for the wild pitch that put the Rebels up 1-0.

Georgia answered in the top of the sixth with a grand slam

from Matt Cerione that pushed the Bulldogs to a 4-1 lead.

Back-to-back singles opened the inning for Georgia before a

fielder’s choice on a bunt attempt got the first out of

the inning. A walk of Peter Verdin loaded the bases before

the Cerione hit.

The Rebels cut back into the lead in the bottom half of the

inning when David Phillips came up with a bases loaded sac

fly to score Matt Smith from third. The run cut the lead to

4-2 in favor of the Bulldogs after six complete.

Once again, Georgia answered as the Bulldogs took advantage

of Rebel miscues to spark a rally. Lead-off hitter Zach Cone

singled back to the mound and took second on a throwing

error to first. He then moved to third on a wild pitch.

Miles Starr was then hit by a pitch to put runners at the

corners before a double down the left field line from Verdin

drove in Cone and left two men in scoring position. Cerione

then came up with a sac fly to notch another run and move

the lead out to 6-2 in favor of the Bulldogs.

The Rebels came back with a two-out rally in the seventh as

Logan Power scored on a single to center from Kyle Henson.

Power walked before moving to third on a Smith single.

Ole Miss would hold the Bulldogs off the rest of the way,

but the Rebels couldn’t cut the lead any closer as Georgia

claimed the victory.