OXFORD, Miss. (Interstat) — Hunter Elliott and Tristan Bissetta combined to silence one of the nation’s hottest lineups Thursday afternoon as Mississippi opened a pivotal Southeastern Conference series with a 5-0 victory over third-ranked Kentucky at Swayze Field.

Elliott, the Rebels’ ace, delivered a dominant start, scattering four hits over 6 1/3 scoreless innings while striking out six. His performance set the tone against a Wildcats offense that entered the contest averaging over eight runs per game during an 11-game winning streak. Elliott’s effort marked a stark turnaround from his previous outing, a no-decision against Texas where he allowed four earned runs.

The most important sequence of the game came in the first inning and effectively decided the contest. After Kentucky’s leadoff hitter J. Tharnish singled and advanced to third on an error, Elliott stranded him. Mississippi then immediately capitalized in the bottom half. Leadoff man H. Federico singled, and Bissetta followed by launching a two-run homer to left field off Kentucky starter Ben Cleaver, providing all the offense the Rebels would ultimately need.

Bissetta added a solo shot to left-center in the fifth inning, his third and fourth RBIs of the afternoon, to extend the lead to 3-0. Cleaver took the loss for Kentucky, allowing two earned runs on two hits over 3 2/3 innings. The Wildcats’ bullpen of Ryan Mullan, Oliver Boone and Leighton Harris each surrendered one run.

Mississippi added insurance in the sixth when Brayden Randle tripled down the right-field line to score Austin Fawley, who had doubled. Will Furniss closed the scoring with a solo homer to left in the eighth inning off Harris.

Kentucky, which had not been shut out all season, managed just four singles and never advanced a runner past second base. The Wildcats put two runners on with one out in the seventh, but reliever Taylor Rabe entered for Elliott and struck out R. Schwartz looking before getting O. Jenkins to ground out. Rabe was flawless in relief, striking out five over the final 2 2/3 innings to secure the shutout.

The victory improved Mississippi to 18-5 overall and marked a strong start to conference play. Kentucky fell to 18-3. The result defied pregame projections from Interstat, whose simulator had forecast an 8-7 Wildcats win and gave Kentucky a 54% probability of victory.

The teams continue the three-game series Friday afternoon at Swayze Field.