OXFORD — The season and the the coaching career of Danny Hall both came to an end on Sunday evening as Georgia Tech lost a back-and-forth 11-9 game to Ole Miss in an elimination contest at the Oxford Regional.

Georgia Tech (41-19) loaded the bases in the final inning but the Rebels’ Connor Spencer was able to get a strikeout to end it and turn away the final comeback attempt of Hall’s bunch in a game that featured several ups and downs for both teams. The loss wraps up Hall’s 32-year run as the head coach of the Jackets as he announced earlier this spring that this season would be his last at the helm.

After the game, Hall said he was more focused on how he felt about this year’s team’s run being cut short rather than his own personal journey as a college head coach ending.

“(Right now it’s) more about the team,” said Hall in the postgame press conference. “My deal is what it is. But I feel for these guys. I know how hard they worked, I know how hard my staff works. A lot gets poured into a season. I just told ‘em how proud I am.”

For the third straight game at the Oxford Regional, Georgia Tech put up three runs in the first inning on Sunday as Kent Schmidt and Kyle Lodise went back-to-back with a two-run and solo homer, respectively, to stake the Jackets to a 3-0 lead before Ole Miss came to bat for the first time.

Ole Miss (42-20) answered right back in the bottom of the first, however, much the same as Murray State did on Saturday night, as the Rebels scored five runs on six hits in the frame to take a 5-3 lead. Luke Hill started the scoring for the host team with an RBI single followed a few batters later by a three-run homer from Isaac Humphrey. Hayden Federico added an RBI single to end the short outing for Tech starter Jaylen Paden, who was only able to record one out in his start before being lifted for reliever Carson Ballard.

After Georgia Tech left the bases loaded without scoring in the top of the second, Ole Miss added another run in the bottom half on a sac fly from Humphrey to make it 6-3.

The Jackets got one run back in the top of the third on an RBI double by Carson Kerce to drive in Vahn Lackey and make it 6-4 after Lackey reached on an error earlier in the inning.

Georgia Tech evened the game at 6-6 on back-to-back solo homers by Drew Burress and Schmidt to start the fourth. It was Schmidt’s second of the afternoon. Then Caleb Daniel came through with a two-run double down the right field line later in the inning to push the Jackets back ahead at 8-6.

Ole Miss rallied for two runs to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth at 8-8 thanks to a solo homer by Judd Utermark followed several batters later by a bases-loaded walk drawn by Mitchell Sanford.

The game wasn’t tied for long as Tech took back a 9-8 lead thanks to a two-out, RBI single from Daniel in the sixth. But Ole Miss answered again in the bottom half with an RBI single with two outs by Federico to tie the game at 9-9.

Georgia Tech had a quality offensive chance in the top of the seventh with runners at first and second and one out, but Ole Miss pitcher Will McCausland came in to get back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat with no damage. The Rebels made them pay in the following half inning with a two-out, RBI single by Will Furniss to push his team back ahead 10-9.

Ole Miss added one more run to its lead with a solo homer by Campbell Smithwick in the eighth to make it 11-9.

In all, eight different players recorded at least one hit for the Rebels with five of those having multiple knocks. Humphrey finished with four RBIs while seven others drove in one run apiece. Sanford, Hill, Furness, Smithwich and Federico each finished with two or more hits.

McCausland (3-1) earned the win for Ole Miss with his two innings of scoreless relief work as he allowed just one hit and struck out three. Spencer got his eighth save by pitching the final 2/3 of the ninth, not allowing a run or a hit and striking out one. Those two followed four other Rebels’ pitchers.

Mason Patel (11-2) took the loss for Tech as he allowed two runs on four hits with one strikeout in 1 1/3 innings of relief work as he was on the mound for the second day in a row for the first time this season.

Jaylen Paden started for Tech and only lasted 1/3 of an inning as he allowed five runs on six hits with one walk. Carson Ballard, Riley Stanford and Connor Chicoli also pitched for the Jackets with only Chicoli not allowing a run.

Eight different players for Tech recorded at least one hit as well led by Schmidt’s two-homer, three RBI game. Daniel had two hits and three RBIs, and Burress and Lackey had two hits apiece as well.

Burress had some high praise for his retiring head coach after the season-ending loss.

“(Hall’s) a legend. He’s gonna be one of the names that in 20, 40, 100 years in college baseball people are still gonna be talking about Danny Hall,” said Burress. “It’s been a blessing to be able to be coached by him. It just sucks we couldn’t finish it off better for him.

“It sucks. (Hall) deserves more and he deserves for us to send him out on a much better note than losing in a regional. And that’s on us.”

Hall spoke again when asked about what he thinks should happen with the new coaching hire to replace him as he said he has given Tech his opinion on who it should be and he thinks his players would agree with that. But looking broader at the future after his career, Hall said his hope is for Georgia Tech to still give the next head coach the chance to be successful with the proper support.

“Tech has supported me and supported baseball for a long time. I hope that continues,” said Hall. “That would be my hope, that the baseball team still gets supported at a high level so that they can compete nationally. I fully expect that to happen.”

Ole Miss advances to take on Murray State later Sunday night and must beat the Racers twice to advance to the Super Regional.

Georgia Tech’s Super Regional drought has now reached 19 seasons. Burress said while the loss to end the season hurts right now, he believes the Jackets will be back and in a good position to be even better next year with the young core the team has coming back.

“I have no doubt that we’re going to be if not one of, the best team in the country in from Week 1 all the way out,” said Burress. “I mean we have the talent. The lineup we’ve been putting out the last few weeks, we have all but one player returning. I don’t think there’s going to be anywhere else anyone would rather be than Georgia Tech next year.”