Now that they’re in the thick of the Southeastern Conference tournament race, the Ole Miss Rebels picked a bad time to run into the best team in the country and its ace.

Michael Roth allowed one run and one walk in eight innings, Peter Mooney and Robert Beary each had three hits and an RBI, and South Carolina defeated Ole Miss 6-1 in the series opener in Oxford on Friday night.

“Roth was able to mix a little bit,” South Carolina coach Ray Tanner said. “He stuck some fastballs when he needed to. His change-up was really good, he located, his stuff was really good and he got us deep into the game.”

Roth gave up six hits, including a double to Miles Hamblin in the third inning that led to the Rebels’ only run. Hamblin went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout by Austin Anderson.

That was all they got, though. Roth barely gave them a chance to breathe while picking up his 10th win of the season.