The Georgia baseball’s NCAA tournament hopes took a hit on Thursday night with the Bulldogs’ 2-0 loss to No. 11-ranked Ole Miss at Foley Field in Athens.

UGA (29-22, 12-16 SEC) got the pitching it needed, holding the Rebels in check with six pitchers scattering seven hits and allowing just 2 runs, both charged to reliever Michael Polk (2-1).

But the Rebels’ pitching was even better. Junior Doug Nikhazy (8-2) threw seven innings of shutout baseball, and senior Taylor Broadway came on in relief to pick up his 11th save of the season.

Georgia’s five hits came from five different players. It’s only the second time the Bulldogs have been shut out in SEC play this season, and the first time that has happened in a home game.

The Rebels, meanwhile, gathered seven hit, scoring on Justin Bench’s RBI single in the fourth inning and Kevin Graham’s RBI sacrifice fly in the sixth inning.

The Bulldogs RPI dropped to No. 45 with the loss — just two spots ahead of a Georgia Tech team that beat UGA for the second time in as many meetings on Tuesday night.

Georgia coach Scott Stricklin said earlier this week that if Georgia wins the series with the Rebels, he feels confident his program will be in the NCAA tournament field.

The Bulldogs play host to Ole Miss in Game Two of the series at 7 p.m. on Friday, with Game Three on Saturday at 2 p.m.