OXFORD — Luke Hancock stepped to the plate, looking to spark a rally.

Hancock led off the top of the ninth for Mississippi State after the Bulldogs had kept Ole Miss in check offensively for the past three innings. MSU trailed by just two runs and had a good shot to come back and win Thursday’s series opener at Swayze Field in Oxford.

But Hancock’s hot shot to the left side found the glove of Rebels shortstop Jacob Gonzalez on one hop. One out.

“When we squared the ball up, it seemed to go right at them,” Hancock said.

It was the theme of a frustrating night for the Bulldogs (22-17, 6-10 Southeastern Conference) in a 4-2 loss to the rival Rebels (22-15, 6-10). Mississippi State fell behind in the first inning and, despite several hard-hit balls, could never catch up.

“We had to fight back the entire night,” Hancock said.

The Bulldogs couldn’t do it against Ole Miss right-hander Dylan DeLucia, who tossed a complete game and allowed five hits. Both MSU runs came on solo homers — Brad Cumbest in the fifth and Kellum Clark in the seventh.

But DeLucia didn’t make things easy. He scattered three singles apart from the homers and didn’t walk or hit a batter. Ole Miss also played flawless defense behind him.

“No walks, no HBPs, no errors, so you’re having to earn everything,” Mississippi State coach Chris Lemonis said. “It just makes it tough. You’ve got to tip your hat to their guy.”

By contrast, MSU’s lone error — in the first inning — proved costly. RJ Yeager bobbled a chopper up the middle with two out, and Brandon Smith gave up a three-run home run to Kevin Graham as Ole Miss got on the board first.

“When we make a mistake, you’ve got to be able to make a pitch behind it,” Lemonis said. “Brandon pitched a great game, so I’m not saying that, but that’s the way baseball goes sometimes.”

Smith made only two mistakes all night — the pitch to Graham and a solo shot by catcher Hayden Dunhurst in the fifth. He finished with nine strikeouts in six innings, allowing just four hits.

The Richland native has been strong for three straight weeks, providing six one-run innings of relief against LSU and pitching five innings in a start against Auburn on April 14.

“He knows he had a pretty good outing tonight and the last couple nights,” Lemonis said. “He wants to win, is the biggest thing. He’s probably more frustrated we didn’t get a win, but I think his confidence is pretty high right now.”

Mississippi State’s bullpen also should be confident after getting several big outs Thursday. Cam Tullar and Jackson Fristoe helped MSU escape a two-on, one-out jam in the seventh; Fristoe worked around a baserunner in the eighth to keep the game close.

But the Bulldogs had nothing to show for two hard-hit balls in the ninth. Hancock’s smash to short was gloved by Gonzalez, and Hunter Hines’ line drive was snared by second baseman Peyton Chatagnier to end the ballgame.

Ole Miss beat Mississippi State in Oxford for the first time since 2015, but Hancock said the Bulldogs feel good about their chances of coming back to take the series.

“It’s not like the Egg Bowl or anything where you have to wait a full year,” he said. “We get to come back and play tomorrow, so that’s a good thing for us.”

But Mississippi State will have to be on its game from the start Friday, when Preston Johnson takes the mound against the Rebels’ Hunter Elliott. As Thursday’s game showed, one defensive miscue — coupled with a bad pitch — can cost the Bulldogs a win.

“Momentum’s huge in these series — from winning the first game to winning the first inning to whatever it might be,” Lemonis said. “It’ll be huge for us to come out and be ready to go earlier tomorrow.”

Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.