Western Kentucky players line up for the national anthem before Saturday's 8-6 loss to Ole Miss in an NCAA Oxford Regional game in Oxford, Mississippi. (SAVANNAH PHILPOT / WKU Athletics)

Western Kentucky’s baseball team was eliminated in the NCAA Oxford Regional after an 8-6 loss to No. 15 Ole Miss on Saturday afternoon at Swayze Field at Oxford-University Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi.

The historic Hilltopper season comes to a close with a 46-14 overall record – the second-most wins in a season in program history.

WKU finishes the regular season 4-2 in postseason play and 46-14 overall — the 46 wins mark the second-most in a season in the program’s 106-year history, one win shy of tying the 47-win 1980 team for the most wins in a season.

WKU falls to 4-6 all-time against Ole Miss. The Hilltoppers drop to 6-10 all-time in the NCAA Regionals.

“Obviously, it doesn’t end exactly the way that we wanted it to,” WKU coach Marc Rardin said in a news release. “I think we ended up with 23 or 24 hits in two games and to come out with two losses is unfortunate. You get to the postseason and you go to the Conference USA Tournament and it’s a little pigeonhole and then all of a sudden you get to a regional and it’s a little bit tighter for mistakes that you can’t have, the runs you give up and things of that nature.”

Ole Miss, the top seed in the region, struck first with two runs in the first inning. A solo homer and an RBI single gave the Rebels a 2-0 lead.

The No. 3 seed Hilltoppers answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame. An Ole Miss error and a Kyle Hayes RBI single tied the game at 2-2.

Ole Miss retook the lead with a solo home run in the second.

WKU’s Carlos Vasquez evened the score at 3-3 with an RBI double in the home half of the frame.

The Rebels went back in front, scoring twice in the fourth inning to take a 5-3 lead. A solo homer put their fourth run on the board before an RBI single tacked on another.

Ole Miss used solo homers in the fifth, sixth and seventh to extend its lead to 8-3.

Hayes homered to the opposite field in the eighth to cut the Hilltopper deficit to 8-4.

An RBI single from Hayes in the ninth started a rally, continuing with an Ole Miss error that allowed another run to come around to score with two outs. However, the Rebels were able to retrieve the final out to win the game 8-6, ending the WKU comeback attempt.

Jack Bennett started on the mound for the Hilltoppers. The right-hander allowed three runs on six hits while striking out one in an inning of work.

Dawson Hall, Lucas Hartman, Gavin Perry and Cal Higgins saw action out of the bullpen. Hall surrendered just one earned run in three frames while striking out one and Hartman struck out four in 1 2/3 innings of work. Higgins had the most productive outing, collecting five strikeouts in 2 2/3 frames without conceding a run on one hit.

The Tops scored six runs on 14 hits and three walks with four RBIs.

Hayes paced the offense, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs, a home run and one run scored.

Vasquez had the other RBI in a 2-for-4 day with a pair of doubles, a run scored and a walk.

Ryan Wideman had a trio of hits in a 3-for-5 performance with a run scored.

Ethan Lizama went 2-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Austin Haller had a double, going 1-for-5 with a run scored.