No. 9 Ole Miss was eliminated in the first round of the 2026 SEC Tournament by No. 16 Missouri on Tuesday, May 19. The Rebel bullpen struggled mightily all game. On the day, the staff issued seven walks and allowed 14 hits.
Ole Miss catcher Austin Fawley was the first player to use the new Automated Ball-Strike system. He unsuccessfully challenged a 2-2 pitch that was called a ball. Starter Wil Libbert walked the batter on the next pitch, then picked the runner off.
Second baseman Dom Decker hit a leadoff homer. Off the bat, it seemed like it would be a routine flyout, but it kept carrying and just snuck over the left field fence.
Libbert gave up two singles in the second and struck out the side. His off speed was working well. He generated nine swings and misses early.
Fawley hit an opposite field home run in the second to make it 2-0. Missouri tied the game with a two-run home run in the top of the third. Through three innings, the lefty allowed two runs on four hits.
Libbert walked two batters in the fourth, but escaped the jam with a soft groundout. JP Robertson replaced him in the fifth. Libbert pitched four innings, allowed two earned runs, gave up four hits, walked three and struck out three on 68 pitches.
Robertson got a first pitch out, then walked the next two batters. The Tigers took the lead on a bloop single, 3-2. Robertson issued another walk to load the bases.
Landon Waters came in to replace Robertson. He inherited a bases-loaded, one-out jam. The Tigers hit a grand slam to take a 7-2 lead.
Designated hitter Brayden Randle singled with one out in the fifth. Bissetta doubled to drive him in. Third baseman Judd Utermark reached on an infield single. The Missouri third baseman just barely got a piece of the ball to keep it from going into the outfield.
First baseman Will Furniss worked a full-count walk to load the bases. Center fielder Hayden Federico delivered a two-run single to make it 7-5. Shortstop Owen Paino smoked a ground-rule double to score Furniss. Federico would have scored to tie it, but since the ball bounced over the wall, he had to stop at third.
With Fawley up to bat, the umpire called ball three to make it 3-2, but the Missouri catcher successfully challenged the call to strike Fawley out and end the inning.
Missouri was excellent at using the ABS system. They challenged four calls in the first five innings and were successful each time.
The Tigers extended their lead with a solo home run in the sixth, 8-6. After walking a batter, Waters left the game and Landon Koenig came in to the game.
Decker doubled with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. With Bissetta up to bat, Missouri brought in a left handed reliever and he struck out Bissetta to end the inning.
Koenig worked around two hits in the seventh to keep the deficit at two. The Rebels had the heart of the order coming up.
Utermark walked to start the seventh. Furniss nearly tied the game with a homer, but the ball stayed in the yard. Federico followed that up with a game-tying two-run homer to right field. Paino got hit by a pitch to get a runner on base.
Missouri brought in a fresh arm. Fawley was the first to greet him and struck out with the aid of ABS. Pacella walked to move Paino into scoring position, but Randle flew out to end the inning.
The Rebels made the five-run comeback, but the bullpen just could not keep the game tied.
Missouri initiated a hit and run perfectly in the eighth. Furniss was unable to snag the ball at first and the runner got to third. Bissetta allowed the game-winning run after he misplayed the ball, resulting in an error and an extra 90 feet.
Walker Hooks came in to replace Koenig with one out and a runner on second. Koenig pitched two innings, allowed four hits, gave up one unearned run and struck out three.
A bloop single made it 10-8. Hooks kept the deficit at two with a strikeout and fly out. The top of the order was coming up for the Rebels, but they went down quietly, 1-2-3.
Owen Kelly pitched the ninth for Ole Miss and kept the Tigers off the board.
Paino was hit by another pitch with two outs. Fawley came to the plate representing the game-tying run and grounded out to end the game. The Rebels were eliminated from the SEC Tournament by last-seed Missouri.
What’s next?
Ole Miss will return to Oxford and wait for the NCAA baseball selection day on Monday, May 25 at 11 p.m. That will determine which regional they will take part in.
