Ole Miss Baseball took two out of three from No. 21 Florida on the road. They won game one 6-4 on Thursday, April 2, dropped game two 2-0 on Friday, April 3 and ended the series with a 5-2 comeback win on Saturday, April 4.
Rebel third baseman Judd Utermark hit a 2-run homer in the ninth in game three to tie it up and break a 20-inning scoring drought. Later in the inning, shortstop Brayden Randle hit a sacrifice fly to take the lead and clinch the series.
Game one
Ole Miss Baseball got the series started with a 6-4 win. Randle’s 2-run homer pushed the Rebels to victory after Taylor Rabe got the start and the bullpen held firm.
Utermark drew a walk and right fielder Tristan Bissetta singled to start off the day for the Rebels. Will Furniss, Collin Reuter and Dom Decker all struck out to end the top half of the inning.
Rabe went out for the Rebels and faced lead off hitter Kyle Jones. Jones ripped a single through the right side to get things started for the Gators. Jones stole second and an Ethan Surowiec single scored him to put the Gators up 1-0.
The Rebels had a chance to even things up in the second, but failed to cash in. The next inning for Rabe took just eleven pitches.
Bissetta and Furniss walked to begin the third and put runners on first and second with no outs for Reuter. Reuter ripped one down the left field line for a double to score a run and put Furniss on third.
Decker hit a hard grounder to score Furniss and advance Reuter. Left fielder Cannon Goldin singled to score another run and made it 3-1 Rebels.
Rabe got into trouble in the third. He gave up a single and a walk, then, with one away, the Gators stole two bags to get both runners in scoring position. Rabe fielded a chopper to get the runner out at home and ended the inning with a fly out to center.
Catcher Austin Fawley singled to begin the fourth inning. Center fielder Hayden Federico popped out and Utermark struck out. The Gators made a pitching change and Fawley moved to third on a wild pitch and a passed ball.
Bissetta took a walk to put runners on the corners. Furniss had the chance to put more runs on the board, but flew out to end the inning.
Rabe pitched a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts in the next frame.
Randle hit a 2-run homer to right field in the fifth. Randle’s second homer of the year gave the Rebels a 5-1 lead.
In the bottom half of the inning, Rabe gave up a single, then Surowiec hit a 2-run homer to make it 5-3 and end Rabe’s day.
Rabe pitched four and two-thirds innings, allowed seven hits, gave up three earned runs, walked one and struck out six. Hudson Calhoun relieved Rabe and ended the inning quickly with a foul out.
Utermark doubled to lead off the sixth and Furniss doubled to make it 6-3 Rebels.
Calhoun gave up a single in the next frame, but got the next three batters out. In the seventh, he got two outs then gave up a single to end his day.
Calhoun earned the win and did not give up a run. Landon Waters replaced Calhoun and worked a fly out to end the bottom of the seventh.
Federico led the eighth off with a single, but Utermark rolled into a double play to clear the bases. Bissetta and Furniss worked back-to-back walks to get a runner in scoring position, but a new Gator pitcher ended the inning with one pitch.
Walker Hooks replaced Waters and gave up a homer on a 2-2 pitch to make it 6-4. He gave up a four-pitch walk, then picked the runner off. After that, he settled in and worked a ground out and strikeout to end the inning.
Hooks pitched a 1-2-3 ninth with two strikeouts to end the game.
Game two
After a nearly two hour lighting delay, the Gators shut out the Rebels to even the series with a 2-0 win.
Hunter Elliott got the start for the Rebels. He threw 102 pitches in four innings, only gave up two runs, walked four and struck out nine.
Florida starter Aidan King threw seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts and four hits allowed.
Utermark ripped a single through the left to begin the game, but the Rebels had nothing to show for it.
Florida’s Cade Kurland drove in the game’s first run in the third with a single. Later in the inning, Elliott walked the bases loaded to make it 2-0.
Ole Miss left eight runners on base and struck out 11 times, three were looking. They were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and 0-for-17 with runners on base.
The Ole Miss pitching staff was excellent in game two. It was the first time they held their opponent to under three runs since March 19 against Kentucky.
Game three
The Rebels came out on top 5-2 in the rubber match to win the series. Cade Townsend got the start and only allowed one run in six innings.
Florida’s Jacob Kendall jumped all over a fastball to start the third inning with a triple. A wild pitch from Townsend in the following at-bat gave the Gators a 1-0 lead. After the run, Townsend worked a strikeout and a fly out to end the inning with no more harm.
Decker got the Rebels started with a single in the fourth, but two strikeouts and a ground out ended the inning. Townsend worked his way out of a jam in the bottom of the inning to keep the deficit at one.
Head coach Mike Bianco ended Townsend’s day before the seventh got started. Townsend finished with six innings pitched, one earned run and six strikeouts. He lowered his season ERA to 1.82. JP Robertson replaced Townsend.
Robertson gave up a single to begin the frame, then got the next two batters out before surrendering a walk. The Gators made it 2-0 off a single. Hooks took over for Robertson and shut the door to end the inning.
Bissetta worked a lead off walk in the ninth and Utermark hit a moon shot homer to tie the game.
Furniss singled, Owen Paino, who came into the game for Reuter in the fifth, walked, then Goldin was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Randle hit a sacrifice fly to score pinch runner Brett Moseley and give the Rebels a 3-2 lead. Goldin and Paino both moved up 90 feet. Federico singled to score two and made it a 5-2 ballgame.
After giving up a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth, Hooks settled in, got a line out and struck out the next two batters to end the game and clinch the series for Ole Miss.
What’s next?
The Rebels come back home to face Alcorn State on Tuesday, April 7 at 6:30. They will take on LSU this weekend in Oxford. SEC Network+ will broadcast the games.
