No. 25 Ole Miss swept No. 24 LSU for the first time since 2022 with an 8-7 win on Sunday, April 12. They took game one on Friday, April 10, then secured the series on Saturday, April 11.
The Rebels’ pitching was dominant for most of the series and the offense found its stride. With the sweep, Ole Miss improved to 8-7 in conference play and 26-11 overall.
Game one
Ole Miss took the opener against LSU 6-3. A 3-run eighth propelled the Rebels to the win after Hunter Elliott’s strong outing at Swayze Field.
LSU struck first in the first inning with a 2-run home run from Josh Brown, but Ole Miss responded quickly with an RBI single from first baseman Will Furniss and a passed ball that tied the game at 2–2.
The Rebels grabbed the lead in the second inning on a moon shot home run from designated hitter Owen Paino.
After the first, Elliott settled in. He pitched six innings, allowed two runs on eight hits, struck out eight and walked one. He limited LSU’s ability to build sustained offense.
Reliever Landon Waters came in to pitch in the seventh and gave up two walks before getting pulled. Head coach Mike Bianco brought in Walker Hooks to end the threat, but third baseman Judd Utermark committed an error that loaded the bases and led to a game-tying sacrifice fly.
Right fielder Tristan Bissetta singled to open the eighth. Utermark reached on a fielder’s choice and Bissetta advanced to second after the second baseman did not step on the bag. Furniss got an infield single to load the bases.
Center fielder Hayden Federico should have had a double with his go-ahead hit, but Utermark stopped at third, which forced Federico into a rundown for an out. Ole Miss took the lead on the hit, but they could have scored another run and had no outs.
Center fielder Brett Moseley, who came in as a defensive replacement in the seventh, picked his team up and laid down a perfect bunt to score a run and reach first. Furniss advanced to third on the play.
Shortstop Brayden Randle hit a shallow sacrifice fly to score Furniss and make it 6-3.
The Rebels finished with nine hits on the night, matching LSU’s total; however, the Rebels made better use of scoring opportunities. Ole Miss went 4-for-7 with runners in scoring position compared to LSU’s 2-for-11.
Hooks pitched three innings, gave up one hit, struck out three and earned the win.
Game two
Ole Miss won handedly with a 12-2 win in game two against LSU. The Rebels scored seven runs in the sixth, with three runs coming off Paino’s bases-clearing double.
The Tigers got on the board in the first with two outs. Starter Cade Townsend walked a batter, then allowed back-to-back hits to make it 1-0 LSU. The visitors extended their lead with a sacrifice fly in the second.
After a slow start to the game, the Ole Miss bats woke up in the fourth. Two straight walks put runners on first and third. Utermark scored from second on a passed ball, but it was ruled a dead ball. With runners at the corners, Federico hit a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to one.
Randle got Ole Miss’ first hit of the day and tied the game with a single to score Furniss. Catcher Austin Fawley put the Rebels up for good with a 2-run homer to make it 4-2.
Ole Miss tacked on another run with a single from Federico in the fifth. The Rebels broke things open in the sixth. Paino scored on a wild pitch, then Utermark hit an RBI single to make it 7-2. Furniss drove in two with a single and Paino put the run-rule in effect with a 3-run double.
The Rebels went 5-of-13 with runners in scoring position. LSU starter William Schmidt was dealing early on. He struck out seven Rebels in the first three innings, but Ole Miss knocked him out of the game in the fourth.
On the mound, Townsend pitched six innings, gave up two earned runs, allowed six hits, walked one and struck out eight. Hudson Calhoun was the only reliever the Rebels used. He pitched in the seventh to end the game early thanks to the run-rule.
On the other hand, LSU used six relievers and only one of them recorded three outs.
Game three
The Rebels swept the Tigers with an 8-7 win on Sunday. Ole Miss was up by seven and starter Taylor Rabe had a no-hitter going into the seventh, but LSU roared back and tied it. Randle got the game-winning hit in the bottom of the seventh.
Second baseman Dom Decker led off game three for the Rebels with a single to right. After Utermark walked, Furniss singled through the right side to score Decker and advance Utermark to third.
Federico brought in Utermark to make it 2-0 Rebels after one. Decker hit an opposite field solo homer in the second to extend the Rebel lead.
Paino launched a homer to left field in the fourth, then Bissetta hit a 2-run home run to make it 6-0 Rebels. Later in the inning, Utermark singled, stole second and scored Ole Miss’ seventh run off a Furniss single.
Rabe had a no-hitter going into the seventh inning when the LSU offense showed up. The Tigers hit back-to-back homers and knocked Rabe out of the game.
“Pitching with that pressure (throwing a no-hitter) sometimes drains you a little bit, but he (Rabe) was super,” Bianco said in a postgame interview.
Wil Libbert took over for Rabe after his stellar performance and LSU launched their third homer in a row. Libbert gave up two singles before getting two outs.
After another LSU hit, Calhoun came in. He gave up a single on a pop up that did not make it to the mound, then allowed the tying run on a wild pitch. All eight of LSU’s hits came in the seventh.
Randle responded in the bottom half with a game-winning single to score Federico.
What’s next?
Ole Miss will face No. 10 Southern Miss on Tuesday, April 14 at 6 p.m. in Pearl, Miss. This weekend, they will travel to Knoxville, Tenn., to take on the Volunteers. SEC Network+ will broadcast the games.
