After three straight losses, Ole Miss Baseball found its rhythm and swept Missouri on the road March 21-23 to earn the team’s fourth conference win and first conference series win of the season.
Game one (won 9-6)
Ole Miss rallied late to take the series opener, 9-6, using a balanced offensive attack and a strong bullpen effort.
The Rebels struck first in the second inning when Mitchell Sanford tripled and scored on a fielding error. Missouri answered with two runs in the bottom half, taking a 2-1 lead.
Isaac Humphrey evened the score in the third, launching a solo home run to right field. Missouri’s Mateo Serna responded with a solo home run in the bottom of the third to reclaim the lead.
The Rebels broke through in the sixth. Humphrey was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, allowing Judd Utermark to score. Luke Cheng’s fielder’s choice allowed Will Furniss to cross the plate, putting Ole Miss ahead 4-3.
In the seventh, the Rebels created separation with a four-run frame. Furniss delivered a single, Austin Fawley doubled home Sanford and Humphrey added a two-run single to extend the lead to 8-3. Furniss drew a bases-loaded walk in the eighth to push the lead to six.
Missouri attempted a late rally with home runs in the eighth and ninth, but the Rebels held on for the 9-6 victory.
Game two (won 17-10)
The Rebels jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first when Utermark crushed a three-run homer to left field, scoring Ryan Moerman and Sanford. Missouri responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning to even the score.
In the third, the Rebels struck again. Moerman led off with a solo homer, and two batters later, Humphrey launched a two-run blast to right-center, putting Ole Miss ahead 6-3. Missouri countered with a four-run inning to take a brief 7-6 lead.
Ole Miss immediately responded in the fourth. Cheng and Utermark reached base before Furniss crushed a three-run homer to left-center, regaining the lead at 9-7. Humphrey continued his hot streak at the plate, blasting his second home run of the night, a two-run shot that pushed the lead to 11-7.
Sanford added to the power display in the fifth with a solo homer to dead center. The Rebels tacked on two more in the sixth, taking advantage of Missouri’s defensive struggles, as a throwing error scored Furniss and a wild pitch brought Humphrey home.
The Tigers put up three runs in the seventh, closing the gap to 14-10, but the Rebels put the game away in the ninth. Moerman singled up the middle to score two more runs, and Federico capped off the scoring with a sacrifice fly, securing the 17-10 win.
Game three (won 14-6)
Ole Miss completed the sweep on Sunday with a steady offensive performance and key extra-base hits to take down Missouri, 14-6.
Missouri struck first in the opening inning with a solo home run, but Ole Miss responded in the third when Cheng launched a solo shot to right.
The Tigers pushed across four runs in the bottom of the third to take a 5-1 lead, but the Rebels answered in the fourth.
Federico and Furniss reached base before Utermark loaded the bases. Humphrey delivered in the clutch, lacing a three-run double to right-center to cut the deficit to 5-4. Cheng followed with an RBI double down the left-field line, tying the game at 5-5.
Ole Miss took its first lead in the fifth when Moerman crushed a solo home run to left, making it 6-5.
The Rebels pulled away in the seventh. Humphrey launched his second home run of the game and fourth of the weekend, a two-run shot to right-center, scoring Federico. Hill then ripped a triple to left field, bringing home Fawley, and Sanford drove in Hill to push the lead to 10-5.
Missouri answered with a run in the bottom of the eighth, but the Rebels held steady in the top of the ninth. Sanford doubled to right-center, bringing home Hill, Cheng and Fawley to bring the Rebels up 13-6.
Furniss reached base on an error, allowing Sanford to score unearned and round out the game at 14-6 to complete the series sweep.
Who’s next?
Ole Miss will host Memphis at Swayze Field on Tuesday, March 25. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. and can be streamed on SEC Network+.
