Ole Miss Baseball went 1-2 in its first major test of the season in Houston, Texas, Feb. 27-March 1 in the BRUCE BOLT College Classic. The Rebels suffered a close loss to Baylor on Friday, beat Ohio State on Saturday and lost to No. 9 Coastal Carolina on Sunday. All three games took place in Daikin Park, home of the Houston Astros.
Baylor
Ole Miss Baseball lost its first game of the season 6-5 to Baylor on Feb. 27 to begin the BRUCE BOLT College Classic. The Rebels gave up a run in the 10th inning and could not respond in the bottom half.
Starting pitcher Hunter Elliott lacked control to start the first inning. He allowed two walks and a hit by pitch to crowd the bases. A fielder’s choice off the bat of Baylor left fielder Hunter Snow scored second baseman Pearson Riebock to put the Bears on the board first, 1-0.
The Rebels struck back quickly. Collin Reuter and Will Furniss opened the bottom of the second with hits, and Reuter scored on an error to tie the game at 1-1.
After early scoring, the bats went quiet, and Elliott and Bears’ starter Stephan Stahl settled in. Elliott struck out the side in both the fourth and the fifth, while Stahl fanned three batters of his own in the bottom of the fourth.
Stahl’s day ended first and Baylor handed the ball to reliever Charlie Atkinson. Atkinson retired the first two batters and walked Judd Utermark. Transfer Tristan Bissetta broke the tie game open with a no-doubt home run to right field to put Ole Miss up 3-1.
Elliott set the tone for Ole Miss pitching, notching a career-high 11 strikeouts in five innings. The bullpen made it difficult for Baylor to put the ball in play. Rebel pitching totaled 20 punch outs on the night in what was undoubtedly a dominant performance from the staff for most of the game.
Junior Hudson Calhoun took over for Elliott and looked in control going into his third inning of relief. However, he allowed an opposite field three-run home run from Snow that gave Baylor a 4-3 lead.
Bissetta delivered again with a game-tying solo shot to lead off the bottom of the eighth. Ole Miss captured a 5-4 lead with an Austin Fawley sacrifice fly that scored pinch runner Owen Paino on a very close play at the plate.
Three more outs would have kept Ole Miss in the win column, but the Bears continued their timely hitting. Nine-hole batter JJ Kennett hit a bloop single to score outfielder Ty Johnson and tie the score at five.
In the bottom of the ninth, Utermark singled up the middle and advanced to third on a single from Paino. However, with the go-ahead run just 90 feet away, Furniss grounded out to force extras for the first time this season for Ole Miss.
To begin the 10th, a designated runner was placed at second base. This complies with the BRUCE BOLT College Classic rules, but is not a part of the NCAA’s rules.
Reliever Landon Waters struck out the side in the top of the 10th, but not before allowing Baylor first baseman Tyce Armstrong to knock in the designated runner on second to give the Bears a 6-5 lead.
The Rebels had a chance to tie the game with the designated runner at second but left him stranded. Despite solid pitching performances and an incredible game from Bissetta, Ole Miss did not have a single hit with runners in scoring position.
Ohio State
Ole Miss Baseball won 8-0 over Ohio State on Feb. 28 at Daikin Park to even its BRUCE BOLT College Classic record. Pitching duo Cade Townsend and Taylor Rabe shut out the Buckeyes and fanned 16 in a slug fest by the Rebel offense.
Sophomore starter Townsend is returning from an injury in the preseason and is working up his pitch count, but he still pitched a gem on a 70-pitch limit. He struck out a career-high nine batters in five innings.
The game was scoreless entering the top of the third when Ole Miss, the away team in this matchup, got on the board. Second baseman Dom Decker hit his second home run of the season to put Ole Miss up 1-0.
The offense gave Townsend two more runs in the fourth and fifth innings with solo shots from Mississippi native Reuter and Decker again. Decker launched his second homer of the day to the Crawford Boxes in left field.
Ole Miss may have put up a crooked number on the day, but only out-hit Ohio State by one, continuing to prove how much the team relies on the long ball.
Rabe entered in the bottom of the sixth for Townsend and pitched the final four innings. He gave Ole Miss exactly the outing the Rebels needed after they dipped into the bullpen three times in a back-and-forth matchup against Baylor the day prior.
Rabe struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh before a big offensive eighth inning for the Rebels. Buckeyes pitcher Sahil Patel showed a lack of control, giving up a walk to Decker and a single to third baseman Utermark.
Patel recorded only one out before passing the ball to reliever Nick Copenhaver, who walked two batters of his own, including a bases loaded walk to Furniss.
Ohio State turned to reliever Nick Sawyer to get out of the jam. Instead, redshirt freshman Brett Moseley blasted the first pitch he saw into the stands for a grand slam to blow the game wide open. Ole Miss took an 8-0 lead for the win.
Coastal Carolina
Ole Miss Baseball ended its weekend with a 9-2 loss to the 2025 DI Baseball Championship runner-up on Sunday, March 1.
The pitching staff took a step back on Sunday, despite striking out 12. The Chanticleers put up nine runs on seven hits. However, only seven of those runs were earned after the Rebels committed three errors on the day.
Starting pitcher Wil Libbert looked dominant on the mound to start the day. He struck out the side in the first inning and retired the next three batters in the second.
Coastal Carolina centerfielder Dean Mihos knocked in a run in the third, but Libbert escaped the jam with a strikeout and caught stealing to minimize the damage with the Chanticleers only up one.
The Rebels’ only lead of the day came in the bottom of that inning with a two-run homer from Decker, his third on the weekend.
Ole Miss lost the lead in the top of the fifth when Libbert loaded the bases with three walks, Mihos grounded out to score one and designated hitter Trace Mazon doubled to bring in the other two, putting Coastal Carolina up 4-2.
Coastal Carolina capitalized on defensive mistakes from Ole Miss. In the sixth, Colby Thorndyke reached on a throwing error by Fawley on a sacrifice bunt, which allowed Blake Barthol to score and moved runners into scoring position. Walker Mitchell followed with an RBI groundout to put the Chanticleers up 6-2.
In the seventh, Blagen Pado doubled to center field to drive in Mason and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Barthol after advancing on another throwing error. Ty Barrango added an RBI sacrifice bunt to cap the Chanticleers’ nine-run performance.
Rebel reliever Walker Hooks delivered a solid performance in the final innings of the game. He pitched 2.2 innings, fanned three and allowed only one run on one hit.
Hayden Federico and Bissetta each collected two hits on what was only a six-hit day for the Rebels.
What’s next?
Ole Miss will look to get back on track with a five-game home stand. The Rebels return to Oxford to face Memphis at home on Tuesday, March 3, at 6:30 p.m. ESPN+ will broadcast the game.
