No. 23 Ole Miss hosted No. 9 Vanderbilt at Swayze Field for a weekend series from April 25-27. The Rebels won the first two games to claim the series and secured their first Top 10 series win of the season.
Head coach Mike Bianco was ejected from game three in the second inning, marking his second ousting in four weeks.
Game one (won 8-3)
Behind a strong start and a late offensive surge, Ole Miss took game one of the series Friday night.
Hayden Federico set the tone early with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first to give the Rebels a quick 1-0 lead. Vanderbilt answered in the second inning with an RBI sacrifice fly from Colin Barczi after a triple by Jacob Humphrey to tie the game.
After a few scoreless frames, Ole Miss made the difference in the fifth when Luke Hill launched a solo home run to center. After Mitchell Sanford added a single, Ryan Moerman was hit by a pitch and Will Furniss delivered an RBI single, a pair of wild pitches allowed two more runs to cross and extend the lead to 5-1.
Hunter Elliott worked five strong innings for the Rebels. He allowed just one run while striking out six before turning it over to the bullpen. Mason Morris and Will McCausland combined to finish off the final four innings.
Vanderbilt made things interesting in the eighth when Braden Holcomb crushed a two-run homer to cut the deficit to 5-3. However, Ole Miss answered right back in the bottom half by capitalizing on a Commodore error before Judd Utermark blasted a two-run homer to left to push the score to 8-3.
Game two (won 7-1)
After falling behind early, the Rebels bounced back with a six-run fourth inning and a strong pitching performance to clinch the series.
Vanderbilt struck first in the second inning when RJ Austin stole both third base and home to give the Commodores a 1-0 lead. Ole Miss starting pitcher Riley Maddox settled in after that to keep Vanderbilt off the board.
Ole Miss broke through in the bottom of the fourth. After singles by Hill and Furniss and a walk by Utermark, Isaac Humphrey was hit by a pitch to tie the game at 1-1. Austin Fawley followed with a two-run single to center to give the Rebels a 3-1 lead. Moments later, Moerman delivered the big blow by launching a three-run homer to left-center to push the lead to 6-1.
Utermark added an insurance run in the fifth inning with a solo home run to bring the score to 7-1.
On the mound, Maddox was in control through seven innings, and Brayden Jones and Connor Spencer kept Vanderbilt quiet in relief. Spencer worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to seal the win and clinch the series.
“(Riley Maddox) was terrific,” said head coach Mike Bianco in a postgame interview. “(It was) one of those nights where he seemed in control throughout the game.”
Game three (lost 13-0)
The Rebels struggled to produce any offense in Sunday’s run-rule match. They managed just three hits on the day.
Vanderbilt wasted no time jumping out to a lead in the first inning. With two runners on, Mac Rose delivered a two-out single to right field to drive in two runs and put the Commodores up 2-0.
In the second inning, Vanderbilt extended its lead. Jonathan Vastine launched a solo home run to make it 3-0. Later in the inning, following a pitching change, RJ Austin came through with a two-run single to push the Commodores’ advantage to 5-0.
Coach Bianco was ejected from the game by the home plate umpire after a fiery argument at the plate.
Vanderbilt broke the game open even further in the fifth. Colin Barczi doubled to left-center to score Braden Holcomb, then Vastine added his second RBI of the day with a single through the right side. Mike Mancini followed with an RBI triple down the right field line to stretch the lead to 8-0.
In the sixth, Vanderbilt continued to add on. Rose notched his third RBI of the game with a single up the middle to score Riley Nelson and make it 9-0. Moments later, Barczi singled to center to drive in Holcomb, and Vastine added a sacrifice fly to center to bring home Rose and push the lead to 11-0.
Vanderbilt was not done yet. In the seventh, the Commodores extended their lead even further. Rose singled to center to bring home Holcomb, and Vastine added another sacrifice fly to make it 13-0 to seal the run-rule victory.
The Ole Miss pitching staff allowed 16 hits and 13 runs while only striking out five.
Who’s next?
Ole Miss will host Austin Peay at Swayze Field on Tuesday, April 29. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. and will be streamed on SEC Network+.
