No. 17 Ole Miss defeated Murray State on Wednesday, March 5, securing their ninth win at home this season with an 8-7 victory that extended into 10 innings.
The Rebels struck first in the bottom of the first inning. Mitchell Sanford led off with a single and quickly put pressure on the Murray State defense with his speed on the bases. With one out, Ryan Moerman came through with a well-placed double to left field, bringing Sanford home to give the Rebels an early 1-0 lead.
Murray State responded in the top of the third. Conner Cunningham reached base, and Carson Garner delivered a sharp single to right field, allowing Cunningham to cross the plate and even the score at 1-1.
Ole Miss quickly regained control in the bottom half of the third inning. Sanford once again sparked the offense, reaching base and setting the table for Isaac Humphrey, who laced an RBI double to right field to push the Rebels back in front. Later in the inning, the Rebels loaded the bases, and Campbell Smithwick showed patience at the plate, drawing a walk to bring Moerman home and extend the lead to 3-1.
Looking for more breathing room, the Rebels struck again in the fifth when Judd Utermark crushed a solo home run to deep center, bringing the Rebels up 4-1.
Despite the offensive attack, Murray State flipped the script in the top of the seventh, capitalizing on a series of defensive miscues to surge ahead.
The Racers loaded the bases with one out before Dustin Mercer reached on a fielding error at third base, allowing Dom Decker to score and cut the lead to 4-2. The mistakes proved costly, as Dan Tauken followed up with a two-run single to right field, bringing in Cunningham and Jonathan Hogart to tie the game at 4-4.
The damage did not stop there. With two runners still on, Will Vierling roped an RBI double to left-center, plating Mercer to give Murray State its first lead of the night. The Racers kept piling on, as Luke Mistone and Decker each recorded RBI singles to extend the deficit to 7-4, with all five seventh-inning runs coming unearned.
The Rebels fought back in the bottom of the eighth, as Utermark stepped up once again and crushed his second home run of the night, this time to right field, bringing the score to 7-5. In the top of the ninth, the Rebels’ pitching staff escaped a bases-loaded jam to keep the Racers at seven runs.
Down to their final out, the Rebels battled back in the bottom of the ninth. Will Furniss delivered in the clutch, ripping a two-run single to center field to bring home Humphrey and Moerman to tie the game 7-7.
Ole Miss’ momentum was cut short after Utermark was thrown out at home trying to score the go-ahead run, sending the game into extra innings.
After holding off the Racers in the top of the 10th, the Rebels completed the comeback. With runners on, Hayden Federico delivered the game-winning moment with a single through the right side to score Brayden Randle and secure the walk-off victory for Ole Miss.
Who’s next?
Ole Miss will host Jacksonville State for a weekend series March 7-9. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. and will be streamed on SEC Network+.
