No. 23 Ole Miss Baseball Wins Walk-off Thriller Over Mississippi State in Governor’s Cup Battle
PEARL, Miss. – (Release) Will Furniss delivered a walk-off RBI single in the 10th inning as No. 23 Ole Miss took down in-state rival Mississippi State 8-7 (10), Tuesday night in the Governor’s Cup battle at Trustmark Park.
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Mississippi State would take a 3-0 lead after three innings of play.
Ole Miss would chip away with two runs in the fourth. After a Will Furniss walk, Judd Utermark would double to put runners in scoring position with nobody out. Isaac Humphrey would send a sac fly to center field to score Furniss.
Austin Fawley would walk following a Bulldog pitching change and Ryan Moerman would single home Utermark to plate the second Rebel run.
The Rebels would strike for three in the fifth to take their first lead of the game. Mitchell Sanford would get on base to lead off the inning after being hit by a pitch. With one out, Furniss would launch a two-run opposite field shot over the left field wall to give Ole Miss the lead.
Humphrey would triple with two outs and Fawley would reach on an error to score him. After five complete Ole Miss led Mississippi State 5-3.
The Bulldogs would put up a four spot in the sixth to take a 7-5 lead.
Ole Miss would trail until a two-run rally tied the game in the bottom of the ninth. Isaac Humphrey would reach via a single, sending Austin Fawley to the dish. Fawley would launch a two-run game tying homer deep into the Mississippi night sky, tying the game at seven.
Fawley has homered in six of his last seven games.
In extras, Hudson Calhoun delivered a clean frame on the mound for the Rebels in the top of the 10th. Calhoun was outstanding for Ole Miss as he tossed a career-high three innings and punched out a new career-high seven Mississippi State hitters.
Brayden Randle would lead off the bottom of the 10th with a single. He would advance to second and then third off wild pitches. With two outs it was Will Furniss who delivered the walk-off hit with a single to center field.
Hudson Calhoun (3-0) picked up the win on the hill for Ole Miss. Furniss led the Rebels with three RBI, none bigger than his walk-off winner.
Ole Miss (29-12, 10-8 SEC) welcomes No. 9 Vanderbilt to Swayze Field this weekend for a three game series. First pitch in game one is set for Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception. Email Evie at: Evie@TheRebelWalk.com
