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Ole Miss Baseball Upsets No. 6 Auburn in Game One of Final SEC Series, 9-2

Posted by | May 15, 2025 |

Ole Miss Baseball Upsets No. 6 Auburn in Game One of Final SEC Series, 9-2

OXFORD, Miss. — The Ole Miss Rebels took game one of the final weekend series for the 2025 college baseball regular season, pummeling the No. 6 Auburn Tigers 9-2 at Swayze Field behind shutout pitching and timely hitting.

After the game, Ole Miss starting pitcher Hunter Elliott commented on the Rebels surpassing preseason expectations.

“A lot of critics coming into this year, a lot of people didn’t think we (Ole Miss) were going to be very good. We have kind of gone about this motto of ‘our dugout versus everybody else’ — don’t care what everybody else thinks, care about what you, your teammates and coaches think and that’s it.”

~ Elliott after the win

Game Recap

It was a pitchers’ dual for the first few innings of this high-leverage matchup at Swayze Field with lefty Hunter Elliott and righty Cam Tilly facing off. Elliott sat down the first seven batters he faced in the Tigers’ lineup before giving up a single in the top of the third; and Tilly stranded runners in the second and third while sitting the Rebels down in order in the first and fourth.

Luke Hill recorded the first base hit of the day for Ole Miss in the bottom of the third thanks to a line drive off the foot of Tilly, allowing Hill to scramble into second for a double. Elliott gave up his first hit of the game to Chase Fralick.

Despite giving up three more hits, Elliott was near perfect for seven innings. The southpaw did walk a pair of batters but punched out eight in the process and even did what he does best, picking off two runners in the first four innings. Elliott leads the SEC with 11 pickoff attempts with the next best being just four (Luke Harrison, Texas).

After the win, Elliott said the outing was the most in control he has felt all season.

“I think earlier on I established the fastball command, but really just all pitches were working well tonight. I was getting the ball into really good spots, my execution was good, not only in the zone but executing into different quadrants.”

~ Elliott on his game one performance

The seven shutout innings for the Rebel starter marks his longest outing of the 2025 season.

The Rebel offense left three runners stranded through their first four trips to the plate before finally breaking through in the bottom of the fifth. With Tilly still on the mound for Auburn, Ethan Surowiec and Ryan Moerman were hit by pitches to lead off the frame. With one out, Mitchell Sanford singled into right field to load the bases; and Hill followed with a sacrifice fly to plate the first run of the night.

Tilly was still in the game for the Tigers and looked to have Sanford caught in between first and second for the final out of the frame, however, Ole Miss somehow scored on the play. The Auburn second baseman turned and attempted to throw Moerman out at third but the Rebel outfielder broke home to score and make it a 2-0 lead while Sanford returned to first safely.

Elliott walked Bristol Carter to lead off the top of the sixth, and the Tigers’ centerfielder stole second to put himself in scoring position with no outs. However, the lefty starter sat down the next three batters to post yet another impressive scoreless frame.

Tilly trotted back out to the mound for Auburn to begin the seventh, but back-to-back singles to lead off the inning from Will Furniss and Austin Fawley forced the Tigers to make a change. With lefty Carson Myers on the mound, Collin Reuter and Moerman plated two more runs for Ole Miss with another pair of singles.

Following the game, head coach Mike Bianco explained how the Ole Miss offense finally broke through on Auburn starter, Cam Tilly.

“He’s a tough match for us. Just because there is an assortment of pitches — just a really consistent mix and, at times, was throwing just as many off-speed pitches as fastballs. I thought earlier on, we didn’t get a lot of walks but you have to credit him. We didn’t make it too easy for him (Tilly) — anytime you can get a Friday night guy out of after five innings and score a few runs, it’s a good night.”

~ Bianco following the win

After putting up back-to-back two-spots in the fifth and sixth, the Rebels kept their foot on the gas with the bats. Sanford reached on an error to lead off the inning and that was it for Myers as Auburn turned to John Armstrong out of the bullpen.

Hill then drew a walk, and a wild pitch followed to put both runners in scoring position. Judd Utermark singled up the middle after that, clearing the bases to give Ole Miss a 6-0 lead. Jackson Sanders took over the mound for the Tigers, but again the Rebels loaded the bases as Sanders could only record an out.

Ben Schorr replaced Sanders after recording the second out of the frame, but the Rebels plated three more runs thanks to singles of the bats of Moerman and Luke Cheng.

Will McCausland took over for Elliott at the beginning of the eighth inning. The right-handed reliever sat down the Tigers in order in his only inning of work as Ryne Rodriguez took over to begin the ninth. The lefty issued a walk to lead off the frame, and Ike Irish doubled into left field to put runners on second and third for Auburn with no outs.

Rodriguez punched out the next batter for the first out of the frame, but the Rebels turned to Alex Canney for the final two outs. The righty walked the first batter he faced to load the bases, and two-RBI double off the bat of Eric Snow followed to end the shutout for the Tigers. However, Canney punched out the next two Auburn batters and secured the 9-2 victory for Ole Miss.

Up next 

The Rebels will return to Swayze Field on Friday, May 16, as they attempt to take the series over No. 6 Auburn in game two. Due to expected inclement weather, first pitch is now scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.
Kameron Wicker

Kam is a senior at Ole Miss, currently pursuing a degree in Journalism. Even though he's from Delhi, Louisiana, that didn't stop Kam from growing up a diehard Ole Miss fan. He's a sports guru who watches and follows all sports at all times. He lettered four years in football and baseball in high school and is an avid Saints, Pelicans, and Astros fan. In his free time, you can find him watching sports or at the rec participating in them.

About The Author

Kameron Wicker

Kam is a senior at Ole Miss, currently pursuing a degree in Journalism. Even though he's from Delhi, Louisiana, that didn't stop Kam from growing up a diehard Ole Miss fan. He's a sports guru who watches and follows all sports at all times. He lettered four years in football and baseball in high school and is an avid Saints, Pelicans, and Astros fan. In his free time, you can find him watching sports or at the rec participating in them.

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