Ole Miss Baseball Walks it Off to Move to 4-0 After Gritty Midweek Matchup

OXFORD, Miss. — The Ole Miss Rebels hosted the Arkansas State Red Wolves for their first mid-week matchup of the season, and the Rebels took a gritty 7-6 win in walk-off fashion.

The Recap

Ole Miss struck first as a walk to Judd Utermark led to a stolen base, leaving him on second for Will Furniss, who hit a sharp ground ball that rolled up the arm and behind the Red Wolves’ second baseman, allowing Utermark to round third and come in for the game’s first run in the bottom of the first.

However, the Rebels lead did not last long as a tough defensive inning after four errors allowed Arkansas State to scrape across three runs coming off a sacrifice fly, an RBI single, and a misfielded bunt, before Ole Miss finally escaped the inning.

Ole Miss failed to retaliate in the bottom half of the inning, but found the bats again in the bottom of the third, as they tied the game behind a wild pitch where Furniss dashed home to score, with Tristan Bissetta coming in behind him after Collin Reuter’s hard hit RBI single into left field.

Scoring picked back up again in the fifth when the Red Wolves strung together some baserunners and timely hitting for a three-run inning.

The Red Wolves three spot was started by Evan Griffis wh0 singled into right field, followed by a ground ball which chopped deeply to second base, allowing a runner to score before Derek Martinez capped off the inning with an RBI single of his own, giving the Red Wolves a 6-3 lead.

Ole Miss started to crawl back in the bottom half of the inning when Reuter recorded his second hit of the day, this time leaving the yard for a solo home run, which traveled a staggering 433 feet off the base of the scoreboard in left field. However, after the first pitch home run, Ole Miss failed to manufacture any more runs.

The Rebels continued to crawl back, in the seventh when they once again put a one-spot up following the stretch when Bissetta continued his hot streak with an RBI double into the right-center field gap, sending Utermark around the bases for the score.

Just an inning later, Ole Miss found themselves in a prime position to not just tie the game, but break it wide open. Hayden Federico stepped up to the plate with runners on first and second, no one out, and proceeded to drop down a bunt that was not fielded cleanly, leaving the bases loaded for Dom Decker.

Decker immediately worked a five-pitch walk, which walked in the tying run, still with no one out.

But, after consecutive strikeouts and a hard-hit fly ball getting tracked down in center field, the game remained tied heading into the ninth.

Landon Koenig, who entered the game for the Rebels to begin the eighth, returned to the mound and worked quickly on the first batter, producing a ground ball to first, getting out number one.

However, a single quickly followed, before a strikeout, and a single left the game on Koenig’s shoulders.

Koenig then produced a ground ball for a fielder’s choice to end the top of the ninth, giving Ole Miss a chance at their first walk-off win of the season.

Reuter opened the inning with a long at-bat resulting in a walk; he was then pinch-run for as Brett Mosley entered the game at first. A strikeout from Daniel Pacella led to Austin Fawley, who perfectly executed a hit and run single, sending Mosley to third, leaving runners on the corners with one out for Brayden Randle.

Randle then attacked the first pitch he saw, and drove it deep into right field, but as the right fielder settled and brought it in, Mosley raced home leabing no chance for a throw home, as Ole Miss won it 7-6 with a walk-off sacrifice fly.

A Look Ahead

Ole Miss will have a quick turnaround as they return to the diamond tomorrow, hosting the Jackson State Tigers at 4 p.m. CDT.