Series Sweep Reveals Early Season Strengths for Ole Miss Baseball
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss baseball started its 2026 campaign with a clean and easy sweep of Nevada at Swayze Field, getting past the Wolf Pack with relative ease after a long offseason with victories by scores of 11-3, 5-1, and 13-2 respectively.
While the result wasn’t exactly surprising, the Rebels’ performance offered plenty of reasons for optimism, highlighting both veteran leadership and fresh talent.
Game 1: Elliott and Bissetta Set the Tone
Friday night’s opener saw Ole Miss dominate from beginning to end. Star pitcher Hunter Elliott, the Rebels’ most recent All-American and the Rebels’ only player from the national championship-winning 2022 team still playing ball in Oxford, worked five innings and struck out seven batters while allowing just one earned run.
Head coach Mike Bianco talked about his pitcher after the game.
“To be able to come out, I don’t know how many first-pitch strikes, but especially to start innings off… getting ahead of hitters and really attacking the zone—he was terrific today.“
Coach Mike Bianco
Senior outfielder Tristan Bissetta made an immediate impact at the plate, going 2-for-3 with four RBIs and two runs scored. First baseman Will Furniss and shortstop Brayden Randle added multiple hits of their own, while infielder Judd Utermark reached base three times and tied his career high with three runs scored.
Redshirt Freshman Brett Moseley made headlines in his first collegiate at-bat with a 403-foot home run to right field, putting the Rebels firmly in control and they never looked back.
Bianco reflected on the team’s overall approach.
“Sometimes it’s easy to succumb to all the excuses—bad weather, long innings—but I’m proud of them. The stuff we’ve seen for six months, but even different than that, and they responded.”
Coach Bianco
Game 2: Townsend Dominates, Series Secured
Saturday afternoon’s 5-1 win not only extended the Rebels’ undefeated start to the season but also secured the series victory. Sophomore Cade Townsend, making a standout start, struck out a career-high eight batters in 4.2 innings while allowing only one earned run and no walks.
Offensively, Ole Miss combined experience and youth to keep Nevada off balance. Utermark blasted a 428-foot home run in the first inning, while Bissetta added a 415-foot shot that brought home Dom Decker. Redshirt freshman Tate Sirmans also contributed with his first career home run, continuing a weekend trend of newcomers making instant impacts—just like Moseley the night before.
“Today, obviously a lot of walks, but some big hits,” Bianco said.
“We just started the jug with two big doubles. Being able to work counts—I thought we did a good job of not swinging and chasing. Sometimes that’s tough in the first weekend, but we could control the strike zone all weekend long.”
Coach Mike Bianco
Relievers Taylor Rabe and Landon Koenig combined to shut down Nevada’s offense in the later innings, preserving the clean sheet and demonstrating the depth of the Ole Miss pitching staff.
Game 3: Reuter Leads Offensive Explosion
Sunday’s 13-2 run-rule victory was a welcome way to complete the first series of the season, featuring standout performances from Collin Reuter, Wil Libbert, and others across the lineup. Reuter went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, recording his third career three-hit game, while Libbert made his first start for Ole Miss, striking out seven over five innings for his first win as a Rebel.
The Rebels’ bats were relentless throughout the day. Utermark doubled home Decker in the first inning, while Furniss and Bissetta added key RBIs. Daniel Pacella, the Illinois State transfer, crushed a 447-foot home run for two RBIs, providing a dramatic highlight in front of one of the best home atmospheres in college baseball. Ole Miss finished the series with five home runs, 12 extra-base hits, and 22 walks, underscoring a balanced mix of power and patience at the plate.
Bianco praised the performances of his younger players, particularly those stepping into new roles.
“He [Reuter] was terrific today, deserved that. A guy with SEC experience can step forward and have a great year. Another big double-digit run day today at 13 on a Sunday is really good.”
Coach Bianco
Even the bullpen contributed to the sweep, with Patrick Collopy and Landon Waters shutting down Nevada in the final innings. “If something happens early, then he would come in before Calhoun got the ball. We kind of did that, and so what happened today, we got to run him out there and let him get us in,” Bianco noted of the bullpen strategy.
Depth, Experience, and Optimism
Across the series, the Rebels demonstrated a blend of veteran leadership and freshman impact. Bissetta, Utermark, Reuter, and Furniss led the offensive charge, while Moseley and Sirmans added instant spark. On the mound, Elliott, Townsend, and Libbert highlighted Ole Miss’s starting depth, supported by a versatile bullpen.
Next Up:
Ole Miss hosts Arkansas State on Tuesday, Feb. 17 with first pitch set for 4:00 p.m. The Rebels welcome Jackson State on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at
Jacob Quaglino
Jacob is a New Orleans, LA native and Ole Miss alumni, Class of 2024 and staff writer with The Rebel Walk. He has been a diehard fan of all Ole Miss sports his entire life, with his earliest Ole Miss sports memory being the Rebels' iconic 2008 upset of then-No. 4 Florida. Among his other favorite Rebel sports memories are storming the field after beating LSU in 2023 and Georgia in 2024, watching the Rebels upset Alabama in back to back years in 2014-15, seeing the women's golf team win the school's first-ever NCAA-recognized national championship in 2021, and watching the Rebel baseball team win the College World Series in 2022. He remains exceedingly hopeful that the Ole Miss Athletics Department's national championship trophy collection will grow in the coming years. Outside of The Rebel Walk, Jacob also works for a local radio news station and has many interests and hobbies, including reading, writing, watching college sports, playing pickleball, and traveling.
