No. 18 Ole Miss Baseball Drops Heartbreaker to No. 6 Mississippi State in Series Opener

OXFORD, Miss. — No. 18 Ole Miss baseball dropped a heartbreaker, 5-4, to No. 6 Mississippi State in Friday’s series opener at Swayze Field as the Rebels lost in the ninth.

The Recap

Pitching was the story early in the game as Ole Miss starter Hunter Elliott allowed a walk in the first but proceeded to retire the following twelve batters in order before giving up his first hit in the top of the fifth.

Down goes another👋 pic.twitter.com/WlFIrGYhLi

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 28, 2026

Bulldogs starter Charlie Foster was perfect until Judd Utermark stepped in for his second at-bat, sending a no-doubt home run into the student section in right field to give Ole Miss a 1-0 lead. Utermark’s home run is the 40th of his career, all in a Rebels uniform.

GONE💣

.@JuddUtermark pic.twitter.com/m6rwhy8tNL

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 28, 2026

Elliott’s first hit allowed was followed by an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play, that kept Ole Miss ahead by one.

6-4-3 double play👏

T5 Ole Miss 1 | Mississippi State 0 pic.twitter.com/HGfewZlwwa

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 28, 2026

The fifth inning is also when Foster’s night came to an end as he allowed a leadoff double, but a failed bunt and a fly out were the true conclusion to his night as he exited with a runner on third and two outs after 4.2 innings.

His line officially came to a close when Austin Fawley launched a ball into left field, but the wind seemed to hold it in the ballpark for the final out of the fifth.

Foster’s official closing line was 4.2 innings pitched, 2 hits, 1 earned run, no walks, 3 strikeouts.

The Bulldogs were not done fighting despite Elliott’s performance. They chased Elliott in the top of the sixth following an RBI single by Ace Reese, and the next batter, Noah Sullvian, ripped an RBI double down the third base line, giving Mississippi State a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth.

Elliott exited the game with two in scoring position and just one out, and Taylor Rabe entered from the bullpen

The Bulldogs tacked on another run, charged to Elliott, as a bases-loaded ground ball could not be handled by Dom Decker at second. That left the bases loaded and only one out with the Bulldogs leading, 3-1.

However, Rabe worked around it, retiring the following two batters to bring Ole Miss back to the plate.

Elliott’s final line for the night was 5.1 innings pitched, 4 hits, 3 earned runs, 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts.

https://t.co/1SoR0TTSvh pic.twitter.com/ZJvdTpXXRf

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 28, 2026

Ole Miss booted Gleason off the mound as Hayden Federico drilled a ground ball off his ankle for a one-out single, but Maddox Webb entered and struck out the following two batters to maintain the 3-1 Bulldog lead.

The Rebels bats were far from done, however, as they put runners on first and second for Fawley, who skied a wall-scraping, three-run home run into left field to give Ole Miss a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the seventh.

PERFECT TIMING🕰️

B7 Ole Miss 4 | Mississippi State 3 pic.twitter.com/rhmYW1QoNo

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 28, 2026

Rabe returned for the mound with a newfound lead and proceeded to shut down the Bulldogs bats with a 1-2-3 inning, leaving them trailing with just one inning to go.

As the game headed to the ninth with Ole Miss holding a 4-3 lead, Rabe returned to the mound but under different conditions as rain began to fall in Oxford.

Ryder Woodson and Bryce Chance led off the ninth inning with a single up the middle and a double off the third base bag, ending Rabe’s night as Walker Hooks trotted in from the right field bullpen.

Hooks was greeted with an RBI groundout that was too deep towards first for a shot at home, so Furniss flipped the ball to Hooks covering as the Bulldogs evened the game at four apiece in the ninth.

This was followed by Chone James who laced a ball into right field. Bissetta had trouble getting in front of it with the new wet grass, allowing it to go all the way to the wall for a go-ahead RBI triple, reinstating the Bulldogs lead at 5-4 in the ninth.

Hooks finished the inning with a strikeout, and Tyler Pitzer returned to the mound for the bottom half of the frame.

Pitzer got Reuter and Furniss looking to begin the inning, leaving Ole Miss down to its last at-bat, but the Rebels could not escape with a win as Daniel Pacella grounded out to end the game as the Bulldogs squeezed out a 5-4 win.

A Look Ahead

The Rebels and Bulldogs will return to the diamond for two more games: First pitch on Saturday is set for 1:30 P.M CT, and the series finale will take place on Sunday at 3:00 P.M CT.