Ole Miss buried Tennessee-Martin 17-6 behind a 10-run second inning Tuesday night at Swayze Field.
The Rebels overcame some shaky defense, committing four errors, which thanks to some generous scorekeeping, should have been six. Part of the problem, Coach Mike Bianco played almost everyone, but his front line pitchers.
Still, the offense, was sharp. Will Furniss had five RBIs off a three-run double and a two-run single. Austin Fawley drove in four off two hits in the second inning alone. Judd Utermark set an Ole Miss record with multiple seasons with 20 home runs, with a two-run shot.
Ole Miss, ranked from 15 to 20th in the three polls this week, picks up a key 35th overall win. It heads to Tuscaloosa Thursday for the final SEC series of the season, before going to Hoover next week for the SEC Tournament. The Rebs are 14-13 in the SEC and need a series win to stay in the top eight in the conference. UT-Martin slips to 25-27.
Wil Lippert went three innings to get the win.
Ole Miss got started early with a two-run home run from Utermark. He was also named a finalist for the Boo Ferriss Award, which is given to the top collegeiate baseball player in Mississippi.
The big inning was the Rebel second. Ten runs came in off six hits. Following a walk to Owen Paino, Collin Reuter, Austin Fawley and Daniel Pacella all singled. Fawley’s hit produced two RBIs for a 4-0 lead.
Tristan Bissetta singled in two more and with three still on, Will Furniss cleared the bases on a double to right-center. That made it 9-0.
Furniss scored on a fly out by Reuter. Fawley then capped the outburst by literally hitting a ball out of Swayze. The ball hit up the track in left field, making the top row and then skipped its way out of the exit/entrance gate. Fawley had two hits and four RBIs in the inning to make for a 12-0 lead.
UT-Martin scored a run back in the third off a double from TJ Grines.
The Rebs added three in the third to go up 15-1. They got a pinch-hit home run from Brett Mosley to take a 16-2 lead. They needed it because UTM scored four in the sixth to nearly extend the game. Three hits and two errors helped their cause.
