The highly anticipated matchup between No. 18 Ole Miss and No. 6 Mississippi State lived up to its billing as a classic pitcher’s duel at Swayze Field. Both teams showcased their aces, with Hunter Elliott taking the mound for Ole Miss and Charlie Foster representing Mississippi State.
Elliott had an impressive outing, allowing only one walk in the first inning before retiring the next 13 batters he faced, striking out five during that stretch. “I thought Hunter was outstanding tonight,” Coach Mike Bianco said. “Gave us a great effort and really had some bad fortune getting off the field in the sixth with some balls finding some holes.”
Foster mirrored Elliott’s performance early on, retiring ten consecutive Rebels to start his game before allowing a hit.
Key Moments of the Game
The game’s turning point came in the fourth inning when Judd Utermark launched a solo home run to right-center field, marking his 11th homer of the season and bringing his career total to 40. He is now tied with Brad Henderson and Jacob Gonzalez for fifth place on Ole Miss’s all-time home run list.
Despite this momentum shift, Mississippi State responded with resilience. They recorded their first hit of the game in the fifth inning courtesy of Bryce Chance’s single.
In response, Will Furniss led off Ole Miss’s half of the fifth with a double off the right-field wall, setting up potential scoring opportunities that unfortunately did not materialize.
Mississippi State Takes Control
As both pitchers continued to dominate through six innings, it was Mississippi State who found their rhythm first in that pivotal sixth frame. A series of hits—including an RBI single by Ace Reese—allowed them to score three runs and take control of the game at 3-1.
Elliott finished his night having pitched 5.1 innings while giving up three runs on four hits with two walks and seven strikeouts—a solid performance despite falling behind.
Bianco turned to Taylor Rabe from the bullpen following Elliott’s exit. Rabe held strong for most of his outing but faced challenges later on as Mississippi State’s offense came alive again.
Ole Miss Fights Back
In a dramatic seventh inning, Ole Miss began to rally back thanks to Daniel Pacella drawing a walk followed by another walk issued to Dom Decker. The stage was set for Austin Fawley who delivered a massive three-run homer that shifted momentum back toward Ole Miss, putting them ahead temporarily at 4-3.
“Got a huge home run by Fawley,” Bianco remarked post-game about this critical moment, which injected life into Swayze Field once more.
However, Mississippi State was not done yet; they answered back swiftly in the ninth inning with key hits that allowed them to reclaim their lead at 5-4 after Chone James hit a triple driving in Chance from second base. The score would remain enough to give them the win.
Final Inning Drama
With time running out for Ole Miss in their final opportunity at bat during the ninth inning, they were unable to capitalize as they went down in order against Bulldog pitching—an unfortunate end to what had been an exhilarating contest filled with tension and excitement throughout its entirety.
Overall, both teams exhibited tremendous skill on both sides of play: Ole Miss struck out ten times while also showcasing flashes of brilliance offensively through power hitting but ultimately fell just short against a determined Mississippi State squad looking to maintain its strong season start.
“They had some good fortune as we hit some good balls that didn’t find some holes,” Bianco said. “We fought through it and fought through some adversity.”
Saturday’s rematch is set for 1:30 PM from Swayze and will air on SEC+ Network.
