No. 23 Ole Miss battled back from a two-run deficit heading into the bottom of the ninth inning to walk off Mississippi State, 8-7, in extras in the annual Governor’s Cup held at Trustmark Park.
The midweek showdown between the in-state counterparts featured an early 40-minute lightning delay and free baseball at the tail end, and it did not disappoint. The visiting Bulldogs (24-17, 6-12 SEC) landed the initial blow in the contest when third baseman Ace Reese knocked a sacrifice fly out to center field, scoring Sawyer Reeves in the top of the first.
Starting Rebel pitcher Cade Townsend held Mississippi State to the lone run and had a clean frame in the second inning to keep his team close on the scoreboard. The Rebels’ offense, on the other hand, had not quite gotten a feel for the ball.
An RBI single by Bulldog left fielder Gehrig Frei scored Gatlin Sanders, and catcher Ross Highfill reached home plate on a wild pitch tossed by Townsend. Mississippi State had taken a commanding 3-0 lead heading to the bottom of the third inning.
Ole Miss (29-12, 10-8 SEC), in dire need of an offensive spark, found itself in prime scoring position with first baseman Will Furniss on third and second baseman Judd Utermark on first with no outs. A sacrifice fly by Isaac Humphrey scored Furniss, and a Ryan Moerman single that the Bulldog shortstop could not quite corral advanced Utermark to home plate. Ole Miss had cut the deficit to one run.
The momentum pendulum continued to swing in the Rebels’ favor in the fifth inning. A Bulldog ground out, a baserunner caught between second and third base, and a runner being thrown out trying to steal second delivered a boost for the offense to build upon. And the bats delivered. Furniss, with a man on first and one out, delivered an opposite-field home run to put Ole Miss up 4-3.
Mike Bianco’s club added another run in the bottom of the fifth when center fielder Isaac Humphrey reached home on a fielding error by Reece, the Bulldog third baseman. The Rebels trotted into the sixth inning with a two-run lead that would ultimately be short-lived.
Mississippi State battled back with a four-run rally that began with Reese hitting a redemptive single, then advancing to second base on a wild pitch by Landon Waters. The right-handed hurler then walked Bulldog designated hitter and starting pitcher Noah Sullivan, prompting Bianco to make a change at the mound.
The veteran skipper turned to right-hander Alex Canney, who started off promising before collapsing. Canney’s outing began with Mississippi State slugger Hunter Hines flying out in the infield, but the success did not last long. Bulldog right fielder Reed Stallman loaded the bases with one out. An ensuing single by Bryce Chance plated two runs and tied the ballgame. Mississippi State jumped back on top from an RBI single by Highfill that scored two runs due to a throwing error by Judd Utermark.
From there, Mississippi State’s bats were no longer effective, largely due to Tupelo native Hudson Calhoun displaying excellence on the mound. The sophomore inherited a jam in the top of the eighth inning after southpaw Gunnar Dennis had walked back-to-back batters without recording an out. Calhoun amassed two strikeouts and forced a foul-out to prevent the Bulldogs from adding further damage to the scoreboard.
A leadoff single by Hayden Federico, who pinch hit for Luke Cheng in the bottom of the eighth, was not backed by the Ole Miss offense, marking a fruitless inning with the game on the line. Nonetheless, Calhoun notched a trio of strikeouts in the final frame of regulation to give his teammates a fighter’s chance.
The bottom of the ninth did not start as Rebel fans would desire as Utermark stared at a strike three pitch. But a single by Humphrey kept the game alive. Then Austin Fawley hit a moonshot over the left field wall to guarantee extra innings at a bare minimum. A following groundout and a popout sent the game to extras.
AUSTIN FAWLEY 🔥🔥🔥@fawley_austin x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/r70jCc8zp8
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 23, 2025
Calhoun continued to be a thorn in the side of Chris Lemonis’ offense. The right-hander logged two more strikeouts and forced a flyout to keep the scoreboard clean going into the bottom of the 10th. Mississippi State rolled left-handed hurler Luke Dotson back onto the mound after getting his team out of the previous frame. The senior gave up a leadoff single that was hit by Brayden Randle and allowed the baserunner to reach second on a wild pitch before settling.
Rebel left fielder Mitchell Sanford struck out swinging, and Luke Hill fouled out to right field, putting Ole Miss in a peculiar position with Furniss, a left-handed batter, facing a southpaw. Furniss answered the bell, though, and hit an RBI single to center field. The hit sent Randle home, and the Rebels stormed the field to celebrate the 8-7 victory.
“I’m just proud of our guys. I thought we hung in there. It’s one of those games where you had to hang in there. We went down. We kind of battled back, then we took the lead and went down again, but hung in there and tied it back up,” Bianco said after the win. “It was just one of those really good baseball games by two really good teams.”
Fawley was crowned the rivalry game’s MVP courtesy of the heroic two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth. Furniss also had an impressive night at the plate with a home run and three RBIs, along with the walk-off hit. Calhoun was credited with the win as he logged a career-high seven strikeouts through three clean innings.
For the Bulldogs, Bryce Chance had a hit and two RBI while Gehrig Frei logged two hits and an RBI. Dotson was credited with the loss after surrendering two hits and an earned run in the contest.
Next up for Ole Miss is a three-game home series versus No. 9 Vanderbilt beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m. Mississippi State will hit the road and face Auburn for a trio of matchups, with game one taking place on Friday at 6 p.m. The Rebels and Bulldogs will square off again in a weekend affair at Dudy Noble Park from May 9-11.
