If you thought Tuesday night’s top-25 matchup between No. 22 Southern Miss and No. 24 Ole Miss would resemble the teams’ respective low-scoring contests one week ago, you were gravely mistaken. Tuesday night’s battle between the Rebels and Golden Eagles at Swayze Field featured 23 runs and the home club walked away a 15-8 victor.
The two squads had an equal amount of hits in the midweek showdown, but Ole Miss (7-1) was the benefactor of a rough night on the mound by eight Southern Miss (7-2) pitchers. The Golden Eagles tied a program record of 11 walks in a game and the Rebels capitalized on the persistent miscues.
Ole Miss third baseman Judd Utermark kickstarted the scoring in the top of the first inning with a single scoring Luke Hill and Hayden Federico. An untimely walk with Rebel ducks on the pond plated a third Ole Miss run before the Golden Eagles were finally able to avert further damage on the scoreboard. Starting Southern Miss pitcher McCarty English was pulled in the frame amid a shaky outing. Matthew Adams took the mound to get his club out of a jam.
Golden Eagle second baseman Nick Monistere smacked a no-doubter to the batter’s eye in the top of the second inning to get his team on the board. Southern Miss held Ole Miss scoreless in the top of the third and seized an opportunity to garner momentum. An RBI single hit by Davis Gillespie cut the visitor’s deficit to one run.
The Rebels countered, putting three runs on the board in the bottom of the third to take a commanding 6-2 lead. Southern Miss matched the scoring effort in the top of the fourth to cut the Ole Miss lead to one run once more. Nonetheless, every Golden Eagle run the rest of the way was neutralized.
The scoring cooled in the seventh with neither team reaching home plate in a completed inning for the first time in the contest. Ole Miss led 11-7. Gillespie hit the Golden Eagles’ fourth solo shot of the night to put the game within reach, but the Rebels were determined to earn their third top-25 win of the young season.
A wild pitch by Southern Miss hurler Landen Payne scored Hill. Rebel outfielder Ryan Moerman knocked a ball out of the park to score a pair of runs and a subsequent bomb was hit by Mitchell Sanford to give Ole Miss a 15-8 advantage going into the final frame. Ole Miss closer Connor Spencer retired three Golden Eagles in the top of the ninth to wrap the in-state rivalry game in red and blue.
BACK-TO-BACK JACKS@Mitchell__4 x #HottyToddy https://t.co/OdJeqpBnBK pic.twitter.com/xgDch9vTDP
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 26, 2025
Ole Miss right-hander Brayden Jones was credited with the win after getting his team out of a jam in the sixth inning. Mike Bianco sent Jones to the mound with the bases loaded and no outs. The junior from Madison worked the Rebels out of the jam unscathed. He was perfect in 1.2 innings pitched.
English (0.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 BB) bore the loss for Southern Miss in what was easily the Golden Eagles’ worst pitching performance of the year. Catcher Tucker Stockman aided in the woes, consistently struggling to corral pitches all night, allowing Rebel baserunners to move into scoring position on multiple occasions.
Offensively, Ole Miss was led by Sanford (2 H, 3 RBI, 1 2b, 1HR, 2R) and Moerman (2 H, 2 RBI, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3R). Owen Paino, a highly-touted freshman who had struggled at the plate, hit his first home run as a Rebel.
For Southern Miss, bats were never the problem. However, a lack of baserunners to complement the four solo homers prevented the Golden Eagles from keeping up with the Rebels’ pace. Gillespie (3 H, 2 RBI, 1 HR, 1 R) and Monistere (1 H, 2 RBI, 1 HR, 1 R) were the bright lights for Southern Miss.
The two programs will spar in a neutral-site rematch at Trustmark Park on March 18.
Next up for Ole Miss is a three-game home series versus Wright State beginning Friday at 4 p.m. Each of the matchups will be televised on SEC Network+.
Southern Miss will head out west to face No. 25 TCU for a trio of contests. Friday’s first pitch between the Golden Eagles and Horned Frogs is set for 6 p.m. ESPN+ will be televising the series.
