Hunter Elliott's 'Houdini' Performance Wows Ole Miss Players, Coaches

Hunter Elliott did not have his best stuff on Friday night, but he did enough to keep Wright State off the board and secure a win for the Rebels.

Ole Miss LHP Hunter Elliott throws a pitch against Wright State on Feb. 28, 2025 at Swayze Field in Oxford, Miss. | Ole Miss Athletics

The Ole Miss Rebels came away with a 9-1 win over the Wright State Raiders at Swayze Field on Friday night, and although starting pitcher Hunter Elliott was credited with the win, he was not as sharp as he had been in previous starts this season.

Elliott worked five innings of one-hit ball while walking five and striking out seven. Despite allowing some traffic on the basepaths with free passes, the Rebel lefty did not allow a run and gave his offense time to work in what eventually became a blowout final score.

What's it like watching Elliott work out of bases-loaded jams as one of his teammates? Offensive hero Judd Utermark (who hit a towering home run in Friday's win) broke it down after the game.

"It's a mystery because he's so good, and his stuff is so elite, but sometimes he gets in those pinches where it is bases loaded and no outs, and you wonder how does Houdini do it?" Utermark said. "It really is just awesome watching him. The great thing about him is he's such a team guy, and he's always picking up other players.

"A lot of the time, you can see the bases are loaded, and all you see is Hunter Elliott on the mound, but you didn't see the error that was behind him or the ball that should have been caught, and he's so good at picking us up. We just try to return the favor."

Every pitcher is going to have outings where his stuff isn't at its best, but some of the most successful ones are able to overcome that by still throwing zeros onto the scoreboard. That's what Elliott was able to accomplish on Friday, and it impressed head coach Mike Bianco in the process.

"It's hard to explain. You have to watch it and see it," Bianco said postgame. "When you watch enough baseball, the great ones do it. The [Doug] Nikhazys, the Lance Lynns, the [Drew] Pomeranzes, the [Scott] Bittles. They're not always perfect, and sometimes, you have traffic out there. The difference is usually those guys that are really good come off the field on their own accord. You don't knock them out of the game.

"Even there in the fifth inning, [Elliott] reached his pitch count and was coming out after that hitter, but unlike a lot of people, he punches the guy out and runs off the field versus a walk or base hit to where somebody else has got to clean up the mess. The inning before with the bases loaded, he gets a double play ball."

Elliott is still on his return tour after missing most of 2023 and all of 2024 with an elbow injury that led to Tommy John surgery. After some sharp starts to begin the year (including a 10-strikeout performance last week against Eastern Kentucky), an outing like Friday's can be a bit of a letdown. But Bianco doesn't view it that way, based on his postgame comments.

"I think a little frustrating for him, but you're not always going to be at your best," Bianco said. "But can you win anyway? Certainly today, he wasn't at his best, but he was pretty darn good when you don't give up runs."

The Rebels take the field again on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT in search of the series win over Wright State.