Ole Miss Rides Big 6th Inning To Series-Opening Win Over Jacksonville State

The Ole Miss Rebels used a big sixth inning to secure a win over the Jacksonville State Gamecocks on Friday night.

Ole Miss' Will Furniss rounds third after hitting a home run against Jacksonville State on March 7, 2025 at Swayze Field in Oxford, Miss. | Ole Miss Athletics

The No. 17 Ole Miss Rebels' baseball winning streak has been extended to 11 games after they took down the Jacksonville State Gamecocks 7-4 at Swayze Field on Friday night.

Despite not having a solid start from staff ace Hunter Elliott on the mound, Ole Miss (12-1) was able to find enough runs to secure the win in the late innings in Oxford. Elliott struggled at times on Friday, only lasting 3.1 innings while allowing four earned runs with five hits, three walks and three hit batters.

When Elliott departed the game in the fourth inning, Jacksonville State had gained a 4-2 lead with Ole Miss' pair of runs coming off the bat of Isaac Humphrey's two-run home run in the third inning. The score remained 4-2 in favor of the Gamecocks until the bottom of the sixth inning when emotions began to run high at Swayze Field.

After Humphrey was called out on a questionable third strike call, Rebels head coach Mike Bianco emerged from the dugout to argue with the umpires. It appears that his team responded well as Austin Fawley and Will Furniss hit back-to-back solo home runs to tie the game at four, and freshman Hayden Federico hit a two-run shot to give Ole Miss a 6-4 lead.

Furniss and Federico's home runs featured some emotionally-charged bat flips, drawing Jacksonville State head coach Steve Bieser from the dugout for a conversation with the umpiring crew.

The Rebels would hold onto that lead for the remainder of the game while tacking on an extra insurance run on an RBI single from Luke Cheng in the eighth inning.

After Elliott departed from the mound in the fourth, Mason Morris came on in relief, and his performance kept the Rebels in the game long enough for the bats to come to life. He was credited with the win (2-0) after throwing 4.2 innings of scoreless, one-hit ball while walking three and striking out seven. Closer Connor Spencer came on in the ninth inning and retired the Gamecocks in order to earn his second save of the year.

Ole Miss will go for the series win over Jacksonville State on Saturday in a 1:30 p.m. CT first pitch from Swayze Field. The game will be televised on SEC Network+.