The Recap: Ole Miss Baseball Defeats Murray State in Dominant Oxford Regional Clash

OXFORD, Miss. – Top-seed Ole Miss advanced to a Monday showdown against four-seed Murray State with a 19-8 win over the Racers Sunday night.

The teams will play at 5 p.m. Monday, and the winner advances to a Super Regional.

Ole Miss improved to 43-20, while Murray State is now 40-14.

Murray State, which won Friday night's game 9-6 against Ole Miss, went on top Sunday night 1-0 in the bottom of the first on a RBI single from Luke Mistone, which scored Dustin Mercer who doubled. Ole Miss answered and went ahead 2-1 after the top of the second.

Isaac Humphrey walked, and two outs later Austin Fawley homered for a one-run Rebel lead at 2-1. MSU came back to lead 3-2 in the bottom of the second.

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— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) June 2, 2025

After Conner Cunningham walked, Jonathan Hogart homered to left.

An eight-run top of the third put Ole Miss way ahead in this one. Will Furniss with a two-run homer after Owen Paino was aboard pinch running for Luke Hill got things started. It was 4-3 Ole Miss. Things were just getting started in the inning.

After Humphrey tripled, two walks loaded the bases, and Fawley was hit by a pitch for a 5-3 UM lead. Brayden Randle singled to score Smithwick, who was one of the walks, and it was 6-3.Mitchell Sanford singled, and an error on MSU, cleared the bases for a 9-3 Rebel lead. Sanford scored on a wild pitch, and Ole Miss led 10-3.

After the Racers got a run back in the bottom of the third, Ole Miss started the top of the fourth with a rare series of moments - back-to-back-to-back home runs on only three pitches, for Furniss to left, Judd Utermark to center, and Humphrey to right.

The Rebs led 13-4. There would be two more runs in the inning for a 15-4 lead.

Murray State cut the lead to 15-6 in the bottom of the fourth, and Ole Miss added a run in the top of the fifth.

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— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) June 2, 2025

Utermark was on third after a hit by pitch and walks for Humphrey and Campbell Smithwick, and it was 16-6 Rebels.

A Furniss RBI single and a Humphrey RBI double made it 18-6 in the top of the sixth. MSU posted a run in the bottom of the seventh.

Owen Paino singled in the top of the ninth to score Brayden Randle who had reached on a walk, and the Rebels led 19-7. MSU added a run in the bottom of the ninth for the final margin of 11.

Rebel starter Gunnar Dennis, the senior left-hander, had a good outing with six earned runs on eight hits with two walks and five strikeouts through four complete.

Junior left-hander Ryne Rodriguez pitched brilliantly 3.2 innings with one earned run on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Junior right-hander Landon Waters pitched the rest of the way for the Rebels.

Furniss with four hits, and Sanford and Humphrey with three hits each led the Rebels.

Rodriguez (1-1) got the win. Starter Kane Elmy (6-2) got the loss.

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