The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
43-20
Murray State
41-14
No. 10 Baseball Races Past Murray State to Force Deciding Game 7 at Oxford Regional
6/1/2025 | Baseball
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. 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. 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.STAY CONNECTED
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Rodriguez, Ryne (1-1)
L: Elmy, Kane (6-2)
Batting:
2B: Humphrey, Isaac 1
3B: Humphrey, Isaac 1
HR: Furniss, Will 2 ; Utermark, Judd 1 ; Humphrey, Isaac 1 ; Fawley, Austin 1
RBI: Sanford, Mitchell 3 ; Paino, Owen 1 ; Furniss, Will 4 ; Utermark, Judd 1 ; Humphrey, Isaac 2 ; Federico, Hayden 1 ; Fawley, Austin 3 ; Randle, Brayden 1
SF: Federico, Hayden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sanford, Mitchell 2 ; Hill, Luke 1 ; Paino, Owen 1 ; Furniss, Will 2 ; Utermark, Judd 2 ; Humphrey, Isaac 3 ; Smithwick, Campbell 2 ; Federico, Hayden 2 ; Fawley, Austin 2 ; Randle, Brayden 2
HBP: Hill, Luke 1 ; Utermark, Judd 1 ; Fawley, Austin 1
Batting:
2B: Mercer, Dustin 2 ; Guthrie, Kingsley 1 ; Bermeo, Nico 1 ; Cunningham, Conner 1
3B: Vierling, Will 1
HR: Hogart, Jonathan 1
RBI: Hogart, Jonathan 2 ; Mercer, Dustin 2 ; Mistone, Luke 1 ; Vierling, Will 1 ; Bermeo, Nico 1 ; Cunningham, Conner 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hogart, Jonathan 2 ; Mercer, Dustin 1 ; Mistone, Luke 1 ; Guthrie, Kingsley 1 ; Bermeo, Nico 2 ; Cunningham, Conner 1
SB: Mistone, Luke 1
HBP: Mercer, Dustin 1
