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Ole Miss edges Florida in low-scoring game to advance in SEC Tournament
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Ole Miss needed only 1 multi-run inning to get past Florida in the late game of Day 2 of the SEC Tournament. The No. 7 seed Rebels defeated the 10-seed Gators 3-1 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Both Ole Miss and Florida turned to their ace pitchers for the Wednesday night tilt, which continued into early Thursday morning. It was scoreless through the first 3 1/2 innings before the Rebels got to Liam Peterson (4 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K).
In the bottom of the 4th, Ole Miss broke the scoring ice with back-to-back 2-out doubles from Judd Utermark and Isaac Humphrey. UF 3rd baseman Landon Stripling then committed an error, which allowed Ryan Moerman to reach and keep the inning going.
Back-to-back doubles and the Rebs are in business! pic.twitter.com/WqVywWD707
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 22, 2025
Campbell Smithwick then singled to right field to plate Humphrey. Moerman had gone 1st to 3rd on the single and came around to score on a throwing error by right fielder Ashton Wilson.
Soup extends the lead to three!@campbellrsoup x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/4u8f9aqNyY
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 22, 2025
When the dust settled, it was a 3-run inning for the Rebels on 4 hits and 2 errors. Ole Miss did not score again and finished the game with 7 total hits, but it proved to be enough. Rebel hurlers contained the Gator bats to just 1 run.
Veteran ace Hunter Elliott delivered another standout performance for Ole Miss. Elliott went 5.1 IP, allowing just 1 unearned run on 2 hits, striking out 8 and walking 1 over 98 pitches (62 strikes).
Fire us up @elliotthunter10! pic.twitter.com/3Edp3ucL4n
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 22, 2025
When Elliott left, the Rebels turned to Mason Morris for 2.2 scoreless innings. Connor Spencer pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning to seal the deal and collect a save.
With the loss, Florida is now 38-20 overall after a 15-15 season in SEC play and 1-1 showing in the SEC Tournament. The Gators are currently No. 16 in RPI, but were thought to need to do more in Hoover to earn a top-16 seed in the NCAA Tournament to host a Regional.
Ole Miss is in the conversation to snag one of the final hosting spots. The Rebels are now 38-18 overall, adding an SEC Tournament win to a 16-14 conference showing in the regular season. They’ll look to add another victory to that resume on Friday in quarterfinals against Arkansas.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
