Ole Miss’ Judd Utermark moves into tie for most homers in program history
Published:
Ole Miss didn’t get the series victory this past weekend at Arkansas, but the Rebels at least left Fayetteville with a little bit of program history.
Specifically, slugger Judd Utermark left town with his name permanently in the Ole Miss baseball record book. With the Rebels and Razorbacks deadlocked at 3-3 in the top of the 8th inning in Sunday’s rubber game, the senior third baseman unloaded on a 1-0 pitch and sent the ball skyrocketing over the center-field wall to give Ole Miss the lead and put himself in very good company in program history.
It was Utermark’s 19th homer of the season, but even more importantly it was his 48th career home run, tying him with Kyle Gordon for the most all-time long balls in Ole Miss history.
Utermark’s historical homer also looked like it was going to be the difference-maker in Sunday’s game and in the weekend series. But in the bottom of the ninth, Christian Turner smacked a 2-run, walk-off homer to give Arkansas a 5-4 victory and the series win.
Despite the loss, it was a memorable afternoon for Utermark, with the Charlotte product still having plenty of season to smack that 49th homer and pass Gordon on the all-time list.
Utermark went 2-for-4 in Sunday’s loss that was otherwise memorable for individual reasons. With Ole Miss heading home to face Texas A&M next weekend, Utermark will have the opportunity to set the home run record in front of his fans in Oxford.
Ole Miss didn’t have the weekend it wanted to in Fayetteville as a team, but there is still plenty of time for the Rebels to rebound and make a run at the College World Series. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the odds for the top teams in the mix to make it all the way to Omaha in June:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
