Hunter Elliott has looked untouchable plenty of times in his career, but Friday wasn’t one of those nights.
He wasn’t bad, just not the version of Elliott that usually makes opponents rethink their life choices. Missouri State put a run on him in the first, worked some long counts, and generally made him labor more than he probably expected in late February.
And it didn’t matter at all, because the Ole Miss lineup showed up ready to hit baseballs into low orbit.
Austin Fawley’s grand slam (his first homer of the season) set the tone. Two strikes, two outs, bases loaded, and he still got a pitch he could drive.
Feelin' GRAND 😁@fawley_austin x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/hzskW57mqM
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 20, 2026
It was the second straight game Ole Miss hit a grand slam, which says plenty about how this offense is operating right now. When the Rebels get traffic on the bases, someone usually cashes it in.
Judd Utermark continued his personal home-run tour, adding two more to bring his season total to five. He has four in the last two games, which is bordering on “don’t throw him anything you care about” territory.
The man. The myth. The legend.@JuddUtermark x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/3elRXHaChE
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 21, 2026
Will Furniss reached base all five times he stepped in, scored three runs, and generally looked like the guy who’s going to make pitchers pay for pitching around Utermark.
The rest of the lineup didn’t exactly take the night off either. Dom Decker, Tristan Bissetta, and Collin Reuter all had two hits. Reuter drove in three runs, including a two-run double that pushed the lead back out after Missouri State tried to make things interesting in the fourth.
Elliott still gave Ole Miss 4.2 innings with five strikeouts, but he wasn’t cruising.
“Not good, I think if (Elliott) was here, he’d tell you that too,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. “It’s unfortunate. But we say it a lot, if you’re not going to play well, hopefully we win. If you’re not going to do some things, he walked six, hit three, and really was a pitch away twice to getting the win on the night. Credit the offense for that, also credit why he’s so good. He was, arguably, way off tonight and still, the game was in pact.”
Throw five and only give up three with all the mess that was out there. So he hung in there, that’s what aces do, but yeah, not a good night for him.
And that’s really the story of the night. Ole Miss didn’t need its ace to dominate. The offense handled the heavy lifting early, the bullpen covered the rest, and the Rebels moved to 6-0 without ever feeling like they were in danger.
If this is what the team looks like on a night when Elliott isn’t at his best, that’s a pretty comfortable place to be in late February.
Winning/Losing Pitchers
- WP: Hudson Calhoun (1-0) – 3.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 65 TP
- LP: Michael Yusypchuk (1-1) – 3.0 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 K, 54 TP
Ole Miss Batting Leaders
- Austin Fawley – 1-for-4, 4 RBI, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 K
- Judd Utermark – 2-for-4, 3 RBI, 2 HR, 2 K
- Collin Reuter – 2-for-4, 3 RBI, 2 2B, 2 K
- Tristan Bissetta – 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 RBI, 2 K, 1 BB
Next Up
Ole Miss and Missouri State will continue their weekend series Saturday. First-pitch is set for 2 p.m. on SECN+. The Rebels will send right-hander Cade Townsend to the mound for his second appearance of the season.
