Ole Miss third baseman Judd Utermark crosses home plate after hitting a home run against Little Rock. | Ole Miss Athletics
Ole Miss third baseman Judd Utermark crosses home plate after hitting a home run against Little Rock. | Ole Miss Athletics

Ole Miss Gets Back in Win Column, Edges Little Rock 7-4

BY Taylor Hodges

It wasn’t pretty, but it counted.

Ole Miss did just enough Tuesday afternoon, grinding out a 7-4 win over Little Rock in a game that felt uneven most of the way.

There were flashes, like Judd Utermark jumping things off with a leadoff homer and Will Furniss clearing the bases in a key moment. The pitching staff bent but didn’t break, keeping things close until the offense found an opening.

 It wasn’t the kind of performance that answers every question, but heading into a big weekend, the Rebels will take the win and move on.

At the Plate

It wasn’t the lights-out, dominant, everybody is getting hits type of game that would inspire a lot of confidence headed into the weekend. But it was enough to get the win and there were some good things.

Judd Utermark hitting a leadoff home run was great to see. He had one home run against Mississippi State and had gone 10 games without a homer before that. Collin Reuter also got a home run, his fourth of the season.

But for a team that lives and dies by the home run, you’d like to see one or two more in a midweek game. That’s asking for a lot but the Rebels lost a lot of people’s confidence after this past weekend.

Of course, Little Rock didn’t provide too many great opportunities. The Trojans were either striking out batters or walking them. They had 13 strikeouts and eight walks. That contrast was most evident in the third inning when a pair of strikeouts sandwiched three-straight walks.

At least the Rebels took advantage of this bases-loaded situation. Will Furniss doubled down the left field line to clear the bases and give Ole Miss a 4-3 lead. Reuter’s home run extended the lead in the seventh and some more charity runs were given in the eighth. Owen Paino drew a one-out walk to load the bases and then a pair of runs scored on a fielder’s choice throwing error.

Good teams, though, aren’t usually that charitable and the Rebels can’t rely on that for an offense. They’ll need more batters to find their swings.

On the Mound

The most important thing pitching-wise for Ole Miss was to not have to use any of the upper tier bullpen arms. That was accomplished.

Grayson Gibson got the start and the only other regular relievers to take the mound Tuesday were Landon Koenig and Landon Waters. So, all of the important relievers should be full rested for the start of Thursday’s series against No. 21 Florida.

As for the game itself, the six Rebels did well on the mound. They had just one walk allowed as a group and struck out six batters. They allowed 13 hits, but they worked around most of those hits. Gibson gave up a pair of second-inning home runs, but overall, they did their job.

The game stayed close enough for a struggling offense to find an opening to take the lead.

Pitching Decisions

  • WP: Noah Allen (1-0), 2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 39 TP, 25 ST
  • LP: Malcom Brown (2-1), 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 18 TP, 10 ST
  • S: Landon Waters (2) 1.1 IP, 1 H, 20 TP, 14 ST

Ole Miss Batting Leaders

  • Judd Utermark: 1-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR, 2 BB
  • Collin Reuter: 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR, 2 K
  • Will Furniss: 3-4, 3 RBI, 1 2B, 1 K

Next Up

Ole Miss has very little time to recover from Tuesday’s tough matchup. The Rebels are headed to No. 21 Florida for a three-game series starting Thursday. First-pitch for the first two games are set for 5:30 p.m. on SECN+. Saturday’s series finale will air at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network.

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