Ole Miss third baseman Judd Utermark heads back to the dugout after a his ninth-inning home run against No. 21 Florida. | Ole Miss Athletics
Ole Miss third baseman Judd Utermark heads back to the dugout after a his ninth-inning home run against No. 21 Florida. | Ole Miss Athletics

Ole Miss Delivers Knockout Punch in Ninth-Inning Comeback

BY Taylor Hodges

Sometimes a season shifts in ways you don’t see coming.

Ole Miss spent most of Saturday night looking at another frustrating SEC loss, stuck in a scoring drought that had stretched across 20 innings and down 2-0 with three outs left.

Then the ninth inning happened, and suddenly the whole weekend, maybe even the outlook moving forward, felt different.

That’s what five runs in one inning can do. That’s what a swing like Judd Utermark’s can do.

For most of the game, the story was Cade Townsend. He gave Ole Miss exactly what it needed: a calm, steady, no‑nonsense start on the road against a ranked team.

Six innings, one run, no walks, and the kind of presence that settles a dugout.

Florida barely touched him outside of a leadoff triple in the third. He retired the final eight hitters he faced. It was the best version of him, and it kept the Rebels in a game where the offense had nothing going.

But baseball doesn’t care about style points. Florida scratched across a second run in the seventh, and Ole Miss entered the ninth inning staring at a series loss and another weekend defined by missed chances.

Then Bissetta worked a walk.

Then Utermark stepped in and turned a fastball into a 404‑foot jolt of life. One swing tied the game, snapped the drought, and cracked open a door the Rebels had been pushing on all night. It was his 42nd career homer, and it came at a moment when Ole Miss needed someone to take the wheel.

From there, everything flowed.

Will Furniss singled. Owen Paino walked. Cannon Goldin wore a pitch. Brayden Randle lifted a sacrifice fly that gave Ole Miss its first lead of the night. Hayden Federico followed with a two‑run single that turned a comeback into a statement.

Walker Hooks handled the bottom of the ninth with two strikeouts, and just like that, Ole Miss walked off the field with its first road series win over a ranked opponent since 2022.

A loss would’ve been another tough chapter in a season that has already had its share of them.

This win feels like something else entirely. It’s a reminder that this team can take a punch, stay in the fight, and find a way late. It’s a reminder that one inning can change everything.

Pitching Decisions

  • WP: Walker Hooks (2-0), 2.1 IP, 1 H, 3 SO, 33 TP
  • LP: Joshua Whritenour (2-1), 1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 38 TP

Ole Miss Batting Leaders

  • Judd Utermark: 1-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, HR
  • Hayden Federico: 1-3, 2 RBI, 1 BB
  • Brayden Randle: 0-3, 1 RBI, Sac Fly

Next Up

Ole Miss has an extra day of rest with the series concluding on Saturday as it prepares a four-game homestand this week. That starts with Alcorn State at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and then LSU for a three-game series starting Friday.

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