The 2026 Ole Miss baseball regular season didn’t end with a thud. It ended in near silence.
No. 18 Alabama held the Rebels to only four hits and eight total base runners in a 6-2 win Saturday to cap off the regular season.
Ole Miss ends the season with a 36-20 overall record and 15-15 in SEC games. It’s a record that guarantees the Rebels a spot in the NCAA Tournament, but likely won’t be playing at Swayze Field again.
That’s a result of the Rebels simply not playing well against Alabama.
The Rebels went 4-for-29 at the plate and had just one extra base hit. Judd Utermark, Will Furniss and Hayden Federico were all held hitless and Dom Decker had the only base-hit RBI. If there’s a bright side, they only had eight strikeouts at the plate.
.@OwenPaino scores on the fly ball‼️ pic.twitter.com/jFvlcmhhN5
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 16, 2026
When you struggle to get runners on base, stats like two-out hitting and hitting with runners in scoring position don’t matter much.
Additionally, Ole Miss’ biggest strength wasn’t at its best. Cade Townsend didn’t get out of the fourth inning after giving up seven hits and five runs. He also had four strikeouts, three walks and one hit-by-pitch.
With how Alabama’s pitching staff was handling the Rebels’ bats, that was enough.
Hudson Calhoun came in after Townsend and held the Tide to one run on two hits in one inning of work. Walker Hooks finished off the game without allowing a run and only two hits while striking out three.
First run on the board‼️ pic.twitter.com/Gbj3ZChnp4
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 16, 2026
We’ve seen examples of Ole Miss at its best, like Friday night in a 9-0 win against the same Alabama squad. But Saturday is the opposite end of the spectrum and showed how easily, and quickly the postseason can end for the Rebels.
Pitching Decisions
- WP: Myles Upchurch (8-3) 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 HP, 101 TP
- LP: Cade Townsend (5-3), 3.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 HP, 87 TP
Ole Miss Batting Leaders
- Dom Decker: 1-4, 1 RBI
- Tristan Bissetta: 0-3, 1 RBI, 1 Sac Fly
- Topher Jones: 1-2, 1 2B, 1 HBP
Next Up
Ole Miss needed a win Sunday to have any chance of stealing a first-round bye of the SEC Tournament. But the loss guarantees the Rebels will play on the first day of the tournament.
What time Tuesday the Rebels will play remains to be seen. If they’re the No. 9 seed, they’ll play at 9:30 a.m. If they fall to the No. 10 seed, they’ll play at 4:30 p.m. All games in Hoover will be shown on SEC Network.
