Ole Miss second baseman Dom Decker waits for a pitch during game one of Friday's double-header against Evansville. | Dylan Cohron-HottyToddy.com Images
Ole Miss second baseman Dom Decker waits for a pitch during game one of Friday's double-header against Evansville. | Dylan Cohron-HottyToddy.com Images

Ole Miss Opens Doubleheader With Win Over Evansville

BY Taylor Hodges

Baseball has plenty of old sayings, but one of the simplest still holds up: put the ball in play and good things usually follow.

That played out for Ole Miss in the first game of Friday’s doubleheader against Evansville. The Rebels spent the first two innings hitting balls hard but right at defenders — the kind of contact that looks good off the bat but turns into easy outs when no one has to move. Eventually, though, the odds tilt your way.

It started in the third. Hayden Federico doubled with one out and scored on Judd Utermark’s sacrifice fly. A few batters later, Will Furniss punched an RBI single through a shift to tie the game at 2-2. Then Tate Sirmans and Utermark added solo home runs to push the Rebels ahead 4-2.

Ole Miss added some insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to make things a little more calm in the night.

The bigger story was the quality of contact. Some balls found gloves. Some cleared the wall. That’s baseball, but it’s also a good early‑season sign for an offense about to face a lot tougher competition.

Another Rocky Start from Hunter Elliott

If there was one thing Ole Miss hoped to see from Hunter Elliott, it was a clean first inning and he delivered, striking out the side.

The trouble came in the second, when Reid Haire jumped on the first pitch for a solo homer.

Elliott lasted five innings and allowed just two runs, both on solo shots, but four walks put him in tougher spots than he needed. He escaped the fourth inning with runners at first and second and no outs. He then got out of an even tougher jam in the fifth when the Purple Aces are runners in scoring position and one out recorded.

Evansville couldn’t fully capitalize. SEC lineups will.

But not even SEC lineups could’ve touched Hudson Calhoun. Coming in after Elliott, Calhoun allowed just one hit and struck out nine batters in three innings. That’s the type of performance you want from your bullpen. And with Calhoun the lone reliever to enter the game, the Rebels have most of their bullpen available for the second part of Friday’s double-header.

Pitching Decisions

  • WP: Hunter Elliott (2-0), 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 7 K, 1 HP, 90 TP, 51 ST
  • LP: Kenton Dever (0-3), 5.1 IP, 12 H, 4 R, 3 K, 82 TP, 58 ST
  • S: Hunter Calhoun (2), 4 IP, 1 H, 9 K, 0 BB, 56 TP, 37 ST

Ole Miss Batting Leaders

  • Will Furniss: 3-5, 2 RBI
  • Judd Utermark: 1-3, 2 RBI, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 SF, 1 K
  • Dom Decker: 2-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SF
  • Tristan Bissetta: 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
  • Collin Reuter: 2-4, 1 BB, 1 K

Next Up

Nobody will have long to think about this game as the second game of the double-header is scheduled to begin within an hour of game one’s conclusion (approx. 6:50 p.m. CT)

Ole Miss will send right-hander Cade Townsend (1-0, 0.66 ERA) to the mound and Evansville will counter with another righty, Max Hansmann (1-0, 2.12 ERA).

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