A Late Inning Collapse Almost Cost the Rebs, but Utermarks heroics save the day: Ole Miss vs Arkansas State Recap

It was a chilly afternoon in Oxford, and the midweek matchup between Arkansas State and Ole Miss was moved up two hours due to the winter weather, which moved into the south yesterday evening. And for both teams, the bats were cold. It was a pretty uneventful game until the 9th inning. The Rebels managed only three hits in regulation, and the Red Wolves only had two infield singles the whole match, bouncing off the pitcher. Until the 9th inning, Arkansas State didn’t really threaten at all. In the end, it took some heroics from one, Judd Utermark, who continues to show signs that this could be his breakout campaign. 

Alex Canney got the start for the Rebels, and he was excellent. He pitched three innings, walking only allowing an infield single that bounced off his foot. He also notched four strikeouts. Canny comes as advertised: a savvy pitcher and a strike thrower. He won’t blow you away with his stuff, but he makes up for it with just knowing how to pitch. He is a high-floor option for this team, and I expect him to slot in full-time as the mid-week starter and maybe get a run out on Sunday at some point. 

Mangrum would go to the pen early and use this game to get a lot of guys some work. Next, they went to freshman Owen Hancock to make his debut. He was solid in one inning, but I wouldn’t expect him to see a significant role this year. I was shocked to see Hancock and not Townsend. The Rebels had announced that Cade Townsend, the talented freshman, would debut today, but it didn’t happen. In my opinion, this means one, he warmed up and just didn’t look or feel right, or two, they are planning to start him this Sunday against Eastern Kentucky. 

Brayden Jones and Hudson Calhoun would make their season, and both looked good. Jones threw 1.1 innings, struck out two, and pumped up to 98 MPH with his fastball. Calhoun has taken that next step and was pretty lights out in 1.2 IP. These are two excellent relief options that weren’t even used this weekend, highlighting the depth of this bullpen. Walker Hooks would get the call in the 8th to set up the save, and he was terrific again, an uber-talented Freshman who seems to have secured a key role in this bullpen. 

The offense for the Rebels was pretty sluggish, which was disappointing to see coming off the game against Clemson. Smithwick led things off and went hitless again, still searching for his season's first hit. Hayden Federico, who didn't get the start, would pitch hit for Randle. Federico got another hit and a walk in his two-plate appearance. This kid just has to be in the lineup every day. 

Owen Paino returned to the starting shortstop role and notched his first collegiate hit, hopefully jump-starting him. He also walked in this one and looked more comfortable at the plate than this weekend. 

Furniss is still looking for his first hit; he started this one and was subbed out for Reuter. Furniss was one of the players Ole Miss hoped would take a big jump this year, and I’m just not sure it is in the cards for him. Reuter also doesn’t look great over there, even though he did pick up two hits against Clemson. This is still a position battle, and I think it would be worthwhile playing Judd over at the first game this weekend. 

That only offensive production came from Judd Utermark stealing a home in the 4th. It's certainly something you don’t see every game. Utermark moves shockingly well for his size and power profile. Smithwick also grounded into a double play that resulted in a runner scoring in the 7th. 

A worrying old theme reared its head in this one, and that is just the inability of this team to move runners and produce runs. While they only managed three hits in the first nine innings, they drew nine walks. However, they had little to show for it. This is something that has plagued this team for the last two seasons. In the 5th inning, they had bases loaded and no outs, with Hill, Humphrey, and Utermark coming up and left the inning empty-handed. That is just an unacceptable outcome for that inning. You have to put the ball in play and do a job in that spot, and it will cost you games against better teams, and they are lucky in some respects that it didn’t cost them yesterday. 

We also need to talk about Connor Spencer, who was an excellent closer on a bad ball club last year and was a key piece that the coaching staff convinced to return this year to lead the bullpen again. However, through two appearances, he just doesn’t look quite right. It didn’t bite them against Arizona, but last night, he blew his first save of the season. In the 9th inning, the Red Wolves scored two runs on no hits and forced extra innings. First, it was an error by Paino at short, then a walk and hit batter to load the bases with no outs. The free passes have been the problem with Spencer; now, his 4th allowed in 2 innings. 

After that, the Rebs would try to turn two, just missing the runner at first; I thought they could’ve gotten him if Reuters had stretched for the ball. Then it was a sac fly, and the runner missed the Smithwick tag to tie it up. 

Ultimately, the 9th inning collapse wouldn’t cost them as in the 10th inning; Judd Utermark would be the hero, blasting a two-run walk-off homer to left field. 

The Rebels escaped this one, hopefully learning a valuable lesson in the process. They will be back in action for a weekend series against Eastern Kentucky, starting at 4 PM CT. We will get a preview up shortly. Hotty Toddy!