The Ole Miss offense was held scoreless for the final eight innings, but their five-run first inning was enough to beat Arkansas in the SEC Baseball Tournament Quarterfinals on Friday.
The danger started in the first inning when Arkansas had a double-play opportunity but misplayed the ball and sailed the throw to first base. With runners on second and third, Utermark singled, Moerman singled, and Fawley launched a three-run homer over the left-field wall to put the Rebels up for good.
Arkansas finished the regular season as the conference's best offense, leading in multiple categories such as batting average, slugging, and runs and finishing second in total home runs. Led by Riley Maddox, Will McCausland, Mason Morris, and Connor Spencer, Ole Miss limited the Razorbacks to two runs on five hits, most notably holding Wehiwa Aloy, the SEC Player of the Year, hitless. The most significant moment happened when McCausland slammed the door on the sixth inning with a strikeout looking after loading the bases.
There were two concerning moments involving injuries. In the second inning, right fielder Ryan Moerman and center fielder Isaac Humphrey collided while diving for a fly ball in the gap. Humphrey remained in the game, but freshman Hayden Federico replaced Moerman after he showed discomfort while attempting to run. Head coach Mike Bianco did not seem overly concerned about Moerman's long-term availability. Luke Hill was slow to get up after being tagged out while trying to score to end the top of the fourth but remained in the game.
Ole Miss advances to play the 3-seed LSU at 5:45 pm on Saturday, the first time they will have met this season. With this win, Ole Miss is expected to host a regional next weekend at Swayze Field.