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Ole Miss dugout reacts to Murray State batter losing bat into netting

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby: Grant Grubbs05/31/25grant_grubbs_
Ole Miss Murray State bat slip
© Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK

Ole Miss wasn’t happy with Murray State‘s Dan Tauken after his bat slipped out of his hands and flew over the Rebels’ dugout on Friday evening. With Murray State ahead 6-5 in the top of the seventh inning, Tauken took a massive chop at a ball and couldn’t hold onto the bat when he didn’t make contact.

While it was a scary scene, the bat perfectly soared over Ole Miss’ players heads and collided with the safety net behind the dugout. With a scowl, an Ole Miss player retrieved the bat and flung it back toward Tauken.

Tauken ultimately won the at-bat, getting to first base on a walk. Alas, Ole Miss pitcher Gunnar Dennis struck out the Racers’ next batter to escape the inning without giving up another run.

The last thing Ole Miss needs is for another one of its players to be sidelined. In the second inning of Ole Miss‘ showdown against Arkansas in the SEC Tournament last Friday, Rebels outfielders Ryan Moerman and Isaac Humphrey collided while chasing down a fly ball in right-center field.

Moerman exited the game and didn’t play again for the rest of the tournament. On Thursday, Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco provided an update on Moerman’s condition.

“Better. He’s in a brace but he’s come a long way,” Bianco said. “He’s taken (batting practice), all his swings, the last couple days. He’s shagging balls in the outfield but if you watch real close you can see there’s a limp there. Watched him run through the bases (on Wednesday). It was better than we thought, so each day he keeps continuing to get better and that’s what they say it will be.”

Moerman isn’t the only Rebel who’s battling an injury. Ole Miss pitcher Mason Nichols was sidelined during the SEC Tournament due to an oblique injury. Nichols threw in the bullpen on Wednesday and Bianco expects him to return during the Oxford Regional.

“As I said earlier in the week, I’d be surprised if both of those guys aren’t on the field in some capacity,” Bianco added. “Now, what that looks like I think it’s still day-to-day. So, Nichols hadn’t thrown through yesterday, see how he recovers from that, see what he looks like the rest of the weekend.”

No matter who’s on the field, Ole Miss will be hungry to succeed. This year is the Rebels’ first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2022, the same year the team won the College World Series.