WATCH: Elliott navigates trouble, Utermark hits another moonshot as Ole Miss keeps rolling
Ole Miss left-handed ace Hunter Elliott had his most turbulent start to date Friday against Wright State.
And yet he still dominated, even if he made things hard on himself at times.
Elliott allowed just one hit but no runs with seven strikeouts in a 9-1, series-opening win for the Rebels (8-1) over Wichita State (3-4). He covered 5.0 innings and notably worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the third by inducing a 6-4-3 double play.
Elliott issued five walks.
“Pretty good,” Elliott said of his outing. “Had to fight a little bit. Didn’t have my best stuff. You have those days. You gotta compete and throw zeroes up. I’ve always been pretty solid overcoming adversity whenever I don’t have my greatest stuff.
“But I think a next step is a little more consistency. Cut down on the walks and throw the ball in the zone a little more.”
Tampa transfer Alex Canney, who was impressive in the Rebels’ first midweek game of the year, replaced Elliott to begin the sixth. He gave up no runs. Elliott got the win, while Griffen Paige was saddled with the loss.
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Elliott is healthy and starting for the first time in two years.
He had Tommy John surgery to repair the damaged UCL in his pitching elbow. Elliott helped the Rebels to their first-ever national title in the summer of 2022.
Veteran RHP Riley Maddox (1-1, 6.48 ERA) will take on WKU righty Jarret Heilman (0-1, 11.57 ERA).
“I think I’ve been at 75 (pitch-count limit) or so for three weeks now. I felt good,” Elliott said of stretching out to 89 pitches thrown. “I’m feeling good. Body feels really good. My mental state’s going really well. I feel good, I love where the team’s at. We’ve got a lot of things we’ve got to get better at, but I’m feeling good.”
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