First Step to Omaha: Ole Miss baseball ‘locked in’ for Oxford Regional, postseason run

The road to Omaha opens for Ole Miss baseball Friday against Murray State. 

The host Rebels take on the Racers at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN+. Ole Miss is the No. 10 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and hosting for the first time since 2021.

“That’s always one of our goals — to host a Regional, host a Super Regional and obviously Omaha,” Ole Miss slugger Judd Utermark told the Ole Miss Spirit this week. “In my two years here we haven’t been able to do that. So, being able to fulfill this goal of ours has been a pick-me-up in the locker room, for sure. I really like our chances going into this weekend.”

Ole Miss is throwing veteran right-hander Riley Maddox and not ace Hunter Elliott against Murray State. Elliott hasn’t given up an earned run over his last two starts. He’s surrendered just six hits with 16 strikeouts and three walks.

Maddox (6-5, 5.26 ERA) will oppose Nic Shutte, a right-hander with a 7-3 record and 4.02 ERA on the season. Ole Miss is 40-19 after three wins in the SEC Tournament last week.

“I love it,” Utermark said of Maddox starting and Ole Miss holding Elliott for a higher-seed matchup on Saturday. “All the guys in the locker room have confidence in him. With Elliott and Maddox it’s pretty much 1A and 1B and it can go in any order, really. 

“They’re both so elite. They’re really both two different type of pitchers if you look at it. I’m not sure if the call was either matchup-based off Murray State’s hitters or something else. All I know is we have full confidence in Riley to go out there and pitch his best stuff like he’s done almost all year.”

Murray State rolls into Oxford with a 39-13 record. 

The Racers played Ole Miss to extras in March, however, the Rebels escaped with an 8-7 win. Utermark is hitting .400 (14 for 35) and slugging .629 with 12 RBI and nine runs scored over his last eight games.

“It really makes our job easy when you have a guy like Riley who pounds the zone and a bullpen coming right behind him that’s been on fire recently,” Utermark said. “It’s a blessing to have all of these pitchers and all of these starters and bullpen be able to come together, especially at this time of the year, which is the biggest time of the year.”

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HOW TO WATCH

Television/Online: ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Derek Jones
Color: Jay Walker

HOW TO LISTEN

Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: David Kellum
Color: Brad Henderson

SCOUTING MURRAY STATE

Murray State has already this season picked up its second-most wins in a single season in program history. A win Friday would match the most ever for the Racers, set in 1975.

They won four straight games last week to take home the MVC Baseball Championship. Dustin Mercer hit .500 (9 for 18) with three extra-base hits and seven RBI as the tournament MVP. 

Murray State also shared the regular-season conference title with a 17-8 finish in league play. Both titles are the first for the Racers in their third year as members of the MVC. Murray State is in its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament after last appearing in 2003.

Dom Decker has reached base in 34 straight games. He leads the MVC and is No. 23 nationally in on-base percentage (.510). The Racers are batting .315 as a team, while opponents are hitting .272.

AROUND THE (OLE MISS) DIAMOND

1. Ole Miss last week played in the SEC Tournament final for the first time since 2019.
2. Rebel pitchers posted a collective 1.29 ERA in Hoover and allowed all of five earned runs in 35 innings. They struck out 35 and issued only nine walks, holding opponents to a .151 batting average.
3. Connor Spencer went back-to-back-to-back with saves to nearly double his regular-season total. Spencer closed out wins over Florida, Arkansas and LSU.
4. Campbell Smithwick is hitting .455 (10 for 22) with an OPS of 1.065 and six RBI over his last eight games.
5. Will McCausland has a 1.37 ERA over his last 13 appearances. He hasn’t given up an earned run in his last five.
6. Hudson Calhoun hasn’t allowed an earned run over his last seven and has struck out 20 of the last 42 batters he’s faced.
7. Ole Miss is three home runs shy of tying, and four home runs from breaking, the program’s single-season record (108) set in 2022.