OXFORD, Miss. — Hayden Federico showed the way for Ole Miss hitters and Hunter Elliott quieted Arkansas’ powerful offense as the No. 13-ranked Rebels beat the No. 3 Razorbacks 10-6 in the SEC opener for both teams Friday at Swayze Field.
Federico, the Rebs’ leadoff man, ripped a home run on the first pitch of the game by Arkansas pitcher Zach Root. Ole Miss scored in every inning through six frames and roughed up Root for seven runs on 10 hits and two walks in just three innings.
Reb’s right fielder and cleanup man Mitchell Sanford was 3-for-4 with his third homer, a double and four RBIs to pace the offense. Center fielder Isaac Humphrey was also 3-for-4 while shortstop Luke Cheng was 2-for-2.
After the Razorbacks got a run in the third, Collin Reuter led off the Rebel third with a single. Austin Fawley reached on an error, and Isaac Humphrey singled to load the bases. Cheng singled to score Reuter, but that would be all the Rebels would get and led 5-2 through three.
Elliott kept the lead at three runs for Ole Miss, and in the bottom of the fourth his team scored two more. Moerman doubled down the left field line, then Sanford launched one out to left to make it 7-2 for the home team.
After another scoreless frame for Elliott in the fifth, the Rebels went up 9-2 through five with two more runs scored. Humphrey doubled and later scored on a Hill fly out to center field. Sanford singled up the middle to score Owen Paino from third after Paino pinch ran for Cheng who was hit by a pitch and left the game.
In the top of the sixth, Mason Morris allowed two runs in relief of Elliott. But Ole Miss got one back in the bottom of the sixth on a Will Furniss walk, a Fawley double, and a single to left by Humphrey that scored Furniss. The lead for Ole Miss was 10-4 after six.
Arkansas added two more runs off Morris, and with one out in the ninth, Connor Spencer came in to close out the game.
Elliott (4-0) was the winner, while Arkansas starter Zach Root (2-1) got his first loss.
In addition to the big offensive days for Sanford and Humphrey, the Rebels totaled 14 hits in the game. The Razorbacks had a 10-hit day.
Ole Miss and Arkansas are scheduled to play game two of the series Saturday at 6 p.m. in the re-scheduled time from the original 1:30 p.m. start.
Elliott hurled a solid five frames in his first SEC appearance since facing LSU in 2023. He surrendered five hits and a walk but just two earned runs while whiffing eight.
The defeat snapped Arkansas’ 12-game winning streak as the Hogs dropped to 16-2 overall and 0-1 in the SEC.
Coach Mike Bianco and Ole Miss are 15-2, 1-0 in the SEC. They’ll try to hand coach Dave Van Horn and the Hogs their first losing series to begin SEC play in eight years.
Game two has been moved to 6 p.m. Saturday in hopes of avoiding inclement weather. Sunday’s series finale is set for 1:30 p.m.
