Wearing their powder blue uniforms, No. 17 Ole Miss gave Jacksonville State a dose of the Sunday blues in a 13-2 victory on Sunday.
Ryan Moerman hit a walk-off grand slam home run to give the Rebels the victory in the eighth inning. Ole Miss led Jacksonville State 8-2 headed into the bottom of the eighth inning.
Campbell Smithwick was hit by a pitch to lead things off, and after one out, Owen Paino singled through the right side. After two outs and with Paino and Smithwick at second and third respectively, Luke Hill was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Mitchell Sanford drew a bases-loaded walk that to give Ole Miss a 9-2 lead and, in the next at-bat, Moerman hit his game-ending grand slam home run into the home team’s bullpen.
It was the first grand slam for an Ole Miss since May 2023. Moerman ended the game 3-for-4 at the plate, a walk and seven RBIs. Judd Utermark was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Sanford and Brayden Randle each had one RBI.
Landon Waters picked up the win on the mound for Ole Miss, pitching the final two innings of the game and allowing just one base runner via walk. Mason Nichols started off the game and allowed just one hit and two walks and struck out five batters. Will McCausland bridged the gap and gave up two runs on one hit, two walks and three strikeouts.
Ole Miss will travel to Mobile, Ala. for a midweek game against South Alabama at 4 p.m. Tuesday. The Rebels will then begin conference play in what’s expected to be the nation’s best conference. Ole Miss will host No. 3 Arkansas to being SEC play, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Friday.
