LINCOLN, Neb. — Ole Miss’s baseball team secured a 7-6 victory over Arizona State after 14 innings Friday in the opening game of the NCAA Lincoln regional.
The 18th-ranked Rebels (37-21) outlasted the 22nd-ranked Sun Devils in a game that featured strong performances from both sides. Ole Miss will play host No. 13 Nebraska on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT.
Judd Utermark and Tristan Bissetta homered early for Ole Miss, while Hayden Federico set a career high with four hits, including a critical double and single in the final inning to load the bases. Will Furniss, Dom Decker, and Brayden Randle each contributed two hits. Randle delivered the game-winning single in the 14th, driving home Luke Romine.
Will Furniss added a two-run double in the third, and Decker reached safely four times. Randle’s clutch at-bat capped his seventh game-winning hit of the season. Hunter Elliott and Walker Hooks combined for the first 10.1 innings, striking out eight batters. Hooks pitched a career-high 5.1 innings, allowing two runs with two walks. Hudson Calhoun entered in the 10th and earned the win, improving to 4-3.
Arizona State took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning, but Utermark responded with a solo home run, becoming the first Rebel in program history to hit 50 career homers. The Sun Devils added another run before Ole Miss scored four in the bottom half of the inning, including Bissetta’s homer, giving the Rebels a 5-3 lead.
The game remained tied at six after Arizona State’s two-run homer in the seventh. Neither team scored in the eighth or ninth, setting the stage for extra innings. The pitchers’ duel continued into the 14th, with Calhoun shutting down the Sun Devils before Randle’s RBI single sealed the victory.
Ole Miss will face Nebraska on Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. CT, in the winner’s bracket of the Lincoln regional.
