OXFORD | Judd Utermark hit a three-run home run in the first inning on Friday, driving a Samuel Dutton fastball out of Swayze Field to give the Rebels the early lead.
Then, five innings later, Utermark provided the punctuation.
That one was another three-run blast measured at 447 feet as it soared just left of the batter’s eye. It provided the needed cushion, and Ole Miss clinched the series over No. 2 RPI Auburn with a 15-11 win. The Rebels go for the sweep at 1:30 on Saturday.
It’s Ole Miss’ second top-10 series win of the series, and the Rebels gain more RPI ground going into the final day of the regular season. Ole Miss (37-17, 16-13) is No. 17, and as of now, the No. 8 seed in the SEC Tournament.
The Rebels can clinch a first-round Hoover bye with a win or an Alabama loss on Saturday. Ole Miss can’t be worse than the nine seed. It clinches the eight seed with a loss and an Alabama loss. The Rebels are at least the seven seed with a win and could move to the six seed if Tennessee loses on Saturday to Arkansas to go with an Ole Miss win.
Utermark’s two home runs tie Austin Fawley at 16 for the team lead on the season. He had seven RBIs with his three-hit night. The first home run went 409 feet with a 106 MPH exit speed.
“I didn’t even feel the second home run,” Utermark said. “The wind was blowing out so thank you for some of that distance. We put a lot of at-bats together and executed in key situations.”
The Rebels have 100 home runs as a team on the season. That's the second most (108 in 2022) in program history.
The game wasn’t without frustration for the Rebels. Ole Miss led by nine after Utermark’s second home run, but the Rebels used four different pitchers to get the final seven outs. After Auburn closed the gap to five runs with two on in the eighth, Ole Miss went to closer Connor Spencer.
Gunnar Dennis and Hudson Calhoun allowed two Mason Morris inherited runners to score in the seventh, and Walker Hooks gave up a two-run home run in the eighth inning. Spencer stranded two runners with a strikeout. Auburn got to Spencer for three runs on four hits, including a home run, in the ninth. It took him 35 pitches for those four outs.
“I didn’t think we’d get through tonight without using (Spencer),” Bianco said. “We were trying to not do it, but we knew going in we planned to pitch him in the eighth. We still had the lead.”
Will Furniss hit a two-run home run in the eighth to extend the lead back out.
Ole Miss had 13 total hits and ran Dutton with seven runs and six hits in just three innings. Dutton walked two, hit a batter and threw 67 pitches. It’s the most he’s allowed this season and his second consecutive poor start after he gave up five in four innings against South Carolina last week.
Dutton had yielded just five earned runs in 31.1 innings the five prior weeks combined.
Furniss and Utermark had three hits. Luke Hill reached four times, and Campbell Smithwick went 2-for-4 with three RBIs.
Morris picked up two critical outs in the fourth and ate a few innings for the Rebels. He entered with the bases loaded and one out leading 7-2. The right-hander struck out Cade Belyeu on three pitches and got an easy ground ball to end the threat.
Starter Riley Maddox lasted 3.1 innings and gave up four hits and two runs with three strikeouts and two walks. His pitch count elevated to 84 pitches.
Ole Miss was 12-for-20 with runners on base and 7-for-10 with runners in scoring position. That countered Auburn’s 15 total hits and nine two-out RBIs. The Tigers were only 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
“It’s easier to hit when everyone’s hitting,” Furniss said. “You focus a little extra with runners on, and we cashed in.”
