HOOVER, Alabama — Give this Ole Miss team credit.
There was nothing boring about its stay in the Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament this week.
The Rebels played the drama to its conclusion Sunday, rallying in the ninth inning to scare Vanderbilt, before falling to the Commodores, 3-2.
Down 3-1, Ole Miss’ Isaac Humphrey launched his 11th home run of the season into the Vanderbilt bullpen, pulling Ole Miss to within a single run. After Campbell Smithwick flew out, Austin Fawley walked and advanced second base on a balk called on Vanderbilt’s Sawyer Hawks. Hayden Federico followed with a walk, bringing shortstop Brayden Randle to the plate. Randle flew out weakly to center fielder RJ Austin, ending Ole Miss’ hopes for a dramatic comeback.
"Both teams played their hearts out for a trophy to be the best team in the best league in the country," Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. "Unfortunately, we came up a little short. Certainly I'm really proud of our guys -- not just from today but the way we played this week and really the last few weeks. We've really played some good baseball. We're in a good spot heading into next week, but leaving here without that trophy leaves a little bitter taste in your mouth."
There was a moment in the top of the fifth inning when it looked like Ole Miss’ Hoover magic was about to resurface. Down 2-0, the Rebels rallied with two outs. Hayden Federico drew a walk. Luke Cheng was hit by a pitch. Mitchell Sanford greeted reliever Miller Green with a single, scoring Federico and moving Cheng to third base.
Tim Corbin went back to his bullpen, this time calling on Luke Guth. Ole Miss’ Luke Hill assaulted a Guth offering, driving it into right center field. Vanderbilt’s Jacob Humphrey chased it down before it could hit the warning track dirt, ending the rally.
Humphrey then poured salt into Ole Miss’ wound, greeting reliever Taylor Rabe with an opposite field home run that just snuck inside the right field foul pole.
Two innings later, the Rebels mounted another threat. Campbell Smithwick walked to lead off the seventh and moved to second one out later when Federico drew a walk of his own. Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin turned to reliever Levi Hausman and Bianco countered with pinch-hitter Collin Reuter. Corbin’s chess move won out, as Hausman induced a double-play ground ball from Reuter.
"(Reuter) might be our best bat against left-handed pitching," Bianco said. "Going into this weekend, he hits .400 (versus lefties). That's not a secret to the opponent. That's one of those bullets you keep in your holster to try to use. We thought with just three innings remaining and really just seven outs left with a runner in scoring position -- I probably wouldn't have done it without a runner in scoring position and pulled the shortstop; I've got confidence in Randle just as well -- we tried to get another run on the board."
Otherwise Sunday, Ole Miss’ bats were pretty quiet against a Vanderbilt pitching staff that has been dominant most of this season, sending the Rebels to a 3-2 loss in the SEC Tournament championship game in front of a packed house of 13,518 fans at Hoover Met. There’s a reason the Commodores, now 42-16, are a cinch to earn a national top-eight seed tomorrow, and it’s not their lineup. Vanderbilt throws quality arm after quality arm, and that formula allowed them to leave Hoover with their second SEC Tournament trophy in the last three years.
As it turned out, Vanderbilt got all the offense it needed in the first inning. After Riley Nelson was hit by a pitch with two outs, tournament MVP Brodie Johnston hammered a Walker Hooks pitch over the left field wall for an early 2-0 lead.
Ole Miss (40-19) didn’t leave Hoover with a trophy, but the Rebels did more than enough to end the will-they-or-won’t-they-host debate. With wins over Florida, Arkansas and LSU earlier in the tournament, Ole Miss will most certainly host a four-team NCAA Tournament beginning Friday in Oxford. The 16 host sites will be announced Sunday evening, and the 64-team bracket will be released Monday.
"I've never postseason baseball in Oxford," Ole Miss pitcher Hunter Elliott, one of three Rebels (Connor Spencer, Judd Utermark) to make the All-SEC Tournament team. "I've heard it's truly special. It would be one of the best environments in college baseball next weekend."
Ole Miss went deep into its pitching staff again Sunday, getting four innings of work from Hooks (two runs, three hits, no walks, three strikeouts), two from Rabe (one run, three hits) and two from Hudson Calhoun (one hit, two strikeouts).
"All the guys pitched great," Bianco said. "Two freshman and then the sophomore, Calhoun. They were outstanding."
Vanderbilt was just a hair better on the mound. Austin Nye started and was solid for 4.2 innings. Miller Green, Guth, Huesman and Sawyer Hawks combined to allow just one run, two hits and four walks in a yeoman’s effort out of the Commodores’ bullpen.
