Mississippi State and Ole Miss lived up to the hype as the final battle between the two delivered one of the most memorable moments in the recent SEC Baseball Tournament, adding to the rich history of the Hoover Met. It was as if two prized boxers, Mississippi State and Ole Miss, went all nine innings before a walk-off two-run home run from Connor Hujsak sent the Rebels home with a season-ending loss that will sit with the Rebels for the entire off-season.

The anticipation was palpable as fans from both sides marked Tuesday night as the ultimate showdown. With a regular season series split of two wins each, the game held immense significance in the storied rivalry between Ole Miss and Mississippi State, making it one of the most pivotal games of the season.

Ole Miss came into the game with Mississippi State trying to play spoiler on the Rebels’ chances of hosting an NCAA Tournament Regional while keeping the hope alive that the Rebels would return to the postseason for the first time since winning the National Championship in 2022.

Conversely, Mississippi State came into the game looking to keep the spark alive to host an NCAA Tournament Regional for the first time since winning the 2021 NCAA Championship. Standing in the Bulldog’s way would be their hated rival, the Ole Miss Rebels.

Ole Miss would take an early 1-0 lead over the Bulldogs off a Will Furniss solo shot in the top half of the 5th inning. From there, a pitching duel between Riley Maddox of Ole Miss and Brooks Auger of Mississippi State. Both pitchers gave fans an unexpected dual that left the drama until the bottom half of the 9th inning.

Down 1-0 with two outs and David Mershon on third, Connor Hujsak stepped up to the plate and hammered a two-run walk-off home run to deep left-center field to send Mississippi State to the double-elimination portion of the Tournament. They will play Texas A&M on Thursday night, capped off by an incredible rivalry game to end day one in Hoover.

With the win over Ole Miss, Mississippi State all but secures a National seed to host the NCAA Tournament in Starkville, Mississippi, next weekend.