Ole Miss would open the 2025 SEC Tournament under the late-night lights at the Hoover Met. The Rebels would meet the Florida Gators in the second round and have an opportunity to advance and play Arkansas on Friday night. Coming into the matchup between the Rebels and Gators, there was a growing sentiment around the baseball conversation that the winner of the two would be a lock to host a Regional next week while the other would likely be a two-seed somewhere with the outside shot of maybe sneaking into a hosting position.

With so much riding on the game, both coaches decided Wednesday night would be a good time to throw the Friday night aces. Ole Miss went with Hunter Elliott, while the Gators went with Liam Peterson. Liam Peterson would be the first pitcher to be pulled on Wednesday night as he lasted four complete innings, giving up five hits and three runs with six strikeouts. Coach Bianco decided to pull Hunter Elliott in the 5th inning; he finished his night striking out eight Florida batters while only giving up one run on two hits. Ole Miss then turned to Mason Morris for a long relief stint on Wednesday night.

A scoreless game lasted four innings before Ole Miss managed to strike while the iron was hot and scored three runs to take a 3-0 lead over Florida in the bottom of the 4th inning. Florida would respond in the top half of the 5th inning with a run to cut the Ole Miss lead to 3-1. Three runs was all the Rebels needed on Wednesday night as the pitching showed up and showed out for Ole Miss.

By defeating Florida, the belief is that Ole Miss has likely done enough by the metrics to earn an Oxford Regional next weekend at Swayze Field. Another win or two in Hoover will go a long way in making that a lock, but the Rebels will likely host next weekend as a top-16 seed.

With the win over Florida on Wednesday night, the Rebels advance to play the Razorbacks of Arkansas on Friday evening.

Photo Credits- Ole Miss Baseball on X