Ole Miss survives a scare from Georgia Tech 11-9 to advance to the Regional Final

Facing another elimination game, the Ole Miss Rebels would take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, with the winner advancing to the Regional Championship against Murray State.

With pitching being an issue for both teams on Sunday, Coach Bianco decided to go with Cade Townsend as the starter, while Georgia Tech had Jaylen Praden on the mound to start for the Yellow Jackets. Neither pitcher could find their groove, with neither lasting past the second inning. Paden lasted a half inning after throwing 43 pitches while giving up six hits and five runs to an explosive Ole Miss offense. Cade Townsend delivered Ole Miss with a complete inning, giving up three hits, three runs, and only two strikeouts. From there, Ole Miss went with Hudson Calhoun, then Alex Canney to get through the 4th inning. Mason Nichols would come in to pitch in the top half of the 6th inning after spending the last two weeks nursing an undisclosed injury. Nichols finished his day after 1.1 innings, giving up two hits, with one run and three strikeouts.

With pitching against the ropes in an elimination game, offensive stats would be at a premium on Sunday. Georgia Tech jumped out to an early 3-0 lead over Ole Miss in the top half of the 1st inning with home runs from Kent Schmidt and Kyle Lodise. Ole Miss responded with five runs in the bottom of the 1st inning with a home run from Isaac Humphrey and timely hitting from others to a 5-3 lead over Georgia Tech through one inning of play. Ole Miss would add another run in the bottom of the second of a sac fly from Isaac Humphrey that scored Luke Hill to make it 6-3 in favor of the Rebels. Georgia Tech would cut into the lead with a run in the top of the third to make it 6-4 Ole Miss. From there, Georgia Tech opened the floodgates in the top half of the 4th inning with four runs scored, capped off by Drew Burress and Kent Schmidt, his second of the day to make it 8-6 in favor of the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech. Judd Utermark would answer the call with a solo shot to deep centerfield in the bottom of the 5th to make it 8-7 Georgia Tech. Mitchell Sanford would draw a two-out walk that walked another run home to make it 8-8 at the end of the 5th. Georgia Tech and Ole Miss would exchange runs in the 6th to make it 9-9. A base hit from Will Furniss would give the Rebels a 10-9 lead over Georgia Tech heading to the 8th inning. Ole Miss would add an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th to make it 11-9.

Ole Miss will need to win two games against Murray State to reach the Super Regional.