With rain pushing it back a day, Ole Miss and Samford would meet on a nearly perfect day for college baseball at Swayze Field on Sunday for two six-inning games. As fall ball, the matchup between the Rebels and Bulldogs would focus more on development in a game-type setting than anything else. Ole Miss Head Coach Mike Bianco even provided a tentative lineup card, with a predetermined pitching rotation and set of innings, pitches, etc. Some people love the dynamic of a fall baseball game, and others simply don’t understand that playing outside teams in the fall often prepares the team for the upcoming season when every pitch counts. As for Ole Miss fans, the fall ball scrimmage drew a solid crowd on a Sunday afternoon, with about 1,500-2,000 people to watch the twelve innings of baseball.
Ole Miss and Samford played two six-inning games on Sunday, separated by nearly ten minutes. Ole Miss took the first game 9-3, while Samford took game two 5-1 for a split.
As we did last week with the intrasquad game, I have a few thoughts, observations, and takeaways from both Ole Miss and Samford.
First, the man himself: Blake Fields. The Houston transfer had himself a day on Sunday, going two for three, including two home runs. As we’ve seen in the first two weeks of play this fall, Ole Miss has the weapons on offense to compete with anyone in the country. Trey Hawsey also had a solid day, going three for four with two doubles. Hayden Federico and Topher Jones also hit home runs on Sunday. Overall, the Ole Miss bats had plenty of bright spots and room for growth on Saturday.
Second, I was impressed with the Samford bats in game two, especially the patience at the plate from Gus Gandy, Cade Carr, AJ Cruz, Chance Dixion, and Diego Gonzalez. Gus Gandy and Cade Carr both homered twice on Sunday, and AJ Cruz had a solo shot in game two. Chance Dixion and Diego Gonzalez both hit an RBI single in game two. Like Ole Miss, there’s a lot of potential for the Bulldogs’ offensive lineup to generate quality at-bats in the 2027 season that can be backed by power, but also a good mixture of small ball. It will be interesting to watch this lineup grow this fall with future games against Troy and LSU.
As for pitching, neither side was terrible, but there is certainly room for growth ahead of the 2027 season. The three who impressed from Ole Miss were Owen Hancock, Andrew Rogovic, and JP Robertson. For Samford, Will Andre, Garett Reid, Burton Moore, and Chris Fagot combined for four scoreless innings in the second game. Back to the development part of fall scrimmages, both teams had guys step up, and others still need a bit more work; nothing wrong with either.
Overall, Sunday was the first chance to see either team play outside competition, and that alone brought a sense of normalcy and helped fuel the excitement both fan bases have for these two programs. If you were there, then you left feeling optimistic about the 2027 season. Ole Miss and Samford alike have a lot of potential to use this fall ball season as a stepping stone to a monster 2027 season. On one side, you have a program that reached another College World Series but left with a burning desire to win another national championship; on the other, Samford is looking to win another SOCON Championship while earning a trip back to a Regional for the first time since 2023. Both have the talent to win big this year, and we saw evidence of that on Sunday afternoon.
Photo Credits: Ole Miss and Samford on X
