HOOVER, Ala. – Ole Miss jumped on Arkansas with five runs in the top of the first inning and held firm behind strong pitching from Riley Maddox and the bullpen, knocking off the No. 2 seed Razorbacks 5-2 in Friday’s quarterfinal round of the 2025 SEC Tournament at Hoover MET.
The Rebels now 39-18 and their conference record is at 18-14 under head coach Mike Bianco.
The Razorbacks dropped their overall record to 43-14 alongside their SEC record to 20-11 with head coach Dave Van Horn.
Mississippi’s pitching staff with starter Riley Maddox, and relievers Will McCausland, Mason Morris, and Connor Spencer combined for nine innings, allowing two earned runs, three walks, and 11 strikeouts.
Maddox chucked 104 pitches for 64 strikes while throwing 5.1 innings, allowing three hits, two earned runs, two walks, and seven strikeouts, alongside improving his record to 6-5.
Arkansas’ pitching staff with starter Zach Root, and relievers Gabe Gaeckle, Cole Gibler, and Christian Foutch threw nine innings allowing 10 hits, one earned run, three walks, and 13 strikeouts.
Root dropped his record to 6-5 for the year and on Thursday afternoon threw four innings, allowing seven hits, one earned run, two str
The Rebels did not hesitate to get runs on the board in the top of the first inning, when Mitchell Sanford led off the game with a walk.
The next batter, Luke Hill, reached on a throwing error from Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy, resulting in him going to second base and Sanford to third with no outs.
A few moments later, second baseman Judd Utermark drove an RBI single to left field, scoring Sanford to take the lead at 1-0.
Rebs strike first!@JuddUtermark x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/H5DKqFOzQJ
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 23, 2025
Shortly after, right fielder Ryan Moerman cracked an RBI single to right field, scoring Hill to make it 2-0.
The run party continued in the top of the first inning, when catcher Austin Fawley launched a three-run home run over the left field wall, tape measuring at 416 feet, his 17th home run of the season, scoring Utermark and Colin Reuter to jump out to a 5-0 lead.
Fawley Bomb: Hoover Edition@fawley_austin x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/hJ67AQMLig
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 23, 2025
During the bottom of the first inning, the Razorbacks got on the scoreboard, when designated hitter Kuhio Aloy hit a ground ball to Mississippi, resulting in Wehiwa Aloy coming in to score to make it 5-1.
Kuhio's team-leading 69th RBI of the year pic.twitter.com/kzOHt2RQUS
— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) May 23, 2025
In the bottom of the second inning, Arkansas tacked on their second run of the game, when Moerman and Humphrey collided into each in right-center field from second baseman Cam Kozeal’s inside the park home run to cut the deficit at 5-2.
Well, it goes down as an inside-the-park home run but we just hope everyone's ok pic.twitter.com/oHv7wb5lDW
— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) May 23, 2025
Hayden Federico would replace Moerman in right field during the bottom of the second inning after the medical staff was on the field after resuming play from the delay being nine minutes following the outfield collision.
Scary moment as Isaac Humphrey and Ryan Moerman collide in the outfield going for a ball that is not caught and results in an inside park home run for Arkansas’ Cam Kozeal. pic.twitter.com/tAJZBXoIk8
— Hunter DeLauder (@DelauderHunter) May 23, 2025
Arkansas’s offense did not record a hit the rest of the way with their final hit of the game coming from catcher Ryder Helfrick in the bottom of the sixth inning with a single through the left side of the infield.
Spencer came in to start the bottom of the ninth inning after Morris threw 1.2 innings, allowing no hits, no earned runs, no walks and striking out two batters.
Spencer retired the side in order 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth and got pinch hitter Kendall Digs to ground out on a comebacker that went off his glove and to Utermark as he threw over to first baseman Will Furniss for the final out of the game to win 5-2 over Arkansas.
The Razorbacks left seven men on base during their quarterfinal loss on Friday afternoon.
Arkansas is No. 5 in the Top 25 Rankings that were published by D1Baseball.com on May 19 and Mississippi is ranked at No. 17.
The Razorbacks will wait until Selection Monday on May 26 on ESPN2 at 12 p.m. EDT to see where they will be placed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Tennessee and Vanderbilt will play the first game of the semifinals on May 24 at 11 a.m. EDT due to a forecast of inclement weather in Hoover Metropolitan Area on Saturday afternoon after being scheduled for 1 p.m. EDT.
The second semifinal game of the 2025 SEC Tournament will take place 30 minutes after the first semifinal game.
🗓️ SCHEDULE UPDATE
Due to a forecast of inclement weather for Saturday afternoon, Game 13 between @Vol_Baseball & @VandyBoys – originally scheduled for Noon CT – will now begin Saturday morning at 10 AM CT.
Game 14 (WG11 vs. WG12) will follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of… pic.twitter.com/xBTf8aRNZu
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) May 23, 2025
Dave Van Horn said, “Both pitching staffs really did a nice job. I think both teams had double-digit strikeouts and both bullpens did a tremendous job.” He pointed to the five-run first inning and noted, “I didn’t think their five runs would hold up. I thought we’d score five, but we didn’t, so hats off to them for that.” He said Root should have been out of the inning quickly and added, “We don’t—we fielded the ball all year and we’ve turned double plays, and we didn’t do it today, and it cost us.”
Zach Root said, “Ryder is the best catcher I’ve thrown to my entire life. He calls a great game and he gets a lot of pitches that are borderline.” After the first inning, he tried to reset mentally and said, “I went out the second inning just stuff didn’t go my way so I went out thinking it was still a 0-0 ballgame.”
Cam Kozeal said, “He is who he was and he was throwing inside to some of our guys, fastball, cutter. Just got to be more on the attack and more aggressive.” On the collision during his inside-the-park home run, he added, “I was rounding first and I saw them both dive. I saw them both on the ground and was thinking three out of the box because it’s a big ballpark, and Coach Wernes was there, says you’ve got to go, so I thought there might be a play at the plate.”
Van Horn said he preferred to keep playing, explaining, “I would much rather be playing at least one more game and hopefully two just to kind of stay on rhythm a little bit.” Asked about the message to the team going forward, he said, “You learn from today’s game. We let it slip a little bit in the first and the pitchers did a great job of holding them down, giving us an opportunity. But Ole Miss’s pitchers would have none of it.”
Mike Bianco said, “We were able to put a big inning together. Offensively obviously this one was in the first, and we were able to chain a few at-bats together.” He credited Maddox and the bullpen, saying, “I really thought the story of the game was Riley Maddox. He was really, really good,” and added that the relievers were “just terrific with McCausland, Morris, and then Spence at the end.”
Austin Fawley said, “They threw all their pitches for a strike and think that’s the main thing. Every pitch for a strike is going to be tough to hit him.” On his home run, he said, “The first one I thought was a little up, but they called it a strike. A strike is a strike. He hung the changeup, and I made him pay.”
Judd Utermark said the outfield collision brought the team together, explaining, “Those are the two guys that we love in the locker room, and they’re big parts of this team. Obviously you hate to see a collision like that. But yeah, I think there’s a sense of rally around.” On his recent production at the plate, he said, “I’ve been finding holes and I’ve been finding gaps and that’s always a good feeling… all the credit goes to Coach Clem and Coach Tyler Keenan.”
Bianco confirmed both Moerman and Humphrey were evaluated after the collision and said, “I think they’re going to be okay. I don’t think it’s anything super serious, but it was a collision, and tomorrow is less than 24 hours away, so we’ll see.”
He said having Thursday off made a big difference: “We probably don’t have Mason. I think McCausland got up a little bit on Wednesday, but we knew he’d be fresh today… Spence looked even better today. The ball had more life, a little more kick, more velocity.”
Bianco announced, “We’ll start Cade Townsend tomorrow,” and confirmed Mason Nichols was left off the SEC Tournament roster due to an oblique injury. “He’s doing great,” Bianco said, “but going into the week and when we had to turn in the roster, we thought it just wasn’t smart even though he was feeling good throughout the rehab.”
Asked about the broader significance of the postseason run, Bianco said, “Just proud of the guys. It’s been a tough road the last couple of years for a lot of reasons… But none more than our three starters, Elliott, Maddox and Nichols, and our closer Spencer. Four guys, all Mississippi guys. All could have left last summer and gone to professional baseball and all chose to stay.”
2025 SEC Baseball Tournament Schedule
All Game Start Times Are Eastern Daylight Time
*Second Game Of Each Session Will Begin Approximately 30 Minutes After The Conclusion Of First Game
Tuesday-Sunday, May 20-25
Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, Hoover, Ala.
Tuesday, May 20 – First Round
Game 1: No. 9 Alabama 4, No. 16 Missouri 1 – Final
*Game 2: No. 12 Oklahoma 5, No. 13 Kentucky 1 – Final
Game 3: No. 10 Florida 11, No. 15 South Carolina 3 – Final
Wednesday, May 21 – Second Round
Game 4: No. 14 Texas A&M 9, No. 11 Mississippi State 0 – Final – First Round
Game 5: No. 8 Tennessee 15, No. 9 Alabama 10 – Final
*Game 6: No. 12 Oklahoma 3, No. 5 Georgia 2 – Final
Game 7: No. 10 Florida 1, No. 7 Ole Miss 3 – Final
Thursday, May 22 – Quarterfinals
Game 8: No. 14 Texas A&M 3, No. 6 Auburn 2 – Final – Second Round
*Game 9: No. 8 Tennessee 7, No. 1 Texas 5 – F/12
*Game 10: No. 12 Oklahoma 1, No. 4 Vanderbilt 6 – Final
Friday, May 23 – Quarterfinals
Game 11: No. 7 Ole Miss 5, No. 2 Arkansas 2 – 4 p.m. – SECN
*Game 12: No. 14 Texas A&M vs. No. 3 LSU – 7 p.m. – SECN
Saturday, May 24 – Semifinals
Game 13: No. 8 Tennessee vs. No. 4 Vanderbilt – 10 a.m. EDT – SECN
*Game 14: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 – 30 minutes after Game 13 concludes – SECN
Sunday, May 25 – Championship Game
Game 15: Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14 – 3 p.m. – ESPN2
SEC MLBPipeline.com Top 150 Draft Prospects
No. 7 – OF – Jace LaViolette – Texas A&M
No. 8 – RHP – Kyson Witherspoon – Oklahoma
No. 9 – LHP – Kade Anderson – Louisiana State
No. 10 – LHP – Liam Doyle – Tennessee
No. 16 – 2B – Gavin Kilen – Tennessee
No. 20 – OF/C – Ike Irish – Auburn
No. 24 – SS – Wehiwa Aloy – Arkansas
No. 28 – OF – Max Belyeu – Texas
No. 33 – RHP – Riley Quick – Alabama
No. 35 – 1B/3B – Andrew Fischer – Tennessee
No. 36 – OF/3B – Ethan Petry – South Carolina
No. 44 – LHP – Zach Root – Arkansas
No. 54 – SS/3B – Dean Curley – Tennessee
No. 55 – RHP – A.J. Russell – Tennessee
No. 60 – OF – Charles Davalan – Arkansas
No. 66 – 2B – Daniel Dickinson – Louisiana State
No. 69 – RHP – Marcus Phillips – Tennessee
No. 72 – LHP – J.D. Thompson – Vanderbilt
No. 78 – RHP – Chase Shores – Louisiana State
No. 79 – LHP- Jared Spencer – Texas
No. 90 – 1B – Jared Jones – Louisiana State
No. 99 – LHP – Justin Lamkin – Texas A&M
No. 100 – OF – RJ Austin – Vanderbilt
No. 101 – C – Easton Carmichael – Oklahoma
No. 102 – LHP – Pico Kohn – Mississippi State
No. 113 – RHP – Nate Snead – Tennessee
No. 116 – RHP – Mason Morris – Mississippi
No. 117 – SS – Jalin Morris – Texas
No. 123 – OF/1B – Tre Phelps – Georgia
No. 131 – SS – Colby Shelton – Florida
No. 133 – RHP – Malachi Witherspoon – Oklahoma
No. 141 – 3B – Brent Iredale – Arkansas
