Ole Miss Baseball Stuns SEC Rival in Extra-Inning Thriller, Boosts NCAA Tournament Hopes

HOOVER, Ala. — Ole Miss baseball is surging at exactly the right time. The No. 17 Rebels (40-18) silenced top-ranked LSU 2-0 in Saturday’s SEC Tournament semifinal behind a four-man pitching gem, earning the program’s first trip to the championship game since 2019. Ace left-hander Riley Maddox set the tone with four scoreless frames, and the bullpen trio of Hunter Elliott, Mitch Murrell and Brayden Jones combined for five punch-outs over the final five innings to finish the shutout. Senior catcher Calvin Harris delivered the decisive blow, ripping an RBI single in the third before adding an insurance run on a sacrifice fly in the seventh. The victory vaulted head coach Mike Bianco’s club into Sunday’s title tilt against No. 16 Vanderbilt (42-16), setting up a marquee showdown between two SEC heavyweights craving postseason momentum. A championship would cap a stunning three-day run that already includes wins over Arkansas and LSU and could lock the Rebels into a coveted top-16 national seed for the NCAA Tournament. Bracket prognosticators have noticed. D1Baseball’s latest projections slot Ole Miss as a regional host, climbing from the tournament bubble to No. 14 overall after Saturday’s upset. Another victory would strengthen that position and give Oxford its first postseason at Swayze Field since the 2022 national-title season. Key storylines to watch in the SEC Tournament championship: • Pitching depth: Elliott (1.92 ERA) threw just 17 pitches vs. LSU and is available to start or relieve. • Red-hot offense: Freshman All-SEC slugger Andrew Fawley owns three homers and nine RBIs in Hoover after a grand slam vs. Arkansas. • Revenge angle: Vanderbilt swept Ole Miss in Nashville in March, outscoring the Rebels 20-8. SEO spotlight keywords: Ole Miss baseball, SEC Tournament 2025, Ole Miss vs Vanderbilt, Mike Bianco, Riley Maddox, Hunter Elliott, NCAA baseball bracket, Hoover Met, SEC baseball championship, College World Series hopes. First pitch in Hoover is slated for 2 p.m. CT with ESPN providing national coverage. Win or lose, Ole Miss heads home Sunday night with its NCAA résumé polished—and the Rebels suddenly look like the SEC’s most dangerous dark horse entering regional play.