Southern Miss catcher Tucker Stockman capped off an elite pitching matchup against Ole Miss with just enough fireworks to send the home fans home happy Tuesday night.
Stockman hit a walk-off single with two outs in the ninth inning, lifting the No. 7 Golden Eagles to a 2-1 win over the Rebels at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg. The teams went a combined 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position and 2 for 20 with runners on base.
Ole Miss (15-3) pitchers combined to surrender six hits with five strikeouts and three walks. The Rebels’ lone run came by way of a solo home run from senior outfielder Tristan Bissetta in the fifth inning. The Southern Miss (15-2) pitching staff gave up just three hits and struck out nine Ole Miss batters.
The Rebels stranded senior third baseman Judd Utermark on third in the first inning and did not have another hitter reach base until the fifth inning when Bissetta belted his home run. Redshirt sophomore Taylor Rabe started for the Rebels on the mound and pitched 2 2/3 perfect innings with a strikeout. He made 24 pitches, 19 of them for strikes.
Senior Marko Sipila entered the game in relief of Rabe and allowed the first two runners in the fourth to reach base but retired the next three to get out of the inning with no damage done. Junior Owen Kelly came on in the fifth and surrendered a solo home run to the first batter he faced, Kyle Morrison. The Golden Eagles put two more runners on but grounded into a double play to end the frame. Freshman Grayson Gibson entered the game with two outs in the sixth and retired his batter on one pitch. He pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Ole Miss junior second baseman Dom Decker was hit by a pitch with one out in the ninth, which was followed by a Utermark walk. Senior first baseman Will Furniss and senior designated hitter Collin Reuter flew out and struck out to end the inning, respectively.
Davis Gillespie led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a single, though redshirt sophomore JP Robertson retired the next two batters. Junior Landon Koenig walked Morrison to put the winning run in scoring position, and Stockman took a 2-2 pitch into the right-center gap to end the game.
Ole Miss begins SEC play this weekend with a three-game series at No. 2 Texas. Friday’s opener starts at 6:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
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