Life in the Valley

Rebels Rally to Force Extra Innings, Win it in 10

It really looked like Murray State was going to upend the Ole Miss Rebels again.

Back at the scene of last season’s epic, 15-inning duel which Drew Vogel eventually sealed with a grand slam as Murray State beat Mississippi, 12-9, the Racers were on the brink of turning the trick once more.

Having scored 6 runs in the top of the 7th to take a 7-4 lead, Murray State (7-1) still held a 7-5 lead entering the bottom the 9th inning. Two fly outs left the Rebels down to their last batter, but Ryan Moerman singled on a 2-2 pitch from Harper McLendon to give the Rebels life. Issac Humphrey followed with another single to left, and Judd Utermark walked. Suddenly, the bases were loaded with 2 outs. Still, an out – any out likely would get the Racers out of town 8-0.

But in baseball’s sometimes cruel fashion, the Racers got the out they need but the win didn’t come along with it. Will Furniss’ lone hit of the game went to center, with Moerman and Humphrey scoring to tie the contest at 7. Utermark tried to end things right then, but was thrown out of the plate on an excellent sweeping tag from Murray State catcher Will Vierling, who did well simply to hold on to the ball as Utermark went past his glove, Vierling’s arm fully extended to make the tag. Jonathan Hogart’s throw was cut off by Conner Cunningham, who got the ball in time to cut down Utermark and keep the Racers alive.

Vierling and Dustin Mercer drew walks in the top of the 10th (the ghost runner rule wasn’t used), but Murray State came up empty, as it had in the 9th when the Racers loaded the bases with 1 out but failed to extend the lead. In the bottom of the 10th, however, Ole Miss didn’t waste any time. With 1 out, Brayden Randle doubled, then Owen Paino singled to put runners on the corners. Needing a double play to get out of the inning, the Rebels didn’t comply, and Hayden Federico knocked a single to score Randle with the game-winning run.

While 8-7 in 10 innings might be a pleasant reminder for Cubs fans, it wasn’t much of a sight for the Racers, who saw their 7-game, season-opening winning streak end. Not that #17 Mississippi is any kind of slouch. The Rebels now sit 11-1. But wins in back-to-back seasons in Oxford would have been quite the accomplishment.

Still, the effort shown in the loss highlights the fact that Murray State may in fact be the team to beat in the Valley this season. Coming off a strong finish in the 2024 regular season but a disappointingly short Valley Tournament run, Murray State has the ingredients needed to play at that level and they won’t be a team higher seed are going to want to see land in their Regional come May.

Vierling and Dan Tauken each had 3 hits in the loss, with Tauken driving in a pair of runs. Murray State outhit Ole Miss, 13-12. Murray State trailed, 3-1, after 3 innings, but reliever Graham Kelham kept the Racers in the game, throwing 5 innings and allowing 2 runs on 3 hits with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts. He got 15 outs on 60 pitches, a tremendous 4.0 pitchers per out average. Ole Miss used 9 pitchers, with Walker Hooks working the 10th and picking up the win.

Luke Mistone continues to lead the Racers with a .500 batting average, while Hogart is shredding at .441. Four regulars have an OPS of at least 1.118. The Racers have walloped 27 doubles in 8 games and have 41 total extra-base hits. Murray State is hitting .334 as a team, good for 20th in the country and tops in The Valley.

Murray State hosts Western Illinois for 3 games this weekend. WIU is 2-6 on the season and lost to games to Murray State on opening weekend, 10-5 and 16-0. The Leathernecks sport a 9.57 team ERA, and will be facing a Racers club that is averaging 11.1 runs per game.

Oral Roberts 5, Illinois State 3: Daniel Pacella and Judah Morris each had 3 hits, but the Redbirds fell at Oral Roberts Wednesday, 5-3. Morris hit one of Illinois State’s 3 homers – as he, Shai Robinson, and Graham Mastros all hit solo shots. But despite 12 hits, the Redbirds were unable to bring any other runs in. ORU pitchers walked just 1 Redbird batter while striking out 10. Leo Berger and Joe Husak worked the final 3 innings in scoreless fashion but Illinois State was unable to rally. The Redbirds fell to 2-8. Illinois State is at #25 Oklahoma State this weekend for 3 games.

Tennessee Tech 16, Belmont 3: The Golden Eagles scored 10 runs over the final 3 innings to run-rule the Bruins (2-11). Tennessee Tech improved to 10-4 on the season. Blake Barton had 2 hits for the Bruins in the loss. Belmont pitchers struck out 10 Tennessee Tech hitters. Belmont visits Little Rock for a 3-game series this weekend.

Today’s Valley Menu: No Valley teams are in action on Thursday. Today is the 1st day of Arch Madness, as the MVC men’s basketball tournament gets underway in St. Louis. ESPN+ has all 4 of today’s 1st-round games if you’re so inclined. If you’re desperate for some baseball to stream, ESPN+ has a decent matchup between Stetson and BYU at 4 p.m. Central, with a 7 p.m. nightcap between Pepperdine and Arizona in a battle of former College World Series champions.

Ed Morgans is the founder of MVCBaseball.com. An Evansville graduate, Ed has written about and broadcast college baseball, while following the sport for 40 years.