Bissetta, Utermark each homered twice as Ole Miss routs Jackson State 18-3

No. 16 Ole Miss turned Swayze Field into a launchpad, routing Jackson State 18-3 on Feb. 18 as Judd Utermark and Tristan Bissetta each homered twice to power a 11-hit attack. The win pushed Ole Miss to 5-0 on the season while Jackson State fell to 1-3.

Jackson State struck first in the top of the first when Tyree Reed scored on a wild pitch and Pierre Cabral followed with an RBI single, briefly putting the Tigers ahead. Ole Miss answered immediately in the bottom of the first when Judd Utermark homered to left for a two-run shot; later in the inning H. Federico drew a walk that produced an RBI and Collin Reuter scored to make it 3-2 in favor of the Rebels.

The third inning broke the game open as Ole Miss plated nine runs. Tristan Bissetta hit two home runs in that same inning, a feat SI noted made him the first Rebel since Nick Fortes on May 2, 2017, to clear the bases twice in one frame. Wild pitches in the third advanced H. Federico and D. Pacella and allowed T. Sirmans to score on one of those wild pitches, contributing to the nine-run outburst that turned a tight game into a rout.

Jackson State manufactured a run in the fifth when Robert Tate Jr. drove in a run to make the score 12-3, but Ole Miss answered with a six-run sixth. Judd Utermark’s second homer was a grand slam on a 1-0 pitch that SI measured at an estimated 397 feet into left-center, nearly hitting the scoreboard; The Daily Mississippian’s Evan Huggins reported Utermark finished 2-for-4 with two homers and six RBIs. Freshman Cannon Goldin recorded two hits and his second knock drove in Kelven Perera late in the game; SI also reported that Perera and Luke Romine collected their first career collegiate hits during the Rebels batting-around sequence while Collin Reuter drove in two runs.

Jackson State starter Trae Burton, making his first career start, took the loss after allowing eight runs in 2.1 innings while issuing seven walks and striking out three; ESPN lists Burton’s line as 2.1 IP, 4 H, 8 ER, 7 BB, 3 K with a pitch count of 75-35. Jackson State relievers J. Williams, C. Delgado, M. Smith and S. Harris combined for the remaining innings with ESPN providing full IP, H, ER, BB, K and PC-ST lines for each. On the Ole Miss side, Huggins reported Terry Hayes Jr., a junior college transfer, made his first start as a Rebel and threw 3.0 innings, allowing one earned run with four strikeouts; Owen Hancock relieved Hayes, tossed two innings, gave up one run, struck out three and was credited with the win as part of a relief trio that SI said included Noah Allen and Grayson Gibson combining for 4.0 innings.

Team totals on the ESPN box showed Ole Miss 18 runs on 11 hits with one error and Jackson State 3 runs on 4 hits with no errors, the four Jackson State hits coming from four different players. SI noted the offensive output left Ole Miss with 10 home runs through five games and marked the first time since 2022 the Rebels have homered in each of their first five regular-season contests.

Ole Miss returns to Swayze Field for a three-game weekend series against Missouri State with a first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. CT and coverage on SECN+, while SportsMississippi reported Jackson State will head to the Andre Dawson Classic in Vero Beach, Florida, beginning Friday to face Texas Southern.