Ole Miss edges LSU 8-7, completes weekend sweep with seventh-inning rally

Brayden Randle’s seventh-inning RBI single sent Hayden Federico home and turned a tense finish into a statement win for Ole Miss, which beat LSU 8-7 at Swayze Field to complete a three-game sweep and claim its first series sweep of the Tigers since 2022.

The Rebels looked in control after building a 7-0 lead through six innings, but LSU answered with a furious seventh that included back-to-back home runs and a rally that tied the game 7-7. Ole Miss responded immediately in the bottom of the inning, with Randle delivering the winning hit and keeping a ranked weekend from slipping away in front of a crowd that had watched the No. 25 Rebels and No. 24 Tigers trade pressure all series long.

Ole Miss had already set the tone with a 6-3 win on April 10 and a 12-2 victory in seven innings on April 11, so Sunday’s one-run finish completed a sweep that was dominant even if the finale briefly turned chaotic. The Rebels finished the weekend with 32 hits against LSU, their most against an SEC opponent this season, and used a balanced attack that included RBI singles from Will Furniss and Federico, solo home runs from Dom Decker and Tristan Bissetta, and a blast from Owen Paino during the fourth-inning surge.

Taylor Rabe helped Ole Miss get out ahead by holding LSU in check before the Tigers broke through late, and Hudson Calhoun earned the win out of the bullpen after working 1.1 innings and allowing one run on two hits with one walk and one strikeout. The sweep lifted Ole Miss to 26-11 overall and 8-7 in SEC play, while LSU fell to 22-15 and 6-9. For a club trying to strengthen its position in the postseason picture, that matters.

It also mattered in Oxford. LSU had owned a 185-160 edge in the all-time series and had won nine of the previous 13 regular-season series, which is why this weekend felt different around Lafayette County. A ranked SEC rivalry, a sweep at Swayze Field and a comeback finish gave Ole Miss baseball a result that should travel well beyond Oxford, from campus to downtown and into the broader local sports conversation.