SEC Baseball Tournament: Ole Miss Pitching Too Much For Florida

Ole Miss pitching was too much for Florida to handle, as the Gators’ SEC Tournament run ended Wednesday night in the 3-1 loss at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

No. 15 Florida (38-20) entered the game averaging 7.6 runs per contest, but No. 17 Ole Miss (38-18) held it to one run on four hits while striking out 11 to go 3-1 against the Gators this season.

Ole Miss starting pitcher Hunter Elliot (9-3) got the ball rolling for the seven seed Rebels by repeating what he did to the 10 seed Gators in March in Oxford. The Rebels ace outdueled Florida’s starter Liam Peterson (8-3), who was solid in his own right, but Elliot was just a little bit better.

“[Hunter] Elliot was on his A-game tonight, was throwing left-on-left change-ups and kept us 0ff-balance,” UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said.

Elliot went 5.1, gave up one run on two hits, walked one and struck out eight. While Elliot’s performance was outstanding, the bullpen was just as impressive.

Following Elliot was Mason Morris, who threw 2.2 scoreless innings, gave up two hits and struck out two. Connor Spencer (5th save) came in to close things out in the final frame and retired the Florida side to secure the win.

While Ole Miss will receive most of the credit, Florida also did a solid job containing the Rebels potent offense. Even though Peterson could not get the best of Elliot, he still went four innings, gave up five runs, three runs, only one earned run, a walk and six strikeouts.

Peterson was cruising and had just worked a double play and it was looking like he was about to put up another zero in the fourth. But then trouble emerged, with two outs Judd Utermark doubled to keep the inning alive and scored off Isaac Humphrey’s RBI double that gave Ole Miss a 1-0 lead.

Back-to-back doubles and the Rebs are in business! pic.twitter.com/WqVywWD707

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 22, 2025

The wheels on the Gators’ defense began to fall off later in the inning, starting with Landon Stripling booting a ground ball hit to third that put runners at the corners.

After the first error, Campbell Smithwick singled to right to not only bring in a run, but a throwing error from right fielder Ashton Wilson brought in another run to stretch the lead to 3-0.

Soup extends the lead to three!@campbellrsoup x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/4u8f9aqNyY

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 22, 2025

“Almost like a game in a regional when you’re in a winner’s bracket and that Saturday game is so pivotal, or a super regional atmosphere, every mistake you make, it can end up costing you a ball game,” O’Sullivan said. “They’re are very valuable lessons to learn.”

When Peterson was pulled, Luke McNeillie took the mound and was sharp in his two-inning performance by striking out four of the six batters he faced.

After McNeillie was Jake Clemente , who had not pitched since last Thursday. Like the guys before him, Clemente continued giving Florida a chance to come back.

“I thought Luke McNeillie came in threw the ball outstanding, and I thought Jake [Clemente] looked really sharp,” O’Sullivan said. “It’s nothing to hang our heads about, the couple of mistakes we made cost us a couple runs and that was the difference in the game, simple as that.”

The lone run Florida, winner of 18 of its last 24 games, including 15 of 20 against SEC opponents heading into the NCAA Tournament, did score was by Wilson, who doubled and scored off a throwing error in the fifth. Both teams did a great job limiting the free passes and making hitters earn their way on.

Among the 64 combined batters faced, pitchers issued only four free passes, highlighting how well both sides threw the ball.

“Both sides you saw premium pitching tonight, guys on both sides of the pen running the ball up to 95,96,97,98,” O’Sullivan said.

With the SEC Tournament in the books for Florida, which will now wait to see where it lands in the NCAA Tournament, either as a host team or hitting the road for the second year in a row for regionals.

“I don’t campaign anything, the committee’s got a lot of tough decisions to make, and if they feel as though this is a game that was gonna separate [us], then that’s the way it is,” O’Sullivan said.

The Division I NCAA Tournament Selection Show will air on ESPN2 on Monday at noon ET.