Auburn
Ole Miss
AUBURN, Ala. (06/04/2026) — The Ole Miss Rebels rode a pair of fifth- and sixth-inning home runs to a 6-4 victory over the Auburn Tigers on Thursday at Plainsman Park, where 10,627 fans watched the Rebels pull away from a tie game and hold off a late Auburn rally in the 2026 season.
Ole Miss never trailed, scoring first and answering every Auburn push. Judd Utermark and Collin Reuter each launched a home run, and Brayden Randle drove in two of the game's earliest runs to set the tone in a steady, methodical win.
How It Happened
The Rebels struck in the second inning when Randle singled to right to score Hayden Federico and move Owen Paino to second, putting Ole Miss ahead 1-0. Auburn answered in the third as Chase Fralick lifted a sacrifice fly to left to bring home Bristol Carter, leveling the score at 1-1 — the only tie of the night.
Ole Miss reclaimed the lead for good in the fourth, when Randle singled to left center to plate Austin Fawley and make it 2-1. The Rebels then blew the game open in the fifth. Utermark homered to left with Dom Decker aboard, stretching the advantage to 4-1. Auburn trimmed it back in the bottom half as Chris Rembert singled to center to score Mason McCraine and push Eric Guevara to third, cutting the deficit to 4-2.
The sixth belonged to the Rebels' power. Reuter homered to center with Randle aboard, lifting Ole Miss to a 6-2 cushion. Auburn responded immediately when McCraine doubled to left to score Carter, but the Tigers could get no closer than three the rest of the way.
Turning Point
Reuter's two-run home run to center in the sixth was the decisive blow. With the lead at 4-2 and Auburn beginning to find its footing, the long ball restored a four-run margin and forced the Tigers to chase from behind the rest of the night. Auburn would scratch across single runs in the sixth and ninth, but the cushion Reuter provided proved to be exactly the difference the Rebels needed.
Star of the Game
Randle was the engine of the Ole Miss offense, going 2-for-3 with two RBI, a run scored and a walk. His run-scoring singles in the second and fourth innings staked the Rebels to leads they never relinquished, and he came around to score on Reuter's sixth-inning homer. Utermark matched the production at the plate, going 2-for-5 with the two-run shot that broke the game open in the fifth, while Reuter finished 1-for-4 with two RBI on his pivotal home run.
On the mound, starter Hunter Elliott worked 4.1 innings, allowing six hits and two runs while striking out two. Hudson Calhoun followed with 2.2 innings of one-run ball and three strikeouts, and Walker Hooks closed out the final 2.0 innings, surrendering just one hit and one run with two strikeouts.
McCraine carried the Auburn offense, finishing 3-for-4 with two RBI, two runs, a walk and a home run — a solo shot to right in the ninth that accounted for the final margin. Carter scored twice, and Andreas Alvarez struck out 10 over 5.2 innings in a strong individual effort despite the loss, with LJ Cormier adding four strikeouts across 3.1 innings in relief.
What It Means
The win moves Ole Miss forward with a balanced performance that blended timely power, contact hitting and a bullpen that limited Auburn's comeback bids. The Rebels' ability to answer each Auburn run — never letting the Tigers draw within one after the third inning — underscored the kind of complementary baseball that travels well in conference play.
For Auburn, the loss came despite encouraging signs. McCraine's three-hit, two-RBI night and Alvarez's 10-strikeout outing gave the Tigers building blocks to lean on, and the late runs showed a lineup that kept competing into the ninth. But the two Ole Miss home runs in the fifth and sixth ultimately tilted a tight game, leaving Auburn to regroup after a hard-fought defeat in front of a strong Plainsman Park crowd.
