Hines breaks MSU’s career home run record in rout of Missouri

Published 10:58 pm Friday, May 16, 2025

For the second night in a row, Mississippi State celebrated a home run record and a blowout victory.

Hunter Hines set Mississippi State’s career home run record by hitting one of the Bulldogs’ four round-trippers as they beat Missouri 13-3 on Friday.

Hines hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning that was the 68th of his college career. He broke the MSU record that Rafael Palmeiro had held since 1985.

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Hines finished the game with four RBIs, which also brought his career total to 214 and moved him past Bruce Castoria for No. 3 all-time in the school’s record book. Palmeiro is No. 2, with 239, and Richard Lee owns the RBI record with 265.

“My dad has been with me every step of the way and I couldn’t have done it without him. Get your A swing off is what he tells me,” Hines told the SEC Network after the game. “The elephant’s off the back. It feels great.”

Mississippi State got another three-run home run from Joe Powell in the first inning and a two-run shot by Bryce Chance as it raced to an 8-0 lead and never looked back. Ace Reese also hit a solo homer in the fourth inning. The game ended after the seventh inning because of the 10-run mercy rule.

The Bulldogs have hit 12 home runs in the first two games of the series. They had a single-game school record eight in a 25-7 win in Thursday’s opener.

Mississippi State (33-20, 14-15 Southeastern Conference) won for the eighth time in nine games and has started to creep up in the SEC standings. It started the weekend in 13th place, but has moved into a three-way tie for 10th with Florida and Oklahoma with one game left in the regular season.

MSU and Missouri (16-37, 3-26) finish their series Saturday at 2 p.m.

Ole Miss 15, Auburn 11
Judd Utermark homered twice and finished with seven RBIs as Ole Miss (37-17, 16-13 SEC) built a big lead and then hung on to beat Auburn (37-17, 16-13).

Utermark hit a three-run run in the first inning, another in the sixth, and an RBI single in the third. The Rebels led 10-2 through five innings, but Auburn mounted a comeback in the second half of the game.

Eric Snow and Cooper McMurray each hit two run home runs to pull Auburn to within 13-8 in the eighth inning. Ole Miss’ Will Furniss then hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth to stabilize the situation.

Ole Miss has won the first two games of the series to pull into a four-way tie with Tennessee, Auburn and Alabama for sixth place in the SEC standings. The top eight earn a first-round bye in the single-elimination SEC Tournament that starts Tuesday in Hoover, Ala.

Ole Miss and Auburn finish their series and the regular season Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

Southern Miss 12, Troy 1
Nick Monistere went 2-for-4 with a home run, double, and three RBIs, and Drey Barrett also homered as Southern Miss rolled over Troy (37-18, 18-11 Sun Belt Conference).

Ozzie Pratt also was 3-for-4 and scored two runs for Southern Miss (40-13, 23-6), and Matthew Russo drove in three runs. The home runs by Monistere and Barrett came in the first two innings as the Golden Eagles jumped to a 4-0 lead. They scored six runs in the eighth to blow it open and ultimately end it via the mercy rule.

USM pitchers Matthew Adams and Kros Sivley combined to allow one run on four hits while striking out eight batters. Sivley (6-1) came out of the bullpen to throw 4 2/3 innings and was credited with the win.

Southern Miss won its 14th game in a row and will try to make it 15 in the regular-season finale vs. Troy Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Southern Miss has also clinched the No. 2 seed in next week’s Sun Belt tournament. Coastal Carolina (43-11, 25-4) clinched the regular-season championship by beating Old Dominion 16-7 on Friday.

About Ernest Bowker

Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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