The Ole Miss Rebels captured an SEC Tournament quarterfinal victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks in a 5-2 win at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
It was an emotional afternoon in Hoover (Ala.) with the program advancing in the SEC Tournament, but the talk of the town was a scary moment in the second inning of the contest.
Arkansas' Cam Kozeal launched a ball into the gap in right centerfield where Ole Miss outfielders Isaac Humphreys and Ryan Moerman aggressively collided.
Humphrey stayed down on the field while Moerman retieved the ball, but the collision ultimately resulted in an inside-the-park home run for the Razorbacks.
But the run quickly became the least of the Rebels' concerns with the pair of outfielders visibly injured.
Here's the collision in the Ole Miss-Arkansas game. I'm just honestly glad there isn't some insanely serious injury here. Jesus. pic.twitter.com/Rnl0EMPzCE https://t.co/GTnGecktw7
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) May 23, 2025
After being evaluated by the Ole Miss training staff, Humphreys elected to stay in the SEC Tournament matchup while Moerman headed into the dugout to be further checked out.
“Obviously a scary moment for everybody, especially when you get two guys go down,” Bianco said. “You never know. Bumped heads, concussion, and all kinds of injuries. But at first, we weren’t sure if it was some type of head injury, just because Ryan complained of his right knee.
"Then as he got up and started to move around it was his left knee. I think it’s one of those, it’s pretty traumatic, guys running full speed in the moment, and he actually came out of the game because they just wanted to really check him out because they weren’t really sure what was going on.”
In the postgame press conference, Bianco also noted that Humphreys "jarred" his right arm and shoulder during the collision, which bothered him the rest of the contest.
The Rebels will return to action on Saturday afternoon in a Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals showdown against the LSU Tigers with the 24-hour turnaround causing concerns for the lineup.
Once Moerman departed, the program fell back on Hayden Federico to carry much of the load in the outfield and at the plate.
Bianco hasn't yet made the call on who will start in Saturday's clash against the LSU Tigers, but he feels comfortable with either player in the lineup.
“[Hayden [Federico] is terrific. He’s a guy that we brought in last night for a defensive replacement. We’re not worried about that part of it at all,” Bianco said.
“But you’re talking about guys that — Moreman batted fifth today in the lineup, and Humphrey has batted against right-handers, he’s batted in the middle of the lineup. You’re talking about guys that started just about every day in the outfield.
"I think they’re going to be okay. I don’t think it’s anything super serious, but it was a collision, and tomorrow is less than 24 hours away, so we’ll see. We’ll get back to the hotel and see where they’re at.”
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