Around the Diamond: Ole Miss baseball has won six of seven and next hosts Jackson State
Ole Miss baseball is back where it belongs.
Now the Rebels will try to stay there Tuesday against Jackson State.
Ole Miss has won six of its last seven games to move back into the Top 10 of Top 25 polls for the first time in two years. The Rebels went 3-1 last week, including their second SEC series win in a row, this time over undermanned Florida.
They’re 6-3 in SEC games, their best start to conference play since 2021. Ole Miss was ranked No. 9 by D1Baseball and No. 10 by both USA Today and Baseball America. The Rebels were No. 16, according to Perfect Game.
Ole Miss will throw senior LHP Gunnar Dennis opposite a JSU starter yet to be announced. First pitch at Swayze Field is 4 p.m. CT.
“Hey, we will take two out of three every weekend in this league,” Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said on Friday. “I like where this team is right now.”
The Rebels are at Kentucky for a Thursday-Saturday series this weekend. The Wildcats are 17-9 on the year and 4-5 in the SEC.
HOW TO WATCH
TV/Online: SEC Network+
Play-by-Play: Jake Hromada
Color: Matt McLaughlin
HOW TO LISTEN
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: David Kellum
Color: Brad Henderson
SCOUTING JACKSON STATE
Jackson State rolls into Oxford 16-10 on the season, including a 4-5 mark in the SWAC.
The Tigers are coming off a series win over Grambling. They struck out 39 batters over four games and averaged 13 Ks per game. JSU had 10 punch-outs in the series opener, followed by 18 in Game 2 and 11 in the finale on Sunday.
Jordan McLaddie was the Preseason SWAC Player of the Year. He led the conference in hits last season and was third in runs scored. McLaddie is one of six Tigers hitting over .300. He’s at .341, while catcher Hederick Torres tops all hitters at .380. McLaddie’s been successful on 24 of 26 steal attempts.
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Outfielder Gregg Darwin and first baseman Wilbert Perez are tied for the team lead in home runs with three apiece. Right fielder Joseph Eichelberger has knocked in a JSU-high 23 runs.
Omar Johnson is 287-142 in 19 seasons as JSU head coach. The Tigers were 36-20 (16-12 SWAC) last season and advanced to the SWAC Championship game.
The Rebels lead the all-time series, 8-0. The last meeting between the teams was March 3, 2021. Ole Miss won, 12-1, in seven innings at Swayze Field.
STAY HOT, MITCH
Mitchell Sanford is hitting .435 (20 for 46) over his last 11 games, including six home runs, 16 runs scored and 16 RBI. He has seven multi-hit games and 14 extra-base hits.
Sanford, a senior, is in his one and only Ole Miss season after an off-season transfer from New Orleans. He leads the Rebels in batting average, slugging percentage, runs scored and total bases. His .718 slugging percentage is the 12th highest in the SEC.
AROUND THE DIAMOND
Will Furniss hit .500 in the three games against Florida with three doubles and eight RBI. … Ole Miss is tied with Florida State for eighth in the NCAA in total home runs (55). The Rebels are seventh in home runs per game (2.04) and 14th in slugging percentage (.550). … They’re also ranked No. 15 nationally and fifth in the SEC in total walks drawn (171). … The Ole Miss pitching staff is sixth in the country and fifth in the conference in strikeouts per nine (12.1).
