Around the Diamond: Ole Miss baseball needs a win and next faces its rival in Pearl
Ole Miss baseball last week lost three of four games and dropped like a rock in Top 25 polls.
The Rebels, now ranked No. 23, will look to right course Tuesday in Pearl. They’re taking on in-state rival Mississippi State in the Governor’s Cup at Trustmark Park. First pitch is 6 p.m. CT.
Ole Miss true freshman RHP Cade Townsend (1-0, 7.13 ERA) will oppose Bulldog RHP Noah Sullivan (0-0, 1.50 ERA). The Rebels (28-12, 10-8 SEC) are led offensively by veteran infielder Luke Hill, who’s riding a 24-game on-base streak. He’s reached base in every SEC game.
The Bulldogs (24-16, 6-12) are fresh off a series loss to Florida but have won each of the last two Governor’s Cup games. They lead 11-5 since the midweek series moved to the former home of the Mississippi Braves in 2007.
“Bad weekend,” Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said of the Rebels’ series loss at South Carolina. “We’ll think about this weekend a little bit. It was a disappointing three days for us. But to finish the way we did and finish on a good note — to pitch it well, to play good defense and obviously get the bats going again, which we hadn’t seen in a few days — was good.”
Ole Miss gets No. 9 Vanderbilt in Oxford for three this weekend. The Commodores recently swept No. 10 Georgia.
HOW TO WATCH
Television/Online: SEC Network+
Play-by-Play: Bryan Eubank
Color: Seth Smith
HOW TO LISTEN
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: David Kellum
Color: Brad Henderson
SCOUTING REPORT
Junior left fielder Gehrig Frei leads Mississippi State in average (.387) and slugging percentage (.693). Sophomore third baseman Ace Reese has the most home runs (13) and RBI (47). He’s tied for eighth in the SEC in both categories.
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Sophomore catcher Ross Highfill has the most steals (10) of all Bulldogs in 12 attempts. Hunter Hines, a senior first baseman, is third nationally with 62 career home runs. He’s second all-time in school history and just five behind Rafael Palmeiro (1983-85).
The MSU pitching staff has been among the nation’s elite. The Bulldogs are fourth in college baseball in strikeouts per nine innings (12) and fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.37).
State has a collective, staff-wide ERA of 4.18 to go along with 445 strikeouts and 132 walks in 334 innings. Opposing hitters are batting just .221 against the Bulldogs.
AROUND THE DIAMOND
Ole Miss has dropped consecutive SEC series. However, the Rebels have already surpassed their win total from last season. … Their three SEC series wins also matches their total from 2024. They’re one series win away from matching their combined total from the past two seasons.
Ole Miss is ranked in all five polls this week.
The Rebels were slotted as high as No. 18 by USA Today. … Kentucky transfer catcher Austin Fawley has hit a home run in five of his last six games. He had a grand slam in a 12-2 win over the Gamecocks on Saturday. … Ole Miss leads the SEC in total walks drawn (254). … The Rebels have stolen 58 bases, their most since 2019. … They’ve hit 78 home runs, eighth-most in the NCAA and fourth-most in the SEC. … They’re ninth nationally in home runs per game (1.95).
Ole Miss is Top 10 in the conference in batting average, hits, on-base percentage, runs scored, slugging percentage and stolen bases. … The Rebels have punched out a conference-high 166 batters in five SEC series. … Ole Miss pitchers are seventh in the NCAA in K/9 (11.4) and 10th in K:BB (2.83).
