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Before Auburn, UT Martin: Ole Miss needs clean midweek tune-up to stay in hosting hunt

Ben Garrettby:Ben Garrett•05/13/25•

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Ole Miss infielder Luke Hill. Mandatory credit: Ole Miss athletics

Baseball America’s Jacob Rudner isn’t on the NCAA Tournament selection committee. 

But if he was, an Ole Miss (34-17, 14-13 SEC) sweep of No. 6 Auburn this weekend would be enough to get the Rebels back on the right side of the hosting line. 

Six of the top eight teams in BA’s bracket projections for the 64-team field are from the SEC. Rudner could see anywhere from 6-10 schools being named hosts.

“At the end of the day, (Ole Miss is) kind of in that weird position where is the committee going to choose to not overload on SEC hosts?” Rudner told the Ole Miss Spirit this week. “That could be a factor. If they’re going to hover around the 17 to let’s say 22-25 mark in the RPI, I could absolutely see the committee go with a non-SEC host. 

“But that win over Auburn would be really convincing and probably add some cushion between where Ole Miss stands and the range I just named.”

The Rebels are in a tough spot after dropping their series at in-state rival Mississippi State over the weekend. And they first have to get through their final midweek game of the regular season.

Ole Miss hosts UT Martin (20-30, 11-12 OVC) Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network+. The Rebels will throw true freshman RHP Cade Townsend (1-0, 7.03 ERA) opposite Skyhawks RHP JP Nunn (0-2, 2.91 ERA).

Life Support, Not Flatline: Ole Miss baseball still has a pulse in NCAA hosting race

HOW TO WATCH

Television/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 UT MARTIN

Three Skyhawks are hitting over .300 for the season: Arderrius Townsend, Jalen Fithian and Blaze Bell. Townsend leads the team in average (.324), on-base (.435), OPS (1.070), home runs (12) and total bases (94). 

Fithian has the most hits (61), doubles (14) and steals (36). Brody Capps is UT Martin’s RBI leader (49). Ole Miss is 17-2 all-time against the Skyhawks. The Rebels have won nine of the last 10, however, they dropped the last meeting, 9-7, in March of 2021.

The teams first met in February of 1993 — a 10-1 Ole Miss win.

OLE MISS DIAMOND CUTTERS

  1. Ole Miss is one of nine Division I teams with 12 or more Quad 1 wins this season.
  2. The Rebels were ranked in just two polls this week: No. 22 in Baseball America and No. 25 in the USA Today/Coaches.
  3. Luke Hill is riding a 35-game on-base streak. Hill has reached base in every SEC game.
  4. Hill is Top 10 in the SEC in walks (39), hits (67), on-base percentage (.471) and runs scored (53). His 17 stolen bases are the most by a Rebel since Anthony Servideo stole 24 in 2019.
  5. Austin Fawley has hit a home run in 10 of his last 17 games. He is responsible for the most home runs of any catcher in the Mike Bianco era (25 years).
  6. The Rebels are No. 2 in the SEC in total walks drawn (291).
  7. Hayden Federico needs one more steal to tie Jordan Henry’s single-season record (12) for an Ole Miss freshman. 
  8. The Rebels’ 93 home runs are Top 10 in the NCAA and fourth-most in the SEC. They’re 10th nationally in HRs per game (1.82).
  9. Ole Miss needs seven more to become just the second 100-homer team in program history.
  10. 10. Rebel pitchers are seventh in the NCAA in K/9 (11.1) and 14th in K:BB (2.77).

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