Weather Delay, No Delay in Stakes: Ole Miss-Florida opens with hosting hopes in play

No. 17 Ole Miss baseball’s quest for at least one more SEC win to boost its hosting resume begins on Wednesday.

The Rebels (37-18) draw fellow Regional host hopeful Florida and will throw ace left-hander Hunter Elliott opposite Gator RHP Liam Peterson.

The No. 15-ranked Gators won their SEC Tournament opener against South Carolina, 11-3. First pitch with the Rebels was pushed back to 8 p.m. CT due to inclement weather in the area. 

Elliott has a 8-3 record and 3.31 ERA in his return season from Tommy John. He’s allowed just five earned runs and 12 hits over his last four starts and 24.1 innings. He’s struck out 28.

Elliott has the seventh-lowest ERA in the SEC. He’s one of five pitchers in the conference with an opponent batting average against under .200 (.194). His 1.16 WHIP is Top 10 in the SEC, and he’s Top 12 in strikeouts (86) and innings pitched (73.1).

“I’m super proud of this team,” Elliot said after his last start in the series win over Auburn. “A lot of critics coming into the year, a lot of people didn’t think we were going to be very good. We’ve gone about this motto of our dugout vs. everybody else. Don’t care what anybody else thinks; care about what you, your teammates, the coaches think and that’s about it. I think we’ve really stuck to that, and I’m super proud of everybody.”

Wednesday is a de-facto hosting eliminator for one of Florida or Ole Miss.

Baseball America’s Jacob Rudner this week listed the Gators, Tennessee, Southern Miss, Kansas, TCU, West Virginia and Dallas-Baptist as the other teams Ole Miss is competing with to host. Ole Miss last hosted in 2021.

Only once since 2007 has an SEC team with 18 SEC wins and a Top 20 RPI not hosted. The Rebels are at 17 when including their Governor’s Cup win over rival Mississippi State. Ole Miss is one of only two Division I teams with 16 Quad 1 wins. The Rebels have played the second-most Q1 games.

“If you’re Ole Miss, you’d rather play Florida in that first game and perhaps use that as one final resume boost,” Rudner said on Monday. “Get one win there and you’re in a really good spot, in my opinion.

“At the same time, if other teams that are on that hosting bubble — all those teams that are still in that jumbled-up picture of who’s going to get that 12-16 spot and who’s going to end up a 2-seed — if the results break right for Ole Miss, they might not need to do much more to lock down a hosting spot.”

HOW TO WATCH

Television/Online: SEC Network
Play-by-Play: Tom Hart
Color: Kyle Peterson

HOW TO LISTEN

Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: David Kellum
Color: Brad Henderson

OLE MISS IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT

The Rebels were picked to finish 15th in the 16-team SEC but are the No. 7 seed in the league tournament after finishing the regular season with a 16-14 SEC record. 

Not since 2021 has Ole Miss finished with a winning SEC record.

Ole Miss was the tournament’s inaugural champion in 1977. The Rebels have won the tournament six times, most recently in 2018. The Rebels defeated LSU, 9-1, in the championship game.

SCOUTING FLORIDA

Florida used three home runs to beat South Carolina and has won 18 of its last 23 games, including 15 of 19 against SEC opponents. 

The Gators delivered their 16th comeback victory of the season against the Gamecocks, who they trailed 1-0 early.

Brody Donay leads the Gators in home runs (17). Bobby Boser is up to 16 homers to pull closer to becoming the second Gator ever with 20 home runs and 20 steals in a single season. He’s swiped 18 bases so far.

Florida is in its 44th SEC Tournament. The Gators are 78-69 all-time. 

“They’re different,” Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said of facing Ole Miss. “We played them early in the year, so it’s a totally different Ole Miss team and we’re a totally different Florida team. I don’t know how much we can take away from that series.

“They’re talented. They’re older. I’m assuming they’re going to throw their No. 1. We’ve got Liam (Peterson) going for us. They’re well-rested. They’ve had a great year. So, we’ll just go out and play tomorrow and see how it goes.”

Peterson this season is 8-2 with a 4.22 ERA in 64.0 innings, the second-most on the team. He’s totaled a team-leading 89 strikeouts, though he’s also allowed the most home runs (9). Ole Miss scored five runs against him in March, tied for the most Peterson has given up all year.

Elliott worked 5.2 innings and allowed three runs off six hits while striking out seven against Florida in March. The Rebels won two of three.

OLE MISS DIAMOND (HALF) DOZEN

1. Will Furniss and Judd Utermark were a combined .517 (15 for 29) with three home runs, 12 RBI and 12 runs scored in the Rebels’ final regular-season series against Auburn. 
2. Ole Miss won five SEC series in the regular season to surpass its combined total from the previous two seasons. The Rebels last won five SEC series in 2021.
3. Ole Miss, as a team, has reached the 100-home run mark for just the second time in program history. They Rebels are six home runs shy of the program record (108, 2022).
4. Luke Hill is currently riding a 39-game on base streak, reaching base in every game since the beginning of conference play.
5. Hill is Top 10 in the SEC in steals (18), walks (42), hits (71), on-base (.473) and runs scored (59). His 18 stolen bases are the most by a Rebel since Anthony Servideo (24) in 2019.
6. Austin Fawley has hit a home run in 10 of his last 20 games. He has more home runs than any other catcher in the Mike Bianco era.