On3 Things to Know: No. 4 Ole Miss baseball has its first Top 15 test of the season

Once the next four weekend games are over No. 4 Ole Miss is going to be very familiar with its opponent. Starting on Friday the Rebels will play No. 13 Maryland for four straight games over the next two weekends.

This weekend is a three-game series at Oxford-University Stadium before Ole Miss (4-0) and Maryland (2-2) meet again next Friday in Minnesota in the Cambria College Classic.

While it is a unique setup it is the second time in as many seasons the Rebels have played the same opponent four games in a short span. Last season Ole Miss and Mississippi State played four games in five days, meeting in Oxford for a weekend series then in Pearl two days later.

The biggest question looming over this first Top 15 matchup for Ole Miss is will ace Hunter Elliott miss this Friday and maybe be back for next Friday’s game against the Terrapins or is he done for the season.

Elliott is currently on the shelf after experiencing forearm stiffness after his first outing of the season last Friday. A MRI was done following a throwing session on Monday and Elliott is out of the rotation this weekend as a precaution and awaiting results.

Jack Dougherty will get the ball on Friday after starting the season out of the bullpen. This will be the first start for Dougherty since taking the mound for Game 1 of the Men’s College World Series championship series against Oklahoma back on June 25.

Dougherty went five innings, picking up the win, giving up two runs off three hits while striking out six and walking another.

“Mentality is just to execute pitches,” Dougherty said last weekend about a difference of mentality to starting and coming out of the bullpen.

“No matter what inning it is or who you’re facing. Just go out there, trust your stuff and make pitches.”

Lets take a closer look at the matchup, with game notes provided by Ole Miss Athletics Media Relations.

LEADING OFF

• Ole Miss has opened 2023 with four-straight wins, sweeping Delaware on Opening Weekend and beating Arkansas State on Tuesday
• The Rebels scored 35 total runs in their opening series against Delaware, their highest total on Opening Weekend since 2008
• Jacob Gonzalez set a new career-high in RBI last Sunday, driving in seven total runs with a grand slam and a bases-clearing double
• Ethan Groff leads the SEC in stolen bases per game and is second in total steals with five through his first four games
• Ole Miss leads the SEC and is No. 4 in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings, averaging 14.2 K/9
• 37 percent of Ole Miss’ runs have been scored in the second inning
• 11 Rebel freshmen have made their debut so far in 2023, highlighted by Will Furniss and Judd Utermark each hitting pinch-hit home runs in their first career at-bats
• The Rebels have lost just six games since April 29, 2022 and are 23-6 during that stretch
• This weekend marks just the second time in program history that Ole Miss and Maryland have matched up, the last coming in 2015
• Friday’s home opener saw 11,242 fans pack the stands at Swayze Field, the second-highest Opening Day attendance number in program history
• The Rebels moved up or stayed level in all of this week’s major polls, with their highest ranking coming at No. 4 from D1Baseball

LIKE TAKING CANDY FROM A BABY

Ethan Groff leads the SEC in stolen bases per game and is second in total steals, having swiped five bags in his first four games as a Rebel. His five total stolen bases are tied for fifth-most in the NCAA. He is just two steals short of tying his single-season career-high, having stolen just seven bases in both 2021 and 2022 with Tulane.

TRAFFIC JAM

Seven Rebels have reached base safely in every game to start 2023. Kemp Alderman, Peyton Chatagnier, Jacob Gonzalez, Ethan Groff, Calvin Harris, Ethan Lege, and TJ McCants each come into the weekend riding four-game on-base streaks. Chatagnier has reached base safely in 10 of his first 16 plate appearances, leading the team with a .625 OBP.

Chatagnier, Gonzalez, Groff, Harris, and McCants are also riding four-game hitting streaks.

BASH BROS

The Rebels are currently ranked second in the SEC and third nationally in slugging percentage, slugging .733 through their first four games. Ole Miss has 23 extra-base hits over that stretch, averaging 5.75 per game. They have also hit at least one home run in every game with 11 total big flies, second in the SEC to only South Carolina’s 19.

Texas State leads the country in slugging at .941 and South Carolina ranks second at .834.

SECOND TIME AROUND

The Rebels have scored the vast majority of their runs in the second inning, putting up 17 total runs, 37 percent of their total output, in frame number two. They are outscoring opponents 17-0 in the second inning.

OPEN AND SHUT

Ole Miss continues to lead the SEC in strikeouts per nine innings, averaging 14.2 K/9. The Rebels have racked up 52 total strikeouts in 33 innings of work. That number has them sitting at fourth in the nation behind Cal Poly, UCLA, and Wake Forest.

LONG TIME, NO SEE

Ole Miss and Maryland have only matched up one time in program history. Their only game came back in 2015 at the Los Angeles Regional hosted by UCLA. The Terrapins came out on top in that one, beating the Rebels 3-1.

OFF AND RUNNING

The Rebel offense came out hot on Opening Weekend, scoring 35 total runs over their first three games. That mark is the highest for an Opening Weekend series since 2008 when they scored 45 runs against Minnesota.

Ole Miss has scored 46 total runs through their first four games, one run shy of last season’s total.

WELCOME TO THE SHOW

11 Rebel freshmen have made their debut so far in 2023: Will Furniss, Brayden Jones, Cole Ketchum, Mason Morris, Will Plattner, JT Quinn, Grayson Saunier, Tim Simay, Sam Tookoian, Judd Utermark, and Jordan Vera.

Saunier made his collegiate debut on Saturday getting the start for game two against Delaware. He allowed just one hit over four innings while striking out five batters. Quinn made his first career start against Arkansas State and has allowed just three earned runs over his first 5.1 innings. Furniss and Utermark each hit a home run in their first career at-bats. Jones, Ketchum, and Tookoian each posted scoreless outings in their debuts out of the bullpen.