| Friday, March 29 6:30 p.m. CT |
Saturday, March 30 1:30 p.m. CT  |
Sunday, March 31 1:30 p.m. CT |
| PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: RHP Riley Maddox 2-1, 4.56 ERA, 21 K, 7 BB Kentucky: TBA 0-0, – ERA, – K, – BB |
PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: LHP Liam Doyle 2-0, 4.12 ERA, 37 K, 5 BB Kentucky: LHP Dominic Niman 4-2, 3.31 ERA, 31 K, 10 BB |
PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: LHP Gunnar Dennis 3-1, 7.24 ERA, 34 K, 13 BB Kentucky: RHP Mason Moore 5-0, 3.03 ERA, 33 K, 12 BB |
OXFORD, Miss. – No. 22 Ole Miss Baseball (18-8, 3-3 SEC) hosts No. 15 Kentucky (21-4, 5-1 SEC) this weekend for a three-game set at Swayze Field.
LEADING OFF
- Ole Miss defeated Austin Peay Tuesday night in a slugfest that ended up with a final score of 13-9.
- Treyson Hughes went 3-for-4 with three RBI in the win while Ethan Lege hit his seventh home run of the season and scored three times.
- The Rebels have now hit at least one home run in five-straight games and four of their first six SEC games.
- Last Saturday night’s win over No. 7 Tennessee was Ole Miss’ first ninth inning comeback win since March 25, 2021 at Alabama.
- Liam Doyle struck out 10 hitters in the win, becoming the first Rebel since Dylan DeLucia in 2022 to post multiple double-digit strikeout games in a season.
- Freshman Brayden Randle hit his first career home run Friday night and followed it up with his second on Saturday.
- The Rebels are ranked ninth in the nation in strikeouts per nine, averaging 11.3 punchouts per game.
- Ole Miss has hit 42 home runs this season, the 27th-highest mark in the NCAA.
- Andrew Fischer is fifth in the SEC with 11 big flies, averaging about half a home run per game. His .800 slugging percentage is the ninth-highest in the conference.
- Ole Miss is third in the NCAA in walks drawn (181), averaging 6.96 per game. They are one of three SEC teams in the top five.
- Jackson Ross leads the SEC in walks and walks per game with 28 free passes.
- Ethan Lege is the hardest hitter to strikeout in the SEC, striking out just five times in 85 at bats this season.
- Connor Spencer has five saves this season, tied at the top of the SEC with Arkansas’ Gabe Gaeckle.
SCOUTING REPORT
Nick Mingione is in his eighth season with Kentucky. Prior to Kentucky, Mingione spent eight seasons as an assistant coach to John Cohen at Mississippi State. Mingione has an overall record of 218-150 as head coach for the Wildcats and has made two NCAA Super Regional appearances.
In the 2023 season, the Wildcats had an overall record of 40-21 (16-14 SEC). Kentucky hosted the NCAA Lexington Regional and took down Ball State, West Virginia and Indiana to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals for the second time in the Mingione era. The Wildcats lost two games to the LSU Tigers in the Baton Rouge Super Regional which ended their postseason run.
Kentucky is currently ranked No. 15 and has a 21-4 (5-1 SEC) overall record. The Wildcats are coming off a 9-5 midweek win over Miami University.
This will be the 43rd meeting between the two opponents. The Rebels lead the series with a 26-16 overall record against the Wildcats. The two foes last squared off in 2022 at Proud Park in Lexington and Ole Miss walked away with the 2-1 series win.
SATURDAY FISCH FRY
Andrew Fischer is hitting .440 (11-for-26) with eight home runs, 14 RBI, and 12 runs scored in games played on Saturdays this season. He has hit at least one home run on four of this season’s six Saturdays and has hit two or more on three Saturdays. Over the first two Saturdays of SEC play, Fischer has hit five total home runs and driven in seven total runs.
DOYLE RULES
Liam Doyle has struck out 10 batters in each of his first two SEC starts, becoming the first Rebel since Dylan DeLucia in 2022 to post multiple double-digit strikeout games in a season. He is also the first Rebel since Doug Nikhazy in 2021 to have double-digit strikeouts in consecutive outings.
Over his three starts this season, the sophomore has 28 strikeouts, averaging just over nine per outing. He has also only issued one walk in each of his starts.
STEALING YOUR HEART
The Rebels have stolen 37 bases so far this season, just five short of their entire season total from 2023 and already three more than 2022. Since setting a new single-season program record in 2019 (93), Ole Miss has not stolen more than 44 bases in a season. They are currently averaging 1.42 stolen bases per game.
Ethan Groff has stolen 10 bases in 2024, having not been caught yet. Luke Hill is 9-for-10 in stolen base attempts.
THE ROAD TO 1,000
Head coach Mike Bianco needs just three more wins to reach 1,000 victories in his career. He currently sits at 997 career wins, with 897 coming at Ole Miss. His first 100 wins came from his three seasons at McNeese State.
Once Bianco reaches the milestone, he would be the 21st active coach with 1,000 wins under his belt. He would also become the 98th head coach in NCAA history to reach the mark.
In 24 seasons leading the program, Bianco has delivered 18 postseason appearances, including eight Super Regional berths and a pair of trips to the College World Series. He is the winningest-coach in Ole Miss history and ranks second all-time in wins by an SEC head coach.
THROW ‘EM THE CHAIR
The Ole Miss pitching staff has posted double-digit strikeout numbers in five of their last eight games. Their 277 total strikeouts are the eighth-highest total in the nation and they rank ninth in K/9, averaging 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings.
Liam Doyle leads the team in total strikeouts with 37 and is second in K/9, averaging 16.9 per nine innings. Connor Spencer has 14 strikeouts over his 7.1 innings of work.
CAPTAIN CLUTCH
Ethan Lege has been the Rebels’ most clutch hitter, hitting .452 (14-for-31) with two outs in an inning. He has 14 two-out RBI, is hitting .364 with runners in scoring position, and is 7-for-8 when hitting with a runner on third base and less than two outs.
GETTING THEIR STEPS IN
Ole Miss has drawn the third-highest number of walks in the nation with 181 free passes in 26 games. The Rebels are averaging 6.96 walks per game and are one of three teams from the SEC in the top five (South Carolina, Texas A&M, Ole Miss). Their 181 walks come out to 16,290 total feet or 3.09 miles of free bases.
Jackson Ross is seventh in the NCAA and leads the SEC with 28 total walks himself. He is averaging 1.08 walks per game, also the most in the SEC.
During their series against High Point, the Rebels set a new single-game program record for walks with 19 in game three.
BOMB SQUAD
The Rebels hit 10 home runs in their three-game series against High Point, doing something that has only been done once before in the Mike Bianco Era. The last time an Ole Miss team hit 10 or more home runs in a three-game series was in 2020 against Princeton just before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to 2020, the feat had not been accomplished since 1998.
POWER CYCLE
In their 25-2 win over High Point, the Rebels accomplished the incredibly rare feat of completing the home run cycle in just the first inning. Ethan Groff led off the inning with a solo home run followed by a grand slam by Will Furniss. With one out in the inning, Reagan Burford hit a two-RBI home run and then Jackson Ross completed the cycle with a two-out, three-RBI shot five batters later.
RUNNING AWAY WITH IT
Ole Miss scored 25 runs against High Point in the series finale, falling just three runs short of the single-game record set in 1989. Their 25 runs were the most scored in one game since March 20, 2019 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (W, 25-0). It was just the sixth time in the last six seasons that the Rebels have broken the 20-run mark in a game.
They scored 11 runs in just the first inning of play, the most in a single inning since April 26, 2018 against LSU. In total, 15 hitters came to the plate, seven had hits in the inning, five drew walks, and five drove in runs.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Rebels by following Ole Miss baseball on X at @OleMissBSB, on Facebook at Facebook.com/OleMissBaseball, on Instagram at Instagram.com/officialolemissbsb and on TikTok at @olemissbsb. Also, follow head coach Mike Bianco on X at @CoachMikeBianco.