The No. 21 Ole Miss Rebels will look to get over the .500 mark in Southeastern Conference play this weekend when they travel to take on Tennessee in a three-game series.
First pitches are set for 5 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
The Rebels (26-12, 7-8 SEC) are coming off two straight losses to nonconference opponents Memphis and Southern Miss, while the Volunteers (17-18, 5-10 SEC) enter the weekend on a three-game winning streak, including a series win at No. 17 Kentucky last weekend.
Ole Miss will send ace Bobby Wahl to the mound to start the series Friday afternoon.
The junior right-hander has compiled a 7-0 record in nine starts so far this season with a 1.40 ERA. Tennessee will counter with freshman right-hander Aaron Quillen, who is 1-1 on the year in 10 appearances, nine of which are starts. Quillen has a 5.40 ERA and has started the past two Fridays, earning no decisions in both outings.
Junior right-hander Mike Mayers will take the mound on Saturday for the Rebels. He is 2-4 on the year in nine starts with a 2.98 ERA.
Mayers has yet to win a conference game this season.
Tennessee will send junior right-hander Nick Williams to the mound to face the Rebels Saturday. He enters the weekend with a 2-2 record in 14 appearances, four of which are starts, and a 5.25 ERA.
Sophomore right-hander Sam Smith will close things out for Ole Miss on Sunday.
He will be making his ninth start of the season, and is 2-0 with a 3.78 ERA. Senior right-hander Zack Godley will toe the rubber for the Volunteers in the series finale.
He is 3-4 with a 3.26 ERA in 11 appearances, nine of which are starts.
At the plate, Tennessee is led by sophomore infielder Will Maddox, who enters the weekend with a team-leading .357 batting average and 51 hits.
The Volunteers are hitting .281 as a team, and Maddox is one of four players hitting over .300.
Tennessee will also look for junior outfielder Pierce Bily to continue to drive in runs after leading the team with 22 RBIs through 34 games.
For the Rebels, junior catcher Stuart Turner continues to pace the offense.
Turner leads the team with a .380 batting average, 49 hits, three home runs and 36 RBIs. Sophomore center fielder Auston Bousfield has also had recent success at the plate, bringing his average up to .297, and is second on the team with 44 hits.
It remains to be seen how much of an impact junior shortstop Austin Anderson will have this weekend.
Anderson exited last Sunday’s series finale against Alabama after tweaking his hamstring.
Head coach Mike Bianco held Anderson out of this week’s two midweek games hoping he will be good to go today.
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