For the first time this 2016 season, Ole Miss hit the road this past weekend and headed to Conway, South Carolina for the Chanticleer Classic, hosted by then-18th-ranked Coastal Carolina, for a three-game round-robin tournament.
The Rebels returned home with three wins, beating Ball State, the tournament host Coastal Carolina and Cincinnati.
Junior J.B. Woodman hits during the first game of the Louisville series Friday night, February 26. (Photo by: Evan Turner)
Ole Miss outscored its opponents 22-6 and the pitching staff only allowed four earned runs. This team continues to play good baseball to begin the year, gaining more momentum as conference play approaches.
Ole Miss will take a 10-1 record into a week in which it will return home to Swayze Field for five games, beginning today in game one of a two-game midweek series with Southeast Missouri State.
The Redhawks come into the series with a record of 6-5. They have won six of their last eight games after being swept by Lamar to begin the season. SEMO took two of three games from Central Arkansas over the weekend in its first home series of the year.
Freshman right-hander James McArthur has drawn the start in the Rebels’ first two midweek games, and despite struggling a bit, he will draw the start in game one of the series.
McArthur has given up seven runs on nine hits in his two starts this season. He also has one relief appearance.
Ole Miss announced that they will start freshman Andrew Lowe in the second game of the midweek series. Lowe has appeared in two games for the Rebels. He struggled in his first action as a Rebel, but bounced back on Sunday against Cincinnati. Lowe struck out two in his one inning against the Bearcats.
SEMO is led offensively by Dan Holst and Daniel Costello. Holst leads the team in hits with 17 and in batting average, posting a .425 in 11 games so far this season. Costello is batting .412 and leads the team with nine RBIs. Ryan Rippee also has nine RBIs on the year for the Redhawks. SEMO has not announced who it will throw in either game yet.
After a quiet weekend offensively against Louisville, Ole Miss found its bats again, recording 22 runs on 31 hits in its three wins over the weekend. Cameron Dishon and Colby Bortles each homered for the first time over the weekend, and Tate Blackman continued his hot start with a three-hit performance in Saturday’s game against Coastal Carolina. The Rebels will look to continue to carry that momentum into this five-game week.
After two games against the Redhawks, Ole Miss takes on Grambling State in a three-game weekend series to complete its five-game home stand. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
– Brian Scott Rippee
