UT-Martin’s Taylor Douglas dives back to first as Mississippi’s Sikes Orivs awaits the pickoff attempt during an NCAA college baseball game in Oxford, Miss., Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014. (DM Photo/Ignacio Murillo)
The Ole Miss baseball team will host its first series of the 2014 season this weekend when it welcomes the Panthers of Georgia State. The Rebels (4-0) are off to a nice start with a sweep of Stetson this past weekend and most recently a midweek 6-0 win over UT-Martin. Georgia State (3-1) enters the series on a two-game winning streak with wins over Illinois and Savannah State. The Panthers took two of three from Illinois in a series last weekend.
Junior right-hander Chris Ellis will get the nod on the mound for Ole Miss Friday night. In his first start this season, he got the win going six innings, allowing only four hits and striking out four. Redshirt sophomore left-hander Christian Trent will follow up Ellis on Saturday. In his first start in an Ole Miss uniform, Trent went six innings, giving up three hits and a run and striking out six. Junior right-hander Sam Smith will wrap things up for Ole Miss on the mound Sunday. He threw five innings of shutout baseball and allowed only two hits in his first start of the season.
Georgia State will likely combat this with sophomore right-hander Nathan Bates, senior left-hander Andrew Fessler and sophomore right-hander Matt Rose, taking the mound Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. None of the three received a decision in their first outing. Bates went six innings, giving up four runs on six hits, while Fessler went three innings, giving up five runs on nine hits. Rose wrapped up the weekend for the Panthers going five innings and surrendering two runs on five hits.
At the plate for Ole Miss, junior Auston Bousfield continues to lead the way. He is leading the team with a .563 batting average, nine hits and seven runs scored. Another guy to keep an eye on will be senior Will Allen, who has been on a tear at the plate recently. Allen is hitting .375 and leads the team with 11 RBIs.
For Georgia State, senior Chris Triplett will be the guy Ole Miss needs to look out for. Triplett leads the Panthers with a .471 batting average through four games and is also second on the team with seven RBIs. The Rebels will also need to be aware of Rose, who is also a threat at the plate. He is currently hitting .333 and leads the team with eight RBIs, two home runs and 13 total bases.
The series will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams on the diamond, and first pitch is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m. at Swayze Field.
