Mississippi players react after winning an NCAA college baseball game against UT-Martin in Oxford, Miss., Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014. Mississippi won 6-0. (DM Photo/Ignacio Murillo)
The No. 10 Ole Miss baseball team will host the Arkansas Razorbacks this weekend in an important, late-season Southeastern Conference matchup.
The Rebels (33-13, 13-8 SEC) are coming off a 7-6 loss to Southern Miss on Wednesday and last weekend’s series sweep at Kentucky, while the Razorbacks (29-18, 10-11 SEC) enter the series after beating Missouri State Tuesday and losing two of three to Auburn last weekend.
Junior right-hander Chris Ellis will get things started on the mound for Ole Miss tonight. Ellis remains unbeaten this season, compiling a 6-0 record in 11 starts with just a 1.81 ERA. Ellis hasn’t allowed an earned run in five of his 11 starts this season, and he has walked 22 while striking out 46 and holding opposing batters to just a .245 average.
Arkansas will send sophomore right-hander Trey Killian to the mound to counter Ellis. Killian is 2-7 in nine starts and holds a 2.30 ERA. He has given up just 12 walks, and he has 36 strikeouts on the season.
Redshirt sophomore lefty Christian Trent will take the hill Saturday for the Rebels. Trent is 6-0 this season and holds a 2.25 ERA. Through 72 innings pitched, he has 58 strikeouts and 12 walks.
Junior left-hander Jalen Beeks will get the Saturday start for the Razorbacks. Beeks has posted a 5-3 record this season with a 1.60 ERA. He has 58 strikeouts and 16 walks in 11 starts for Arkansas.
Ole Miss will send junior right-hander Sam Smith to the mound to close things out on Sunday. Smith is 5-3 this season in ten starts with a 2.78 ERA. Smith has surrendered just five losses in his last 30 career starts for the Rebels.
Junior right-hander Chris Oliver will take the hill for the Hogs on Sunday. Oliver is 5-4 this season with a 3.05 ERA. He has picked up 41 strikeouts and 23 walks in 11 starts this year.
The Arkansas pitching staff, who are holding opposing offenses to a 2.28 ERA, will have to keep the second-hottest offense in the SEC off the scoreboard after the Rebels scored 39 runs last weekend in Lexington, which was the most during an SEC weekend series in Ole Miss history. The Rebels remain the second-ranked SEC offense in three of the biggest offensive categories, batting a .308 average, hitting 33 home runs and scoring 285 runs.
Three Rebel baseball players find themselves highly-ranked in individual SEC offensive categories, as well. Center fielder Auston Bousfield, who was named National and SEC Player of the Week last week, has the most hits in the SEC at 73, while catcher Will Allen is in second with 67 and third baseman Austin Anderson is tied for third with 63. First baseman Sikes Orvis is second in the SEC in home runs with 11 and has a hit in 19 straight SEC matchups this season. Allen is also second in the league in RBI with 50 and tied for third in the league in home runs with seven.
Rebel pitchers will have to keep the Hogs off the bases, as they are batting a .263 team average with 20 home runs and 218 RBI on the season. Arkansas’ Brian Anderson is the most dangerous offense threat, hitting .329 on the year with four home runs and 39 RBI.
Ole Miss will look to push the overall series with Arkansas closer to .500, as the Hogs hold a 40-34 edge in all of the schools’ matchups. Last season, Ole Miss took two of the three games from the Hogs in Fayetteville. In games played in Oxford in the series, Ole Miss is 8-10 since the 2001 season.
First pitch tonight between the Rebels and Hogs is set for 6:30 at Swayze Field. First pitch Saturday will be at 2:15 p.m., while Sunday’s matchup will start at 1:30 p.m.
