No. 8 Ole Miss looks to remain unbeaten as it welcomes Rhode Island to Oxford for a three-game series that begins at 4 p.m. today from Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field. First pitch for Saturday’s game is set for 1 p.m., while Sunday’s series finale will begin at noon.
The No. 8 Ole Miss Rebels (4-0) will welcome the Rhode Island Rams (0-3) to Oxford this weekend for their second weekend series of the season. The Rams were swept this past weekend at No. 19 Florida State, but they took the Seminoles to extra innings in Sunday’s matchup.
“They are a team that is used to doing this,” head coach Mike Bianco said.
“They went to Florida State, a team that’s been in a regional. So I don’t think, like some teams that come down here for the first time, I don’t think they are going to be wowed or intimidated. I think they are going to be a solid team that does a lot of things well. They are a northern team that we expect to come down here and really compete.”
The Rebels are coming off a 15-2 win over UT-Martin on Wednesday and look to carry that momentum into Friday night’s series opener.
Ole Miss will have junior right-hander Bobby Wahl (1-0) on the mound Friday after he won his first outing against TCU in a 1-0 pitchers’ duel. Wahl gave up three hits with eight strikeouts and three walks in 6.1 scoreless innings. He will go up against senior right-hander Mike Bradstreet (0-1) of the Rams, who gave up six runs on five hits in 3.1 innings.
Junior right-hander Mike Mayers will get the nod on the mound for the Rebels on Saturday.
Mayers earned a no-decision in his first outing. He gave up two runs on four hits with three strikeouts and four walks in 4.2 innings. Senior right-hander Sean Furney will get the nod for Rhode Island. Furney also earned a no-decision this past weekend, giving up one run on four hits with five strikeouts and seven walks in 4.0 innings.
Ole Miss will send sophomore right-hander Chris Ellis (1-0) to the mound Sunday to make his second Sunday start of his career. The newly named starter earned a win in his first outing, going four innings and giving up one run on two hits with three strikeouts and three walks.
Opposite of Ellis, junior right-hander Liam O’Sullivan will start for the Rams. O’Sullivan earned a no-decision this past weekend, giving up two runs on three hits with two strikeouts and four walks in 5.1 innings on the mound.
At the plate, the Rebels will be led by sophomore center fielder Auston Bousfield, who leads the team with six hits. Ole Miss will also look to find ways to get junior Preston Overbey into the lineup to get at-bats. Overbey started at second base in Wednesday’s win against UT-Martin and went 2-5 at the plate, driving in two runs and scoring four runs of his own.
Rhode Island is hitting just .213 as a team. Junior infielder Joe Landi and junior catcher/first baseman Pat Quinn lead the Rams at the plate, hitting .385 and .375, respectively.
The Rebels and Rams will begin their three-game series today at 4 p.m. from Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field. Saturday’s contest is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start time, while the series finale will begin at noon.
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