Colby Bortles (25) runs to first base during the baseball game against the Central Arkansas Tuesday (DM Photo | Marlee Crawford)
Coming off of a home series win against Alabama, Ole Miss will take on Mississippi State at Trustmark Park in Pearl tonight. It will be the first of four meetings between the two teams this year, with the final three games coming to Oxford in two weeks.
Mississippi State comes into the game with a record of 23-21 and 7-14 in Southeastern Conference play. After starting off fast with a 13-0 record, the Bulldogs have struggled mightily down the stretch and are a mere 10-21 since March 1st.
Mississippi State is led offensively by senior first baseman Wes Rea. The Gulfport native comes into the game leading the Bulldogs in RBIs with 30 and is second on the team with four home runs. Rea is is one of four Bulldog hitters batting over .300 this season and has an average of .322. Redshirt sophomore outfielder Jacob Robson leads the team in hits with 53 on the season. Robson leads the team in batting average with a mark of .353 on the season and leads the team in runs scored with 37. Rea is batting .328 on the season against SEC opponents and Robson is batting .333 in conference play.
Redshirt, senior left-hander Ross Mitchell will be getting the start for the Bulldogs tonight. It will be the first start for the Smyrna, Tennessee native this season. Mitchell has made 18 appearances, coming out of the bullpen over 44 innings pitched and owns a 4.30 ERA and a 3-2 overall record. Opponents have a .327 batting average against Mitchell on the season.
The Bulldogs have played well at home on the season, going 20-12 at home, but traveling on the road has been a different story. Mississippi State owns a 3-8 record on the road and 0-1 on a neutral field.
Senior right-hander Sam Smith will likely take the mound on Tuesday for the Rebels. Smith comes into the game with a record of 2-5 and a 6.50 ERA in nine starts and 13 total appearances. Smith is coming off of a loss to Memphis in the midweek game last week, and has struggled to find consistency this season. Ole Miss will need a good outing from Smith as every game becomes more crucial down the stretch and this team fights for postseason eligibility.
Sophomore third baseman Colby Bortles and senior catcher Austin Knight are both coming off productive weekends at the plate for Ole Miss and will look to provide a boost offensively for the Rebels. Bortles had five RBIs in game one against Alabama. Knight launched the first two home runs of his Ole Miss career and provided an offensive lift for Ole Miss over the weekend. The senior catcher knows just how important each game is in the final stretch of his Ole Miss career.
“Every game matters in these next three weeks,” Knight said. “They are our rivals and we want to go down their and play well and beat them. It’s a big game.”
Ole Miss currently sits at 23-22 overall and can’t afford to drop any more midweek games if they wish to maintain an above .500 record and a solid NCAA tournament resume.
First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
