Fresh off a 2-1 series win over Missouri, Ole Miss will face another inter-conference test Tuesday as they square off with in-state rivals No. 7 Mississippi State. Three weeks ago, the Rebels were stunned as they lost three straight games to the Bulldogs. Despite those losses, the Rebels have already matched last season’s mark of 12 wins against ranked teams, after series wins against six nationally ranked teams. With few games left in the season, the 25-15 Rebels seek to improve their 9-9 conference record with a redeeming win in Pearl. Here are a couple key matchups to watch for:
Rebel pitching dominance
Head coach Mike Bianco’s pitching staff has been impressive on the mound. The squad, led by junior David Parkinson, sophomore Dallas Woolfolk and freshman Ryan Rolison, ranks among the best in the nation. The Rebel’s walks plus hits per inning average of 1.13 and strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.50 both top the SEC and rank third in the NCAA.
On the mound, Ole Miss also leads the SEC in ERA (2.90) and walks per nine innings (2.74). But the Rebels will surely be tested by a Mississippi State team which has averaged more than six runs per game this season.
Freshman Greer Holston is set for his seventh start against the Bulldogs. His 3.20 ERA reflects solid wins in his last two starts. A number of scoreless innings pitched against Southern Miss and Little Rock bode well for the young starter.
Minimizing Rooker’s impact
Mississippi State will have rested arms hot off a series sweep against Alabama. The 28-14 Bulldogs top the SEC West while the Rebels sit firmly in sixth place. Mississippi State’s slugger Brent Rooker has been unstoppable; he leads the SEC in nearly every statistical category.
Rooker, a three-time SEC player of the week, leads the conference in batting average (0.400), slugging (.975), on-base percentage (.532), hits (62), RBIs (58), doubles (20) and home runs (16), as well as total bases and stolen bases.
His marks for doubles and home runs are the second best in the NCAA and he leads the nation in slugging, RBIs and total bases. Averaging 1.58 hits and 1.5 RBIs a game, Rooker will need to be shut-down for the Rebels to prevail.
Offense from the veterans
Juniors Will Golsan and Tate Blackman, along with senior Colby Bortles, have led the charge at bat for the Rebels in 2017. In last weekend’s series against Missouri, the trio combined to score 10 runs off 11 hits in 33 at bats.
Blackman experienced an impressive mid-season surge by hitting just four home runs in his first 129 games as a Rebel. Blackman has now hit five over the fence in the last month alone and leads the Rebels in runs with 31.
Golsan has been Ole Miss’ most consistent hitter this season. He leads the team in batting average (0.301), hits (46) and total bases (63). His contributions have been invaluable to a Rebel team struggling to score this year.
Perhaps the most entertaining Ole Miss player to watch in 2017, Bortles leads the team with an 30 RBIs, six home runs and a slugging percentage of 0.463. His clutch hitting helped the Rebels kickstart a mid-season comeback after an early slump threatened to derail Ole Miss’ postseason aspirations.
