The Ole Miss baseball team will make its home debut of the 2014 season this afternoon at 4 p.m. when it hosts Tennessee-Martin. The Rebels (3-0) come in off a sweep of Stetson this past weekend in Florida, while the Skyhawks (0-3) were swept by UAB.
Sophomore right-hander Jacob Waguespack will get the start on the mound for Ole Miss. Waguespack saw action this past weekend, pitching one inning with a strikeout. Last season, Waguespack made six appearances, two of which were starts, and posted a 0-1 record with a 3.46 ERA. In his 13 innings pitched, he gave up nine hits, with six strikeouts.
Ole Miss enters the game on a hot streak at the plate. The Rebels racked up 26 runs in their three-game series with Stetson, including six home runs. They only hit 23 all of last season. The Rebels have five starters hitting at least .400 and will look to have continued success in this midweek matchup.
Junior center fielder Auston Bousfield leads the way at the plate with a .583 average after the first weekend. He had seven hits in 12 at-bats and also drove in a run. Another name to keep an eye on is senior catcher Will Allen, who stepped into the power hitting role nicely against Stetson. Allen was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Week, as he launched two home runs and also drove in 10 runs in 11 at-bats. Senior utility player Preston Overbey also had success with the long ball, hitting two home runs on the weekend.
Freshman Fletcher Johnson will be the guy UT-Martin leans on offensively. He is currently leading the team with four hits through three games and also has one of the team’s four runs batted in. Seniors Zack Malone and Phil Sorenson will also be contributors offensively for the Skyhawks, with both coming out of the first weekend series hitting .300.
This matchup will be another good chance for Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco to get a look at the new members of the team. Bianco was able to play six new players in the field and also get a look at three new arms on the mound. A few guys to keep an eye on will be freshman shortstop Errol Robinson, who is hitting .400, freshman outfielder J.B. Woodman, who drove in two runs on three hits, and junior outfielder Braxton Lee, who is third on the team in runs scored with four.
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