Chris Ellis releases a pitch during a game against Georgia State Feb. 21. Photo: Alex Edwards, The Daily Mississippian.
For the first time in the two programs’ histories, the No. 24 nationally ranked Ole Miss baseball team will take on Central Florida. The two teams are set to begin a three-game series starting tonight. The Rebels (8-1) are coming off two midweek come-from-behind wins over Louisiana-Monroe, while the Knights (6-2) enter the weekend off a win over Jacksonville.
Junior right-hander Chris Ellis will get the start on the mound for the Rebels in tonight’s series opener. Ellis has been arguably the best pitcher on the staff this season. He is currently 2-0 on the year, and in 15 innings pitched, he has yet to give up a run. Ellis has also tallied eight strikeouts in his two starts, while walking just two opposing hitters.
Central Florida will counter that with junior left-hander Eric Skoglund. He is currently 1-0 in two starts posting a 1.93 ERA in 14 innings of work. Skoglund has nine strikeouts on the year, but he has walked five and has two hit-by-pitches.
The Rebels will turn to sophomore left-hander Christian Tent in Saturday’s matchup. Trent has had an excellent start to his career in the red and blue, posting a 2-0 record in two starts with a 1.38 ERA. Trent has been the biggest strikeout guy for Ole Miss, as he has 12 already on the season. He also has not issued any walks, but has hit one batter.
The Knights will send junior right-hander Spencer Davis to the mound in game two of the series. Davis is currently 2-0 and holds a 1.54 ERA in 11.2 innings of work. He has eight strikeouts this season.
Junior right-hander Sam Smith will close out the weekend for the Rebels on the mound. He holds a 1-0 record through two starts with a 2.61 ERA. Smith has been extremely efficient for Ole Miss, taking only one loss in his last 18 starts. Central Florida has not announced its starter for Sunday’s series finale.
At the plate for the Rebels, three seasoned veterans lead the way in senior catcher Will Allen, junior center fielder Auston Bousfield and junior first baseman Sikes Orvis.
Orvis currently leads the team with a .387 batting average and is tied with Allen, Bousfield and senior second baseman Preston Overbey for the team high in home runs, with two. Allen is tied for second on the team with a .378 average through nine games. Allen is also tied for the team high in hits with Bousfield at 14 and leads the Rebels in RBIs with 14. Bousfield rounds things out with a .378 average, tied for second on the team. He leads Ole Miss with nine runs scored and is second with nine RBIs.
For Central Florida, junior outfielder Derrick Salberg will be the leader at the plate. He holds a team-best .382 batting average and has also scored a team-high 10 runs. Another player the Rebels will have to keep an eye on is junior infielder Tommy Williams. Williams has a team-high two home runs and is third on the team with six runs driven in.
The series is scheduled to start tonight, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. The two will meet again both Saturday and Sunday, with first pitch in those games scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and noon, respectively.
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss baseball, follow @SigNewton_2 and @thedm_sports on Twitter.
— Matt Sigler
mcsigler@go.olemiss.edu
