No. 4 Ole Miss Baseball will face No. 14 Southern Miss at home at 6:30 Tuesday night as the Rebels try to improve their 22-3 record and notch a quality in-state win.
The first of two matchups in 2018, this in-state rivalry is one to watch, with both teams proving to be the elite teams not only in Mississippi but also in the country. Both teams coming off of series wins over the weekend, the Rebels jumped up one spot in the national rankings to No. 4, while the Eagles climbed two to No. 14.
Ole Miss took hold of first place in the SEC West with a 2-1 road series against No. 11 Texas A&M this past weekend, marking its second consecutive SEC series victory, and will now look to maintain the early-season momentum against Southern Miss.
Grae Kissinger makes contact with a pitch in the second inning. Ole Miss defeated Austin Peay 11-4 on Tuesday. Photo by Billy Schuerman
Tuesday night’s matchup should be a position battle between the two teams.
Twenty-five games into the season, the Rebels have found success in the consistency and depth of their pitching staff. The team boasts a 2.54 ERA on the season, which ranks seventh in the nation, and has seven pitchers who hold an ERA less than two in more than 10 innings pitched. Friday and Saturday starters Ryan Rolison and Brady Feigl have a 2.88 and 2.08 ERA, respectively, and their starts have often been backended by excellent bullpen performances from guys like Parker Caracci, Will Ethridge and Dallas Woolfolk. With such a talented opponent coming to town, Houston Roth has been the go-to starter for midweek games this season and will more than likely get the ball to face the talented Eagles lineup. Roth enters the game 3-0 with a 5.06 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 26.2 innings of work.
While a balanced pitching attack has led the way for Ole Miss, Southern Miss has won nine out of its last 10 games behind the strength of its bats. The Eagles are coming off a road series win against Florida Atlantic, where they clinched the rubber match with a 14-3 offensive showcase. Now amid C-USA play, the team has averaged 7.9 runs per game in its past 10 games, which dropped its season average to nearly nine runs per game.
Coming up to bat in the bottom half Tuesday, Ole Miss has had its fair share of offensive fireworks. With six hitters with more than 50 at-bats hitting above .300 on the season, the Rebels have scored more than five runs in 21 of 25 games and hope to continue the hot hitting Tuesday. Left-fielder Thomas Dillard also continued his hot streak over the weekend and has the chance to extend his 14-game hitting streak against the Eagles. With a hit in his next two games, he would tie five other players for the ninth-longest hitting streak in Ole Miss history.
With two top-15 teams from Mississippi duking it out, a win for Ole Miss could add another impressive victory to its resume and inspire even more confidence heading into a showdown with No. 5 Arkansas over the weekend.
