No. 15 Ole Miss Baseball (34-18, 14-13 SEC) hosts UT Martin (25-26, 10-14 OVC) for their final midweek game of the season Tuesday night at Swayze Field. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on SEC Network.
LEADING OFF
- The Rebels took two of three games from No. 9 Texas A&M last weekend for their fifth conference series win of the season.
- Dom Decker hit .545 (6-for-11) with three stolen bases, two walks, two RBI, and two runs scored in the series.
- Judd Utermark hit .455 (5-for-11) with two doubles, four RBI, and two runs scored in the series.
- Taylor Rabe struck out 14 Aggies without issuing a walk over six innings in his start on Sunday.
- Hunter Elliott struck out 11 Aggies in his start to become just the third Rebel in program history to reach the 300-strikeouts mark.
- Austin Fawley has hit six home runs over his last nine games, after hitting just four over his first 36.
- The Rebels come into this week ranked No. 15 by D1Baseball, No. 19 USA Today, No. 20 by the NCBWA, No. 22 by Baseball America, and No. 24 by Perfect Game.
- Walker Hooks currently leads the SEC in ERA (1.91), WHIP (0.82), saves (7), and appearances (16) during conference play.
- Taylor Rabe leads the SEC in strikeout-to-walk ratio during conference play, striking out nine batters for every walk issued. He has issued just six walks over nine appearances.
- Judd Utermark and Tristan Bissetta have combined to hit 38 of Ole Miss’ 89 (43%) home runs this season.
- The Ole Miss pitching staff has struck out 581 batters, second-most in the SEC and fourth in the NCAA. Their K/9 of 11.6 is fourth in the SEC, their strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.50 is second in the SEC and their ERA of 4.44 is sixth in the conference.
- Will Furniss played in his 200th game for Ole Miss in game one against Georgia, becoming just the 21st Rebel to reach that milestone.
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUP
LHP Wil Libbert (2-2, 7.54 ERA) vs. TBA
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Tuesday’s game will be broadcast on SEC Network with Victor Rojas (PxP) and Mike Rooney (analyst) on the call. Fans can listen to all Ole Miss Baseball games, home and away, on the Ole Miss Radio Network with David Kellum (PxP) and Brad Henderson (analyst) on the call.
SCOUTING REPORT
Head coach Ryan Jenkins is in his ninth season at the helm of UT Martin’s baseball program. He’s tallied over 150 wins for the team in his tenure and is on pace for the first winning season for the Skyhawks ever. Entering Tuesday’s matchup with a 25-26 record, a win would serve as UT Martin’s most single season wins in program history.
The Skyhawks have much improved over the course of Jenkins’ tenure, this season they rank seventh nationally in hits with 566. UT Martin is capable of turning those hits into doubles, ranking third nationally with 129 this season. Both of those marks are tops for the Ohio Valley Conference. The Skyhawks score the most runs in the OVC, totaling 409 in the season to lead the conference.
UT Martin boasts five players with at least a .300 batting average, led by TJ Grines and TJ Dunsford. The duo have 20 combined home runs, with Grines leading the team with 85 hits. That ranks No. 2 nationally. Grines is also a speed demon who’s stolen 62 bases this season, which leads the nation. Grines scores 1.43 runs per game on average, second-best nationally.
Dean McCalla has gotten the past three midweek starts for the Skyhawks, and he’s been impressive in all three starts. He’s coming off an eight-inning game last week against Murray State, which UT Martin won 5-1. He gave up the one run while fanning four. On the season, McCalla has a 9.45 ERA in 10 appearances with 22 strikeouts.