No. 17 Ole Miss Baseball (31-14, 11-10 SEC) and No. 10 Mississippi State (34-10, 13-8 SEC) are set to clash in the annual Governor’s Cup at Trustmark Park on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. in Pearl.
LEADING OFF
- Ole Miss took one of three last weekend against No. 5 Georgia, dropping the final two games of the series.
- The Rebels hit 14 home runs last week, five against Murray State on Tuesday and nine in the first two games against Georgia.
- Ole Miss and Auburn are the only two teams in the SEC to have played or will play the four teams that currently occupy the top of the league standings.
- The Rebels come into this week ranked No. 17 by D1Baseball, No. 18 by both USA Today and the NCBWA, and No. 22 by both Perfect Game and Baseball America.
- Will Furniss hit three of those home runs, hitting .429 with six RBI and four walks last week.
- Walker Hooks made two more appearances over the weekend, picking up a save in game one against the Bulldogs. He now has a 1.14 ERA over his last 11 outings.
- Hooks is tied for the lead in saves (5) and has the second-lowest ERA (1.71) amongst qualified pitchers during SEC play.
- Owen Paino hit .385 with a home run, four RBI, and four runs scored last week.
- Over his last 16 games, Hayden Federico has hit .404 (19-for-47) with 12 walks, four HBPs, 13 RBI, and 10 runs scored.
- Judd Utermark and Tristan Bissetta have combined to hit 36 of Ole Miss’ 78 (46%) home runs this season.
- Ole Miss now leads the SEC in walks drawn with 256 free passes. That is good enough for ninth in the NCAA.
- Cade Townsend is now ranked sixth in ERA (2.33), fourth in WHIP (0.97), and fourth in strikeouts per nine innings (13.21) in the SEC.
- Taylor Rabe leads the SEC in strikeout-to-walk ratio during conference play, punching out 8.25 hitters for every walk he has issued.
- The Ole Miss pitching staff has struck out 509 batters, second-most in the SEC and third in the NCAA. Their K/9 of 11.6 is fourth in the SEC, their strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.46 is fourth in the SEC and their ERA of 4.00 is fifth 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
RHP Owen Kelly (2-1, 3.04 ERA) vs. RHP Brendan Sweeney (0-0, 6.46 ERA)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Tuesday’s game will be streamed live on SEC Network+ with Colton Martinez (PxP) and Philip Palmertree (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
Former Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor has made an effortless transition into SEC play by leading Mississippi State to a 34-10 record with a 13-8 conference mark. O’Connor began his first season in Starkville after 22 seasons with the Cavaliers, where he is the all-time winningest coach in program history.
He’s brought that winning mentality to Mississippi State who finds itself ranked as a consensus top 10 team and sitting as high as No. 5 in national polls. The Bulldogs are no stranger to success, accumulating a winning record in 10 of the past 11 seasons, which includes a pair of 50-win campaigns in 2019 and 2021, the latter season saw them winning the College World Series.
This season has been no different, as the Bulldogs are riding an eight-game winning streak which includes back-to-back sweeps of South Carolina and LSU. The Bulldogs have compiled a well-rounded squad that ranks top 10 nationally in seven statistical categories, including strikeout-to-walk ratio (second), strikeouts per nine innings (fourth), and earned run average (eighth).
No individual Bulldog stands out nationally at the plate, rather the collective position players each are capable batters. Bryce Chance leads the way as the most effective hitter with a .357 batting average. Ace Reese and Noah Sullivan provide the power with 23 home runs between them, with the former leading the team with 18 doubles. Reese and Reed Stallman are the team’s main drivers of scoring with 53 and 38 RBI, respectively. On the bases, eight primary starters have recorded at least one stolen base as Chance leads the way with 10.
Brendan Sweeney will take the mound for the Bulldogs in this weekday game. The senior righty has made 11 appearances this season and racked up a 6.46 ERA in 15.1 innings of work. He hasn’t made a start since March 3 in Mississippi State’s 7-6 loss to Southern Miss. In that game he worked 1.2 innings and gave up four runs. He did appear in the series against Ole Miss earlier in the season, going for one inning and gave up the only run Ole Miss scored in game two.
SEC BASEBALL STANDINGS
| conf | cpct | overall | opct | home | road | neutral | strk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Georgia | 13-5 | 0.722 | 34-11 | 0.756 | 24-7 | 10-3 | 0-1 | W2 |
 Texas A&M | 12-5 | 0.706 | 33-8 | 0.805 | 22-3 | 9-4 | 2-1 | W2 |
 Texas | 11-6 | 0.647 | 32-9 | 0.780 | 22-3 | 7-6 | 3-0 | W1 |
 Mississippi State | 10-8 | 0.556 | 34-10 | 0.773 | 23-6 | 8-3 | 3-1 | W8 |
 Auburn | 10-8 | 0.556 | 30-12-1 | 0.709 | 20-7-1 | 6-5 | 4-0 | W1 |
 Ole Miss | 10-8 | 0.556 | 31-14 | 0.689 | 24-6 | 5-6 | 2-2 | L2 |
 Oklahoma | 10-8 | 0.556 | 28-14-1 | 0.663 | 18-5 | 6-8-1 | 4-1 | L1 |
 Florida | 10-8 | 0.556 | 29-16 | 0.644 | 19-12 | 9-4 | 1-0 | L2 |
 Alabama | 9-9 | 0.500 | 29-16 | 0.644 | 18-5 | 8-10 | 3-1 | L2 |
 Arkansas | 9-9 | 0.500 | 29-16 | 0.644 | 17-10 | 8-5 | 4-1 | L1 |
 Vanderbilt | 9-9 | 0.500 | 26-19 | 0.578 | 21-8 | 4-6 | 1-5 | L1 |
 Tennessee | 8-10 | 0.444 | 29-15 | 0.659 | 23-9 | 4-5 | 2-1 | W2 |
 Kentucky | 8-10 | 0.444 | 27-15 | 0.643 | 17-5 | 10-10 | 0-0 | W1 |
 LSU | 6-12 | 0.333 | 24-21 | 0.533 | 18-11 | 3-10 | 3-0 | L3 |
 South Carolina | 5-13 | 0.278 | 22-23 | 0.489 | 18-13 | 4-8 | 0-2 | L1 |
 Missouri | 3-15 | 0.167 | 21-23 | 0.477 | 12-13 | 3-9 | 6-1 | W1 |