No. 25 Ole Miss Baseball (27-11, 8-7 SEC) takes their six-game winning streak on the road to Knoxville, Tennessee this weekend for a three-game set against Tennessee (25-12, 7-8 SEC). First pitch on Friday is set for 5:30 p.m. CT/6:30 p.m. ET with Saturday starting at 5 p.m. CT/6 p.m. ET and Sunday’s finale beginning at noon CT/1 p.m. ET.
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: LHP Hunter Elliott (3-1, 3.69 ERA) vs. RHP Landon Mack (3-2, 3.75 ERA)
Saturday: RHP Cade Townsend (3-1, 2.02 ERA) vs. RHP Tegan Kuhns (2-3, 3.77 ERA)
Sunday: RHP Taylor Rabe (3-1, 3.16 ERA) vs. LHP Evan Blanco (3-2, 3.67 ERA)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
All three games this weekend will be streamed live on SEC Network+ with Myan Patel (PxP) and Cody Hawn (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.
CLUBHOUSE NOTES
- Ole Miss is currently on a six-game winning streak and have won eight of their last nine games after defeating No. 22 Southern Miss in Pearl on Tuesday.
- Tristan Bissetta went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, two RBI, and three runs scored in the win over the Golden Eagles.
- The Rebels scored 26 runs and had 32 hits in their sweep of LSU last weekend, both the most in any SEC series this season.
- For the second straight series, Walker Hooks walked away with a win and a save, working four innings against the Tigers and allowing just one baserunner while striking out five batters.
- Taylor Rabe took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning on Sunday, working his first-career quality start.
- Over his last nine games, Hayden Federico has hit .571 (12-for-21) with eight walks, three HBPs, six RBI, and four runs scored.
- Over his last seven games, Owen Paino is hitting .368 (7-for-19) with two home runs, three doubles, eight RBI, eight runs scored, and eight walks.
- Judd Utermark and Tristan Bissetta have combined to hit 29 of Ole Miss’ 58 (50%) home runs this season.
- Cade Townsend has issued just one walk over his last three starts and has now struck out at least six batters in all but one of his starts.
- Walker Hooks has earned three wins, two saves, and pitched to a 1.06 ERA over his last seven appearances.
- Dom Decker leads the SEC in walks with 38 on the season. He is averaging one walks per game, second-best in the conference.
- Hunter Elliott is ranked fifth in the SEC in strikeouts with 68 punchouts on the season. His K/9 sits at 13.21 which is the third-best rate in the SEC.
- The Ole Miss pitching staff has struck out 432 batters, second-most in the SEC and fifth in the NCAA. Their K/9 of 11.8 is the second-highest in the SEC and their ERA of 3.70 is the fourth-lowest in the conference.
TENNESSEE AT A GLANCE
- First-year head coach Josh Elander has led Tennessee’s baseball team to a 25-12 overall record, which includes a 7-8 tally in SEC play. He’s spent the past eight seasons leading up to his inaugural season as Tennessee’s skipper with the program, including the last three as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for the Volunteers. During his eight seasons on staff, the Volunteers have made six NCAA Tournament appearances and won their first national championship in 2024.
- Like Ole Miss, Tennessee is gaining momentum at the midway portion of the year. Tennessee is coming off its first SEC sweep of the season, knocking down No. 9 Mississippi State, 6-5, 6-2 and 7-2. It won its midweek match in run-rule fashion over UNC Asheville, 11-1.
- The Volunteers are one of the top defensive squads in the country. They pace the conference in fielding percentage with a .984 success rate, which ranks sixth in the nation. Much of this achievement is from Tennessee’s strong pitching staff, which holds the NCAA’s second-best strikeout-to-walk ratio at 3.66. The Volunteers also excel at limiting walks, giving only 2.91 free bases per nine innings.
- Tennessee’s projected starters are sophomore righties Landon Mack and Tegan Kuhns on Friday and Saturday, with senior lefty Evan Blanco on Sunday. Kuhns and Blanco are coming off quality starts against Mississippi State, striking out 13 combined hitters in Tennessee’s more deciding victories. All three starters maintain ERAs under four, have allowed roughly the same amount of earned runs and home runs. Blanco has given up the fewest hits with 36 this season, Mack leads the team in strikeouts with 64, and Kuhns has allowed only nine walks.
- Henry Ford has been Tennessee’s best hitter so far this season, recording 44 knocks and a team-leading 11 homers. He paces the team in RBI (34) and hits (44) as well. Blaine Brown is another power hitter with nine on the season, while Manny Marin is the only Volunteer batting north of .300 entering this weekend’s series, hitting .311. Of Tennessee’s 18 players with an at-bat this season, 15 have one hit outside the park as the team has 57 total this season.
SEC STANDINGS
| conf | cpct | overall | opct | home | road | neutral | strk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Georgia | 11-5 | 0.688 | 30-9 | 0.769 | 24-7 | 6-2 | 0-0 | L1 |
 Texas | 9-5 | 0.643 | 28-7 | 0.800 | 20-2 | 5-5 | 3-0 | W1 |
 Texas A&M | 9-5 | 0.643 | 28-7 | 0.800 | 22-3 | 4-3 | 2-1 | W3 |
 Florida | 10-6 | 0.625 | 28-11 | 0.718 | 18-7 | 9-4 | 1-0 | W1 |
 Arkansas | 9-7 | 0.563 | 26-13 | 0.667 | 16-8 | 6-4 | 4-1 | W6 |
 Alabama | 8-7 | 0.533 | 27-11 | 0.711 | 18-4 | 6-6 | 3-1 | W1 |
 Ole Miss | 8-7 | 0.533 | 27-11 | 0.711 | 22-4 | 3-5 | 2-2 | W6 |
 Auburn | 8-8 | 0.500 | 25-12 | 0.676 | 18-7 | 3-5 | 4-0 | L1 |
 Mississippi State | 7-8 | 0.467 | 27-10 | 0.730 | 19-6 | 5-3 | 3-1 | W1 |
 Kentucky | 7-8 | 0.467 | 25-10 | 0.714 | 16-3 | 9-7 | 0-0 | L1 |
 Tennessee | 7-8 | 0.467 | 25-12 | 0.676 | 19-6 | 4-5 | 2-1 | W5 |
 Oklahoma | 7-8 | 0.467 | 24-12 | 0.667 | 14-5 | 6-6 | 4-1 | L1 |
 Vanderbilt | 7-8 | 0.467 | 22-16 | 0.579 | 19-6 | 2-5 | 1-5 | W1 |
 LSU | 6-9 | 0.400 | 23-15 | 0.605 | 17-8 | 3-7 | 3-0 | W1 |
 South Carolina | 5-10 | 0.333 | 19-19 | 0.500 | 15-9 | 4-8 | 0-2 | W4 |
 Missouri | 3-12 | 0.200 | 20-17 | 0.541 | 11-10 | 3-6 | 6-1 | L3 |