Ole Miss enters the final weekend of non conference play ready to take on the Evansville Purple Aces at home in a three game series. The Rebels left the Bruce Bolt College Classic in Houston last weekend disappointed after dropping two-of-three games, but rebounded quickly by winning both of their home midweek games.
The Rebels biggest struggles recently stem from a lack of production with runners in scoring position, which is something head coach Mike Bianco thinks is not going to be an issue down the stretch.
“If you’re a good offense, your batting average has to be higher with runners in scoring position than your regular batting average,” said coach Bianco. “So I get it but, I’m not worried about it.”
The Arms
The starting lineup for the Rebels this weekend is going to stay the same: Hunter Elliott in the first game Friday, Cade Townsend will pitch the second part of the double header, and Wil Libert will pitch the final match on either Saturday or Sunday.
Elliot has done his part to maintain his position as the Ole Miss ace. Elliott came into the season as the most experienced arm on the staff, and as the only returning pitcher in college baseball who threw for 10+ wins and over 100 strikeouts last year. Through three appearances this season, Elliott has thrown 14.2 innings with 23 strikeouts and a 3.68 ERA. Although he has appeared to struggle early in games, after he settles in he looks the part of a veteran SEC ace.
Cade Townsend… need I say more? The Rebel sophomore has been outstanding this season, having just a 0.66 ERA and striking out 25 batters while walking just two batters in 13.2 innings over three games. Ole Miss has won every outing that Townsend has started this season, although he has only earned one decision.
The bookend starter for the Rebels, Wil Libert, has been stupendously solid so far this season, despite a disappointing appearance against Coastal Carolina last weekend. The sophomore lefty came over from Missouri via the transfer portal and has been a huge addition for the Rebels, tying for the team lead in innings pitched so far. Over those 14.2 innings he owns a 4.91 ERA with 19 strikeouts and 5 walks.
The Opponent
Evansville enters the weekend with a 3-8 record after taking two games against Milwaukee last weekend. They have already defeated one SEC team this season, taking a 1-0 decision over Kentucky to close out their three game series against the Wildcats.
The Purple Aces will pitch left hander Kenton Devermann in the first game of Friday’s double header. Devermann has started all three Friday’s for Evansville this season and owns an 0-2 record with an 11.12 ERA. For the second game on Friday, Max Hansmann will start for Evansville. Hansmann, a right handed pitcher, lead the team with a 2.12 ERA and a 1-0 record. Kevin Reed will start the final game of the series; Reed, a southpaw, has a 2-1 record on the season with a 5.68 ERA.
Evansville’s offense has not gotten the start they wanted to the season, with the team owning just a .195 batting average and only having two players batting above .250. The Aces have scored just 44 total runs compared to their opponents 91. The offensive leader for the team has been Wyatt Pennington, who has started every game and owns a .244 BA with two doubles, a home run, and 3 RBI.
The Bats
The Rebels set the program record a season ago with 124 home runs, with an average of 1.94 homers per game. This season Ole Miss is continuing its slugging ways, with the Rebels averaging 1.93 per game through the first fourteen. We’ll see if the Rebs can continue their torrid pace as they head into conference play next weekend.
The leader of the bombs is senior 3B Judd Utermark, who is just eleven balls out of the park away from being tied for the Rebel career mark set by Kyle Gordon in 1987. Utermark appears poised to shatter that, having already hit eight this season.
The long ball isn’t the only way the Rebels score though. Collin Reuter leads the team and the SEC in doubles this season with eight and is hitting at an impressive .463 clip, while Dom Decker is also the conference leader and is fifth nationally in walks drawn with 18 on the year.
The Weekend
First pitch at Swayze is set for 3 PM on Friday, with second game of the double header starting 45 minutes after the conclusion of the first. The series finale has not been announced yet, but will take place on either Saturday or Sunday depending on weather conditions in Oxford.
All games will be streamed on the SEC Network+ and will be broadcast on the Ole Miss Radio Network.
