Ole Miss faces Auburn on the road; weather forces Saturday doubleheader
Due to expected inclement weather, the Sunday baseball game between Ole Miss and Auburn has been moved to Saturday. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, April 18, beginning at Noon, CT. Both games will be nine innings.
The Rebels (19-18, 7-8 SEC) enter the weekend series with Auburn (23-15, 5-10) following a convincing 11-1 victory over UT Martin on Wednesday. The win was especially exciting for Rebel fans as the bats got going in the game—producing three home runs, the most by Ole Miss in a single game since April of 2014 when the Rebels played Kentucky and blasted four homers.
Sophomore Colby Bortles has hit the last three grand slams for Ole Miss, including two in his last three games. None was more exciting than Bortles’ game-tying grand slam in the ninth inning against the No. 1 Vanderbilt Commodores last Friday—and the Rebels went on to defeat Vandy in 16 innings.
In addition to getting their bats going, the Rebels have had phenomenal outings from relief pitchers. In the last 21 innings of relief, the Ole Miss bullpen has not allowed a single run to score. Senior Scott Weathersby was named SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week after his six-inning masterpiece against Vandy Friday.
Ole Miss’ win over Vandy gives the Rebels a 5-4 record against teams ranked No. 1 in 2015 (Florida, Vanderbilt and LSU). The Rebels won both series against Florida and Vandy.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY
Auburn – Cole Lipscomb, R-So., RHP, 4-1, 2.44 ERA
Ole Miss – Christian Trent, Jr., LHP, 5-3, 4.20 ERA
SATURDAY – NOON (GAME 1)
Auburn – Keegan Thompson, So., RHP, 7-2, 2.84 ERA
Ole Miss – Brady Bramlett, So., RHP, 4-2, 2.49 ERA
SATURDAY – GAME 2
Auburn – TBA
Ole Miss – Will Stokes, Fr., RHP, 0-3, 5.40 ERA
Tough schedules for both teams
Ole Miss defeated No. 1 Vanderbilt last weekend, while Auburn dropped two-of-three at LSU to fall to 5-10 at the halfway point of the conference season. But just as the Rebels’ schedule has been tough, the Tigers have also faced stiff competition so far this season. Auburn’s schedule currently ranks as the toughest in the nation, while Ole Miss is currently 28th in RPI and has the sixth-toughest schedule in the country. Through 37 games for the Rebels, 14 have come against top-15 teams, including nine against No. 1 teams.
We’re all tied up
The series between Auburn and Ole Miss is tied 80-80-1. The Rebels swept Auburn in last season’s three-game series at Swayze Field.
Hotty Toddy!
(Feature image courtesy of Joshua McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics.)
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
