Ole Miss set for series with No. 6 Aggies

After pounding Arkansas State so thoroughly Tuesday night that the Red Wolves were ready to quit—literally—the Ole Miss Rebels now turn their attention to the Texas A&M Aggies who come to Swayze for a weekend series that will conclude conference play.

Sikes Orvis was 3-for-3 including two homers against Arkansas State Tuesday night.

Ole Miss (29-24, 14-13 SEC) defeated Arkansas State 17-3, and the game was called after seven innings.

Perhaps the Red Wolves were eager to end the game before Rebel slugger Sikes Orvis got back up to bat. Who could blame them? Orvis hit two home runs in the game, one of which was a grand slam, and drove in 8 RBIs.

The Rebels are now riding a five-game winning streak going into the series with A&M. The Aggies are ranked No. 6 in the nation in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll and No. 8 in the Baseball America Poll.

Scouting the Aggies

Texas A&M (42-9, 17-9 SEC) enters the series in third place in the SEC, two games behind LSU and a half game behind Vanderbilt, but the Aggies still have an outside shot at winning the SEC. To do so, they would need to sweep the Rebels. A&M is also looking to earn a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament by securing one of the top four seeds.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Thursday, 6:30 pm
Texas A&M – Grayson Long, Jr., RHP, 8-0, 2.84 ERA
Ole Miss – Christian Trent, Jr., LHP, 7-5, 3.68 ERA

Friday, 6:30 pm
Texas A&M – Ryan Hendrix, So., RHP, 4-1, 3.48 ERA
Ole Miss – Brady Bramlett, R-So., RHP, 6-3, 3.73 ERA

Saturday, 1:30 pm
Texas A&M – TBA
Ole Miss – TBA

Orvis’ streak paving the road to victory

Suffice it to say, Ole Miss is riding the wave of Sikes Orvis’ tremendous hitting.

Sikes Orvis hit his first career Grand Slam against Arkansas St. and had 8 RBI. (Photo credit: Joshua McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics)

During the Rebels’ winning streak, Orvis is hitting .600 with 12 hits, 7 home runs, two doubles, 16 RBI, 11 runs and a 1.750 slugging percentage.

Orvis’ 16 home runs this season place him second in the SEC and tied for 5th in Division I baseball. He is now ranked 10th all-time in Ole Miss history with 34 career homers.

Orvis isn’t the only Rebel who’s producing at the plate.

Freshman Nic Perkins has increased his hitting streak to six games and is batting .367. He smacked a two-run double against State that helped the Rebels win 13-10 in the second game of the series. He followed that up by driving in the game-winning run in the 10th inning of the final game.

Junior Connor Cloyd had done yeoman’s work since assuming the leadoff spot in the order. He leads the team with a .400 batting average and had notched at least two hits in eight of the last 12 games before suffering an injury in the Friday night game vs. State. He has a strained oblique and is listed as day-to-day.  He did not play in the game against Arkansas State and will likely not play against A&M. Hopefully the Rebels will have Cloyd back in the lineup soon.

Rebels solid on the mound

Scott Weathersby has been named a finalist for the C Spire Ferriss Trophy. (Photo Credit: Joshua McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics)

Sophomore Wyatt Short pitched in all three games vs. State over the weekend. He recorded two saves and one win and earned SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week. His nine total saves lead the league—and seven of them have come in conference play.

Senior Scott Weathersby has been named a finalist for the C Spire Ferriss Trophy. The right-hander has a 4-1 record this year with three saves. He has 48 strikeouts and only 12 walks, en route to a 2.39 ERA.

After making 47 appearances coming out of the bullpen, Weathersby was added to the rotation as a weekend starter. His first career start was against State in the Governor’s Cup—where he pitched a career-high seven scoreless innings and only allowed six hits.

Game 1 vs. A&M on national television

The Thursday, May 14 game between Ole Miss and Texas A&M will air on national television, broadcast live on ESPNU. First pitch is at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Games 2 and 3 will be broadcast on the SEC+ Network. Live audio is available on the Ole Miss Radio Network with David Kellum handling play-by-play.