Midweek Preview: Diamond Rebs Head to Monroe for Battle with ULM Warhawks
OXFORD, Miss. – Coming off their first weekend sweep of the 2024 campaign, Ole Miss hits the road for one final midweek tilt before conference play begins, as the Rebels head to the bayou to take on Louisiana-Monroe. Ole Miss will look to win its seventh consecutive game before welcoming South Carolina to Oxford over the weekend.
Warhawk Weaponry
ULM will take the field in this one with an 11-5 record, coming off of a weekend sweep of Alabama A&M, including two run-rule victories, bringing their total to four run-rule wins on the season. The Warhawks scored 11, 18, and 12 runs over the weekend and have won eight of their last nine contests. It was the first three-game sweep for the Warhawks since May of 2022. Monroe has played two common opponents with the Rebels, losing two of three to Missouri State, while defeating Little Rock 11-1.
It’s been a season of high-powered offense for ULM, led by Easton Winfield, who enters the week batting .446 with six homers and 15 RBI. He’s also stolen nine bases in ten attempts.
EASTON WINFIELD AGAIN!!#GotYourSix pic.twitter.com/DRiirMQ6eC
— ULM Baseball (@ULM_BSB) March 9, 2024
Jake Haggard leads the club in RBI’s with 20, followed closely by Michelle Artzberger with 18. Haggard has also added five homers of his own.
And remember when Ole Miss hit for the “home run cycle” in the first inning back when High Point was in town? The Warhawks completed that task over the weekend as well, in the fifth inning of Saturday’s contest.
𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗛𝗔𝗪𝗞𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗥𝗨𝗡 𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗘 𝗜𝗡 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗜𝗡𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 🤯🔥💣
💣 Easton Winfield Solo HR
💣 Marcus Aranda Grand Slam
💣 Easton Winfield 2-Run HR
💣 Ian Montz 3-Run HR
💣 Cardell Thibodeaux Solo HR5️⃣ Homers in the 5th‼️@ESPNAssignDesk pic.twitter.com/pEfNPyJWwV
— ULM Baseball (@ULM_BSB) March 10, 2024
ULM hits .314 as a team and has 23 total homers but 164 hits. The Warhawks have drawn 74 walks while striking out 123 times.
On the mound, ULM has a team ERA of 4.30 but has not had a specified starting rotation to this point in the season. Beau Blanchard leads the team in starts with three and innings pitched with 13. Justin Robinson has the lowest ERA amongst ULM pitchers who have started a game, at 2.25 in 12 innings. The Warhawk staff has given up just eight homers to this point on the season.
Streaking Rebels
Ole Miss enters the contest having won its last six, the team’s first six-game winning streak of the season. The Rebels are coming off a weekend sweep of Morehead State, their first sweep of the season. The Ole Miss offense continued to be the star of the show, led by Ethan Lege, who has now homered in three of his last four games.
Great start to spring break! @_ethanlege | SECN+ pic.twitter.com/zajoBvxgi8
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 9, 2024
Scorched! Third homer in four games for @_ethanlege! 🔥
📺 SECN+ pic.twitter.com/DDdGIrhXrb
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 10, 2024
Andrew Ficsher continued to show off his bat as well, improving his average to .304 and upping his homer count to six, which now leads the Rebels.
Right fielder said, “Hmmm, nah.”
🚀 @sirfischer3 pic.twitter.com/3KriblsFQP
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 10, 2024
The Rebels are now hitting .276 as a team, popping 29 homers. Ole Miss has seen their patience at the plate improve dramatically as well, as they have now drawn 137 walks on the season.
The pitching staff is continuing to hit its stride, as well. After the weekend, the team ERA has improved to 4.03. Grayson Saunier is the story of the starters, as his ERA has dropped to just 2.55 following another immaculate outing on Sunday.
Scoreless outing for @GraysonSaunier on #Saunday
5.0 IP
0 R
3 H
1 BB
3 K pic.twitter.com/TE1rCFFCul— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 10, 2024
Saunier threw just 66 pitches in the outing and has shown great strides in establishing his fastball and his control, both of which the Rebels will need as conference play draws near.
Liam Doyle also earned his first start on Saturday, and he made it count, racking up eight strikeouts over 3.1 innings for the Rebels while only walking one.
Eight Ks over 3.1 in Liam Doyle’s first start as a Rebel 🔥@Doyle22L | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/TsOrSNnn5o
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 10, 2024
The bullpen has also remained superb for the Rebels, led by Mason Nichols who has yet to allow a run over 8.1 innings of work, striking out 14 in the process. Tuesday night will be one final tune-up as the bullpen arms look to solidify their roles entering SEC play. Riley Maddox is the projected starter for Ole Miss on Tuesday, with an improved ERA of 5.27, 13 strikeouts and six walks over 13.2 innings.
Looking Ahead
Tuesday night’s matchup with Louisiana-Monroe is set for a 4:00 PM first pitch and will be streamed on ESPN+. The Rebels will look to pick up win number seven in a row before welcoming the South Carolina Gamecocks to Swayze Field for the first conference weekend of the year. The Gamecocks are 13-3, currently ranked No. 20 in the D1 Baseball Top 25, and have a midweek game with Georgia State on Tuesday.
Stay tuned to The Rebel Walk all season long!
Austin Eldridge
Austin has more than ten years in sports media, including sports talk radio, play-by-play broadcasting and journalism. He has followed Ole Miss athletics for his entire life and has covered the Rebels and the rest of the SEC while working in the Memphis media market. Outside of sports media, Austin is a musician and outdoorsman. Before a serious accident forced him to be medically discharged, he was a multi-media journalist with the Mississippi National Guard.
