Midweek Preview: Ole Miss Heads To Pearl For Matchup With Golden Eagles
OXFORD, Miss. – Fresh off a big series win over then-No. 20 South Carolina to start SEC play, Ole Miss is headed out on the road, with the first stop being Trustmark Park in Pearl for a showdown with regional foe Southern Miss. The Rebs and Golden Eagles are frequent opponents, with Ole Miss holding the edge in the overall series 83-53. The last time the two met, Ole Miss came out on top 11-5 at Swayze Field.
Taking a Peek at the Golden Eagles
Southern Miss is led by head coach Christian Ostrander, in his first year at the helm following the retirement of Scott Berry. USM enters this contest with a 14-6 overall record, including series wins over Indiana State and Louisiana Tech, as well as a victory over No. 11 Alabama. The Eagles nearly defeated No. 21 Mississippi State as well, falling 5-4 in a close one earlier this season in Pearl. They are fresh off a three-game sweep of Marshall and have won four in a row.
The Eagles have a quality offense overall, hitting .251 as a team, but the names to watch are Dalton McIntyre and Billy Butler. McIntyre leads the team in average, at .391, while Butler is tied for the team lead in bombs with four. McIntyre’s 25 hits lead the team, and he also leads USM in stolen bases, going 4-5 on the season thus far.
Butler enters the matchup with Ole Miss with a .356 average, belting four homers and 10 RBI’s. Missing his big bat will be crucial.
Butler bomb for your viewing pleasure#EverythingMatters | #SMTTT pic.twitter.com/M5EhCkUQAL
— Southern Miss Baseball (@SouthernMissBSB) March 6, 2024
On the mound, the Golden Eagles continue their tradition of having a solid pitching staff. They come into this one with a team ERA of just 4.35, and have struck out a whopping 221 batters while walking just 69. Their weekend rotation of Colby Allen, Billy Oldham, and Niko Mazza have a combined 105 strikeouts to just 20 walks. For Tuesday night, the Eagles have elected to go with righty Cole Boswell. Boswell carries a 5.87 ERA in 7.2 innings. He’s allowed five hits and five runs, while striking out 11 and walking seven.
Matchups with Ole Miss are always a “super bowl” of sorts for the Eagles, and have only gotten more so since the Rebels swept USM in the 2022 Hattiesburg Super Regional. Southern Miss will always play up to the Rebels, so look for Boswell to bring his best stuff and the USM batters to try and make Rebel pitching work hard.
Red-Hot Rebs
Ole Miss is riding high entering the contest, coming off a series win over then No. 20 South Carolina to open SEC play. The Rebels’ offense has been on a hot streak, and the bullpen has been electric. The loss on Sunday ended a nine-game winning streak for the Rebels, but they’ve still been victorious in nine of their last ten. They sit at 15-6 overall.
Offensively, the Rebels have plenty of contributors, but none have been more electric of late than Andrew Fischer. The sophomore third baseman, who transferred from Duke, is hitting .319 overall, with nine home runs and 25 RBI’s, leading the Rebs in both of those categories. The weekend series with the Gamecocks was a coming-out party for ‘The Big Fisch,’ with a Saturday performance of a lifetime.
Man Hits Ball Far @sirfischer3 | SEC Network pic.twitter.com/CCiHA11Mu7
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 16, 2024
THIRD HOMER OF THE DAY FOR ANDREW FISCHER
🤯 @sirfischer3 pic.twitter.com/jMwtf2SDQ5
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 16, 2024
His three home run, five RBI day boosted the Rebels to a 12-3 victory in game two of the series, securing the series win for the Rebels and firmly cementing his place as a fan favorite in the process.
Ethan Lege remains a steady contributor for Ole Miss as well, batting .382 to lead the team, adding five homers and 22 RBI’s of his own, tied with Jackson Ross (.358). And while the sluggers are getting most of the attention, Treyson Hughes has quietly been finding his bat, improving his average to .281, and adding a clutch hit of his own over the weekend.
CLUTCH@HughesTreyson | SEC Network pic.twitter.com/2wR9vFRVsc
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 16, 2024
On the mound, it’s the Ole Miss bullpen that continues to shine. In 12.1 innings against South Carolina, the relievers allowed just one run. Connor Spencer fired the Swayze faithful up with a five-out save on Friday night, while Josh Mallitz got a roar, and let out one of his own, in a huge moment on Saturday.
First of many 🥇@connor44spencer | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/brNOBbYDHo
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 16, 2024
Fifty-Cal Mal 🔫@joshmallitz | SEC Network pic.twitter.com/Z9LV0RyGfP
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 16, 2024
The Rebels will once again look to Riley Maddox to provide a quality start on Tuesday. Maddox is holding a 5.03 ERA in 19.2 innings, allowing 22 hits and 14 runs. But his strikeout numbers are going up, as he’s now struck out 15 while walking just seven. With a huge weekend series at Tennessee coming up, the Rebels will be hoping for a solid outing from their midweek starter.
Looking Ahead
The matchup with the Golden Eagles is set for a 6:00 PM first pitch on the SEC Network+. The Rebs will be looking to build momentum before heading to Knoxville, Tennessee for a massive weekend series with the Vols for week two of SEC play. Stay with The Rebel Walk to keep up with all the action.
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.
