The Middle Innings: Rebels Host Memphis For Midweek Tilt
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss baseball enjoyed a good week to end February and open March. After demolishing High Point in back-to-back games to win that series, the Rebels took care of business against Little Rock and Missouri State, increasing their winning streak to four games as they prepared to welcome Iowa to Swayze Field.
A helter-skelter Friday game led to an eventual Hawkeyes victory 13-7. But Ole Miss responded in a big way, winning 12-5 on Saturday and 8-3 on Sunday, winning the series against the projected Big 10 Conference champs. The win moved Ole Miss to 8-5 on the season, with just five games remaining before conference play begins.
Eye On The Tigers
That five-game stretch of final non-conference games starts on Tuesday night, as Memphis comes to Swayze Field for a midweek contest. Ole Miss has dominated the series against the Tigers, holding a 31-11 edge. While the Tigers did win the last meeting, 11-9, against a struggling 2023 Rebel squad, the Rebels had won eight in a row prior to that defeat.
The Tigers enter this game holding a 7-6 record, most recently winning two of three against Wright State over the weekend.
They are led by slugger Jacob Compton, who enters the contest with five homers and 12 RBI’s, while batting at a .280 clip.
.@jcompton_8 OVER the scoreboard 😳
B6 | MEM 5, UTM 10 pic.twitter.com/hnHtvp1KZe
— Memphis Baseball (@MemphisBaseball) February 27, 2024
.@jcompton_8 ➡️ 𝗔𝗔𝗖 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗹
🔹 .353 BA / .882 SLG / .500 OBP
🔹 3 HR / 8 RBI on the week
🔹 3-for-3 / 2 HR / 5 RBI in Sat. win📰 https://t.co/ldoe76Hov0 pic.twitter.com/WXVa3L5tvK
— Memphis Baseball (@MemphisBaseball) March 4, 2024
At the plate, Pierre Seals is doing the damage for Memphis, batting .340 while also smacking four homers and adding nine RBI’s. Daunte Stuart is close behind at .333. The Tigers actually have one more home run than the Rebels at 23, and have 92 RBIs, while Ole Miss has 103. The Tigers bat .283 as a team.
On the mound, it hasn’t been as smooth. Memphis has a team ERA of 7.18, with David Warren being the only weekend starter with an ERA under four, at 3.24. The Tigers bullpen has been an area of struggle, but Brayden Sanders has been a bright spot. Through five innings, Sanders has allowed just one hit, walking just one while striking out 11. I look for Sanders to be used against the Rebels in some capacity, potentially as the midweek starter.
Rebel Rundown
Meanwhile, Ole Miss comes into this one having won six of its last seven, scoring at least 12 runs in five of those games. While Jackson Ross was the showstopper last week, it was Andrew Fischer who stole the thunder over the weekend.
Fisch woke up and chose violence@sirfischer3 | SECN+ pic.twitter.com/yluzIkUowv
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 2, 2024
Andrew Fischer AGAIN! @sirfischer3 | SECN+ pic.twitter.com/uQCRj7VMVF
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 2, 2024
And while Fischer’s offense was certainly a huge part of the weekend, it was his work with the glove that helped the Rebels get out of a huge jam on Sunday.
What can’t he do 🤯@sirfischer3 x #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/gShGYG4XXp
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 3, 2024
Ficsher is now tied with Ross for the team lead in homers with five and is second on the team in RBI’s with 14. Ross still leads the way for the Rebels offensively, batting .390 and driving in 19 runs of his own. Overall, the Rebels are batting .262, have walked 107 times, and have been hit by pitches 25 times.
The Rebel hurlers have also gotten into a groove, seeing their team ERA drop to just 4.54, a drastic improvement from the beginning of the season. Josh Mallitz and Mason Nichols continue to be superb, having yet to allow a run, while Grayson Saunier put on a show on “Saunday” against Iowa, going five complete, allowing just two hits and two walks, and not giving up a single run.
Second K over four scoreless for @GraysonSaunier!
📺 SECN+ pic.twitter.com/PjXonSBLY5
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 3, 2024
Dual-sport sensation Austin Simmons is quickly working his way towards being one of the stories of the season, as he picked up his second win of the year on Saturday in the victory over Iowa. Simmons’ ERA is just 1.50 over six innings of work, with six strikeouts to just one walk, allowing just three hits and two runs. While there is still work to do, the Rebels pitching staff is starting to come into their own.
Looking Ahead
Tuesday’s action is set to go at 6:30 PM and will be streamed on the SEC Network+. The Rebels will look to win their third straight before welcoming Morehead State to Oxford over the weekend in the final non-conference weekend series of the year.
Riley Maddox will get the start for Ole Miss Tuesday against the Tigers.
On Monday’s SuperTalk Mississippi show, Coach Bianco indicated he has made a change to the weekend rotation: Gunnar Dennis will start on Friday, Liam Doyle on Saturday and Grayson Saunier on Sunday.
As always, stay tuned to The Rebel Walk for all of the updates and 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.
