Weekend Preview: Diamond Rebs Head To Knoxville For Stiff Conference Test Against the Vols

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The date was March 25, 2022, the last time Ole Miss and Tennessee baseball faced off. Head football coach Lane Kiffin was on the mound for Ole Miss, about to throw the ceremonial first pitch, when he suddenly exchanged a baseball for a golf ball. The Swayze crowd went wild, and the Rebs took the field for game one of a three-game series with No. 1 Tennessee. Unfortunately, the Vols swept the series, starting with a 12-1 win that night.

Fast forward two years. Ole Miss and Tennessee prepare to meet again, this time at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville. The two entered the season with very different pre-season outlooks: the Vols expected to compete for Omaha and a title, the Rebels were trying to rebound from a tough 2023. And that brings us to this weekend, where the Rebs enter red-hot, while the Volunteers are looking to bounce back from a conference play opening series loss.

A look at the Vols

Ole Miss leads the all-time series against Tennessee 50-43, but the Vols have dominated lately, winning four of the last five, including the sweep in Oxford in 2022. Head coach Tony Vitello has brought the Vols to an incredible new level, and they are a formidable opponent game in and game out. They enter this weekend at 19-3 overall and 1-2 in SEC play after a tough series loss to No. 11 Alabama.

The offense, as usual, is high powered. The Volunteers have a scorching .322 overall average, and have popped a whopping 55 homers on the season, adding 209 RBI’s. Eight starters hold an average of .300 or better, and six different Vols have at least six home runs.

Tennessee’s best weapons are Billy Amick and Blake Burke. Amick, who has a smoking hot .375 average, leads the team in home runs with nine, while adding 21 RBI’s to his numbers. Blake Burke meanwhile, is a name Rebels fans, and the rest of the country, are very familiar with. Also batting .375, Burke has eight bombs and 20 RBI’s. Burke’s 38 career homers puts him just two away from tying the Tennessee record of 40, held by Luc Lipcius.

A #BurkeBlast gives us the early lead!

📺https://t.co/DbpCXzR9i4 #GBO // #OTH // #BeatXavier pic.twitter.com/iBVyCVrqZe

— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) March 19, 2024

As we enter the bottom of the ninth, enjoy this video of Billy Amick’s first HR as a Vol! pic.twitter.com/47T8FQwSRP

— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) February 17, 2024

While Amick and Burke are the two big names, there’s no such thing as an easy out top to bottom in this Vols lineup, and Rebel pitching will be facing the biggest test of the season.

On the bump, Tennessee is electric once again, as they have been ever since Tony Vitello took over. Their overall ERA is just 3.10, and the weekend rotation is an absolute menace to opposing hitters. AJ Causey anchors the starters, boasting a 1.65 ERA in 27.1 innings, striking out a whopping 38 while walking just four. Drew Beam, a flamethrower many Rebel fans will already be familiar with, enters the weekend with a 3.03 ERA in 29.2 innings, striking out 26 while also only walking four.

The movement on that one… just filthy.

Big out for AJ and the Vols to leave ’em loaded and keep the deficit at one. Causey already with six Ks through two!

📺https://t.co/iroX2NryGT #GBO // #OTH // #BeatBama pic.twitter.com/LZhgCSBLmE

— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) March 16, 2024

Beam strikes out a pair and retires the side in order to end the fifth!

Need to string some hits together to get back in this one.

📺 https://t.co/OpBYxMD7e8#GBO // #OTH // #BeatBama pic.twitter.com/U90aD1SBoE

— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) March 17, 2024

Nate Snead is the No. 3 man with innings pitched at 25.1, and his ERA is just 2.84, with 20 strikeouts to 11 walks, but he has not started a game to this point. Zander Sechrist has started five games for the Vols, but has only pitched 16.1 innings, holding a 3.31 ERA, 21 strikeouts, and just three walks.

I say it every week. Nothing gets easier in the SEC, but facing an angry Tennessee team in Knoxville that’s coming off a series loss? That’s the epitome of tough matchup. The Rebels will need everything they have to win their second straight conference series.

Road Rebs

As for Ole Miss, they’re riding high. Following a series win over then No. 20 South Carolina to open SEC play, they kept it going with an 8-3 victory over in-state rival Southern Miss on Tuesday. The win moved Ole Miss to 16-6 overall, and was their 10th win in their last 11 games.

The Rebels have had a variety of contributors offensively to this point in the season, with a different player seemingly coming up with a big hit in every win. But the steady hand for the entirety of the season has been Ethan Lege. One of the few veterans in this Ole Miss lineup, Lege leads the team in average at .384, and it second in homers with six. His latest was a two-run moon shot in Pearl to seal the Rebels’ victory over Southern Miss.

🚨 LEGE LIGHT SHOW 🚨@_ethanlege | SECN+ pic.twitter.com/uN2JOah3h0

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 20, 2024

Lege has also added 25 RBI’s, tied for first with Andrew Fischer, and his 28 hits lead the team as well. He has also drawn 13 walks while striking out just five times.

While the big names of Fischer, as well as Jackson Ross, continue to shine, the Rebels are starting to see the newcomers find their bats in a big way. Notably, both Treyson Hughes and Luke Hill, who both had sub-.200 averages through conference play, have seen drastic improvement, with Hughes up to .279 and Hill up to .233. Hill has also become one of the Rebels’ leading threat on the basepaths, going 8-8 on the season so far, tied with Ethan Groff for first.

Having some fun out on the basepaths tonight @Luke_Hill22

📺 SECN+ pic.twitter.com/yD4Q3bibBY

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 20, 2024

The pitching staff enters the weekend with a 3.88 ERA overall. And while he’s only made two starts to this point, Liam Doyle is pitching like the face of the starters. In just those two starts, the Coastal Carolina transfer has struck out 18 while walking just two. And 10 of those 18 strikeouts were in his first SEC start last weekend against South Carolina.

NINE Ks through four innings for @Doyle22L ‼️

📺 SEC Network pic.twitter.com/ZM1oSoO6kJ

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 16, 2024

As for the bullpen, over the last 16.1 innings, they’ve allowed just one run. The Rebels will need the arms to continue their winning ways this weekend. Lindsey Nelson Stadium is extremely home run friendly, especially for the home team.

Looking Ahead

The three-game series is set to go on Friday at 5:30 PM on the SEC Network+. Saturday’s game is scheduled for 5 PM, Sunday at noon. Both Saturday and Sunday will also stream on the SEC Network+. As always, The Rebel Walk will have you covered all weekend long, so stay tuned for all the action.