Ole Miss Baseball Hosts Murray State for Midweek Contest
OXFORD, Miss. – (Release) Ole Miss Baseball (18-15, 3-9 SEC) returns home this week to host Murray State (20-12, 4-5 MVC) on Tuesday night at Swayze Field.
LEADING OFF
- Ole Miss is coming off a road sweep at the hands of unanimous No. 1 Arkansas in Fayetteville last weekend.
- The Rebels went 0-4 last week and are currently in the midst of a seven-game losing streak.
- The Rebels are ranked 18th in the nation in strikeouts per nine, averaging 10.6 punchouts per game.
- Ole Miss has hit 47 home runs this season, the 38th-highest mark in the NCAA.
- Ole Miss is sixth in the NCAA in walks drawn (210), averaging 6.36 per game. They are one of three SEC teams in the top six.
- The Rebels are tied for third in the country in sacrifice flies with 24. The next closest SEC team has 19 (Alabama).
- Andrew Fischer has hit 13 home runs this season, seven of them in SEC play. His 13 long balls have him tied for 19th in the country.
- Connor Spencer has five saves this season, tied at the top of the SEC with Arkansas’ Gabe Gaeckle and South Carolina’s Garrett Gainey.
SCOUTING REPORT
Dan Skirka is in his sixth season as head coach for Murray State. Before taking over for the Racers, Skirka spent four seasons at Walters State Community College.
Last season, Murray State went 31-28, including 14-13 in conference play. They were ultimately eliminated by Missouri State in the MVC Tournament.
The Racers are currently 20-12 (4-5 MVC). Murray State dropped their last game 4-6 against Indiana State.
Ole Miss will welcome Murray State for the 26th time in program history on Tuesday at Swayze Field. The two opponents last met on April 12, 2022. The matchup resulted in an 8-2 win for the Rebels in Oxford.
BIG GAME TWO GUY
Andrew Fischer is hitting .467 (14-for-30) with 10 home runs, 17 RBI, and 15 runs scored in game two of series this season. He has hit at least one home run in five of this season’s eight game twos and all four of his multi-home run games have come in game twos. Over the first four weeks of SEC play, Fischer has hit seven home runs and driven in 10 runs in game twos.
STEALING YOUR HEART
The Rebels have stolen 39 bases so far this season, just three short of their entire season total from 2023 and already five more than 2022. Since setting a new single-season program record in 2019 (93), Ole Miss has not stolen more than 44 bases in a season. They are currently averaging 1.18 stolen bases per game.
Ethan Groff has stolen 11 bases in 2024, having not been caught yet. Luke Hill is 9-for-10 in stolen base attempts.
THE ROAD TO 1,000
Head coach Mike Bianco needs just three more wins to reach 1,000 victories in his career. He currently sits at 997 career wins, with 897 coming at Ole Miss. His first 100 wins came from his three seasons at McNeese State.
Once Bianco reaches the milestone, he would be the 21st active coach with 1,000 wins under his belt. He would also become the 98th head coach in NCAA history to reach the mark.
In 24 seasons leading the program, Bianco has delivered 18 postseason appearances, including eight Super Regional berths and a pair of trips to the College World Series. He is the winningest-coach in Ole Miss history and ranks third all-time in wins by an SEC head coach.
CAPTAIN CLUTCH
Ethan Lege has been the Rebels’ most clutch hitter, hitting .424 (14-for-33) with two outs in an inning. He has 14 two-out RBI, is hitting .308 with runners in scoring position, and is 8-for-11 when hitting with a runner on third base and less than two outs.
Next Up
First pitch against Murray State is set for Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed on SECN+.
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
