Ole Miss Baseball Welcomes North Alabama for Kids’ Day Tuesday at Swayze

OXFORD, Miss. – (Release) Ole Miss Baseball (21-18, 6-12 SEC) hosts North Alabama (14-23, 6-12 ASUN) Tuesday for their annual Kids’ Day Game.

PROJECTED STARTERS

Ole Miss: RHP Grayson Saunier
3-3, 7.16 ERA, 20 K, 10 BB

North Alabama: RHP John Allen Stogner
2-3, 9.20 ERA, 11 K, 9 BB

LEADING OFF

• Ole Miss took one of three last weekend at No. 23 Georgia, winning the series finale in Athens.
• Liam Doyle struck out eight batters in his start in game two, giving him 8+ strikeouts in five of his seven starts.
• Austin Simmons pitched in both games of Saturday’s doubleheader, combining for 2.2 innings and three strikeouts. Five of his last six outings have been scoreless.
• Ethan Lege is hitting .381 with three home runs, five walks, six RBI, and six runs scored over his last five games.
• Will Furniss is hitting .368 with two home runs and seven RBI over his last seven games.
• Ole Miss is currently No. 1 in Strength of Schedule, having played the hardest schedule in the country.
• The Rebels are ranked 22^nd in the nation in strikeouts per nine, averaging 10.4 punchouts per game.
• Ole Miss is 16^th in the NCAA in walks drawn (236), averaging 6.05 per game.
• The Rebels lead the SEC in sacrifice flies with 27.
• Jackson Ross’ 40 walks this season are the second-most in a single-season over the last four seasons, behind only Jacob Gonzalez’s 50 in 2022.
• Ethan Lege is the fourth-hardest hitter to strike out in the SEC, striking out just 13 times in 138 at bats.
• Connor Spencer has five saves this season, third-most in the SEC.

SCOUTING REPORT

Jad Prachniak is in his second year as head coach at North Alabama. Before taking over the reins for the Lions, Prachniak spent two seasons as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Delaware. Prior to that, he spent nine seasons as the head coach at Division II West Chester, leading the Rams to two national championships.

In the 2023 season, the Lions had an overall record of 14-37 (8-22 ASUN). UNA is currently 14-23 overall and 6-12 in conference play. The Lions are coming off a 2-1 series loss to Stetson University.

Infielder, Gehrig Frei, boasts a .343 batting average, 10 homeruns, and 32 RBIs. Jacob James, LHP, contributes on the mound for the Lions with a 4.45 ERA and 77 strikeouts through 54.2 innings pitched.

Ole Miss last played North Alabama in 2022 and the Rebels walked away with a 20-3 win. This will be only the fourth meeting between the two opponents and Ole Miss holds the 2-1 upper hand on the series.

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.