Preview | Ole Miss Baseball Heads East for Showdown with No. 23 Georgia
OXFORD, Miss. – (Release) Ole Miss Baseball (20-16, 5-10 SEC) is back on the road this weekend for a three-game set against the SEC East’s Georgia Bulldogs (27-9, 7-8 SEC).
Probable starters are as follows:
LEADING OFF
- Ole Miss did not play a midweek for the second-straight week due to weather, getting rained out at Arkansas State on Tuesday.
- Ole Miss is coming off its first series victory over Mississippi State since 2015, winning two out of three games last weekend and snapping an eight-game losing streak.
- The Rebels’ series-clinching 14-2 win on Sunday was the largest win over the Bulldogs since 1960.
- Their 14 runs scored were the most put up against the Bulldogs wince May of 2010.
- Ole Miss walk-off wins in back-to-back games for the first time since April of 2010, winning in 12 innings on Saturday and seven innings on Sunday.
- Ole Miss is currently No. 3 in Strength of Schedule, having played one of the hardest schedules in the country.
- The Rebels are ranked 19th in the nation in strikeouts per nine, averaging 10.5 punchouts per game.
- Ole Miss is 14th in the NCAA in walks drawn (224), averaging 6.22 per game. They are one of four SEC teams in the top 10.
- The Rebels are tied for fifth in the country in sacrifice flies with 26.
- Jackson Ross leads the SEC and is 15th in the country in walks with 36 free passes.
- Ethan Lege is the third-hardest hitter to strike out in the SEC, striking out just 10 times in 127 at bats.
- Ethan Groff’s 12 stolen bases are the ninth highest in the SEC.
- Connor Spencer has five saves this season, third-most in the SEC.
SCOUTING REPORT
Wes Johnson is in his first year as head coach for the Georgia Bulldogs. The Sherwood, Arkansas native served as a collegiate pitching coach since 2008 with stints in the Southeastern Conference at Mississippi State and Arkansas before joining the Minnesota Twins from 2019-2022. Johnson then spent one year in Baton Rouge as the LSU pitching coach before taking over the clubhouse in Athens for the 2024 season.
In the 2023 season, the Bulldogs were 29-27 (11-19 SEC) and fell 0-9 to South Carolina in round one of the SEC tournament to end their season. Led by one of the nation’s top players, Charlie Condon, Georgia had a near-flawless start to the 2024 season at 17-1. The Bulldogs are currently 27-9 (7-8 SEC) and are coming off a 2-1 series win over Missouri.
Outfielder, Condon, holds the No.1 spot in Baseball America’s 2024 top MLB Draft Prospects list. The redshirt sophomore boasts a .482 batting average, 24 home runs, 52 RBI’s and a slugging percent of 1.109. In the 2023 season the Marietta, Georgia, native was Named National Freshman of the Year by Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America, D1Baseball.com and NCBWA and is currently on the 2024 Golden Spikes Award watch list.
This will be the 91st meeting between the two opponents and the Rebels hold a 49-41 lead in the all-time series. The two SEC foes last squared off in the 2023 season at Swayze Field where Ole Miss walked away with the 2-1 series win over Georgia.
BIG GAME-TWO GUY
Andrew Fischer is hitting .400 (14-for-35) with 10 home runs, 17 RBI, and 17 runs scored in game two of series this season. He has hit at least one home run in five of this season’s nine game twos and all four of his multi-home run games have come in game twos. Over the first five 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 41 bases so far this season, just one short of their entire season total from 2023 and already seven 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 12 bases in 2024, having not been caught yet. Luke Hill is 10-for-11 in stolen base attempts.
THE ROAD TO 1,000
Head coach Mike Bianco needs just one more win to reach 1,000 victories in his career. He currently sits at 999 career wins, with 899 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 .439 (18-for-41) with two outs in an inning. He has 18 two-out RBI, is hitting .314 with runners in scoring position, and is 8-for-13 when hitting with a runner on third base and less than two outs.
DOYLE RULES
Liam Doyle struck out 10 batters in each of his first two SEC starts, becoming the first Rebel since Dylan DeLucia in 2022 to post multiple double-digit strikeout games in a season. He is also the first Rebel since Doug Nikhazy in 2021 to have double-digit strikeouts in consecutive outings.
GETTING THEIR STEPS IN
Ole Miss has drawn the 14th-highest number of walks in the nation with 224 free passes in 36 games. The Rebels are averaging 6.22 walks per game and are one of four teams from the SEC in the top-15 (South Carolina, Texas A&M, Georgia, Ole Miss).
Jackson Ross is 15th in the NCAA and leads the SEC with 36 total walks himself. He is averaging one walk per game.
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.
