No. 13 Ole Miss Baseball Hosts No.3 Arkansas for SEC Opening Weekend
OXFORD, Miss. – (Release) No. 13 Ole Miss Baseball opens its SEC league slate this weekend as they host No. 3 Arkansas for a three-game set at Swayze Field. First pitch on Friday has been moved to 2 p.m. with Saturday and Sunday both scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
LEADING OFF
- Ole Miss dropped their midweek matchup to South Alabama 14-5 on the road.
- The Rebels won 13 games in a row from February 16 to March 9, their longest winning streak since they won 16 in a row during the 2020 season.
- Ryan Moerman has hit .457 (21-for-46) with 21 RBI, 17 runs scored, and six home runs during his 11-game hitting streak.
- Moerman hit two home runs in Sunday’s win over Jacksonville State, including a walk-off grand slam, the first grand slam from an Ole Miss player since Calvin Harris in 2023.
- Mason Nichols, Will McCausland, and Landon Waters combined to two-hit Jacksonville State on Sunday, the first two-hitter since February of 2020.
- Ole Miss was ranked in all five polls this week with the highest being No. 13 by D1Baseball. The Rebels were also slotted at No. 15 in both the Baseball America and USA Today coaches’ poll and No. 23 in the Perfect Game and NCBWA polls.
- Riley Maddox has allowed just one run and struck out 14 batters over his last three starts.
- Ole Miss’ offense comes into the week ranked fifth in the NCAA in home runs per game, averaging 2.07 long balls per game. They are also ranked ninth in total home runs with 31.
- The Rebels’ ERA of 3.48 is the 25th best in the country and they are also ranked 10th in strikeouts per nine innings at 11.7.
- Ryan Moerman is now top 40 in the NCAA in doubles, doubles per game, total bases, slugging percentage, home runs, and home runs per game.
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1: LHP Hunter Elliott (3-0, 1.86 ERA) vs. LHP Zach Root (2-0, 2.11 ERA)
Game 2: RHP Riley Maddox (3-1, 3.44 ERA) vs. RHP Gabe Gaeckle (1-0, 6.16 ERA)
Game 3: RHP Mason Nichols (1-0, 4.20 ERA) vs. LHP Landon Beidelschies (3-0, 2.37 ERA)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
All three games will be streamed live on SEC Network+ with Jake Hromada (PxP) and Keith Kessinger (analyst) on the call.
Fans can also listen to the games on the Ole Miss Radio Network with David Kellum (PxP) and Brad Henderson (analyst) on the call.
SCOUTING REPORT
Dave Van Horn, the three-time SEC Coach of the Year, is in his 23rd season at the helm of the Arkansas baseball program in 2025.
The Razorbacks are currently 16-1 in 2025 and are ranked No. 3 among all polls across the board. Arkansas most recently defeated Central Arkansas 9-2 in a midweek matchup.
Arkansas leads the all-time series over Ole Miss 62-53. The last meeting between the SEC foes was April 6, 2024 where No. 1 Arkansas beat the Rebels 7-4 in the finale of the series sweep over Ole Miss.
IT JUST MEANS MORE, MAN
Ryan Moerman is currently riding an 11-game hitting streak and is hitting .457 (21-for-46) with 21 RBI, 17 runs scored, and six home runs during that stretch. He hit .529 (9-for-17) with 10 RBI and two home runs over four games last week.
The Illinois transfer has been personally responsible for 32.1 percent of the Rebels runs scored this season. Moerman has driven in 24 and scored 18 of the 131 runs Ole Miss has scored on the season.
RETURN TO FORM
Over his last three starts Riley Maddox has a 3-0 record, allowing just one run and striking out 14 batters while working five innings in all three outings. He has held opponents to three or fewer hits in each outing and has not allowed an extra-base hit during that time.
RETURN OF THE KING
Hunter Elliott was named the Dick Howser Trophy National Pitcher of the Month by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association for the month of February.
Elliott made three starts in the opening month of the season, working at least five innings and picking up the win in each. He only allowed six total hits and did not allow a run, earned or otherwise, to score.
Elliott was one of 17 qualified pitchers in the NCAA to not allow an earned run this season and one of just four to not allow an earned run while working 16+ innings. He was also just one of 11 to not allow a run at all, earned or unearned.
On February 14, Elliott made his first start since April of 2023 shutting out No. 21 Arizona over five innings in Texas. He allowed just two hits and struck out three Wildcats on the way to his first win since February of 2023.
The following weekend Elliott had everything working against Eastern Kentucky in his first start at Swayze Field in almost 700 days. He tied his career-high with 10 strikeouts over six innings, allowed just three hits and not issuing a single free pass. He faced just one batter over the minimum as he picked off two of the three baserunners he allowed.
POWER SURGE
Judd Utermark hit two home runs in the Rebels’ win over Murray State, giving him his first multi-home run game of his career. He hit four home runs in four-consecutive games from February 28 to March 5, hitting five total during that time. He joins Andrew Fischer, Logan Power, and Michael Rosamond as the only Rebels to hit a home run in four-straight games since 1997.
GET US STARTED
Ole Miss’ starting rotation of Hunter Elliott, Riley Maddox, and Mason Nichols are sporting a combined ERA of 3.08 through the first four weeks of the season. They have allowed just 18 total runs and struck out 67 batters over 52.2 innings of work. Elliott and Nichols have each reached the 10 punchout mark in a start this season, tying or setting new career-highs.
WASTE NO TIME
The Rebels are outscoring opponents 23-6 in the first inning and 43-9 over the first two innings of games this season, jumping on opponents early. They are 9-0 when scoring in the first inning and 12-0 when they score the first run of a game.
NEVER SAFE
The Rebel pitching staff has picked off eight runners this season, surpassing its totals from each of the last two seasons already. Hunter Elliott leads the team with four pick offs, Riley Maddox has two, and Mason Nichols and Walker Hooks each have one.
HOOK ‘EM
Walker Hooks picked up his first career win and first career save last week, making appearances against both Murray State and Jacksonville State. The freshman has made six appearances already in his young career allowing just seven baserunners, one of whom he picked off, over 10 innings of work. He made his debut on February 15 against No. 19 Texas, coming out of the bullpen with the bases loaded and just one out. He struck out the first two hitters he faced and would go on to retire all eight he saw. The freshman is up to 16 total strikeouts and is holding opponents to a .143 batting average against.
FEDERICO SUAVE
13 games into Hayden Federico’s career, the freshman is currently top five on the team in multiple offensive categories including batting average and on base percentage. He is one of only three Rebels with a three-hit game this season.
Federico hit a walk-off single last Wednesday night against Murray State and hit what would prove to be the game-winning home run Friday night against Jacksonville State.
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. Email Evie at: Evie@TheRebelWalk.com
