No. 6 Ole Miss Baseball Welcomes No. 5 Tennessee to Swayze Field for Top 10 Matchup

OXFORD, Miss. — (Release) No. 6 Ole Miss Baseball hosts No. 5 Tennessee this weekend at Swayze Field for the first top 10 matchup in Oxford since the last time the Volunteers came to Oxford in 2022. First pitch on Friday is set for 6:30 p.m. with Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

LEADING OFF

• Ole Miss has won four in a row after run-ruling both Memphis and Alcorn State during the week.
• The Rebels outscored their opponents 39-1 over the two midweek contests.
• The Rebels have won three-consecutive SEC series for the first time since 2018 when they opened conference play with three-straight wins.
• Ole Miss only allowed 10 runs over the three games against Kentucky; its fewest runs allowed in a conference series since it allowed just nine runs in a sweep of LSU in 2022.
• Last Friday’s 3-1 win in game two marked the first time Ole Miss has allowed one or fewer runs against a conference opponent since shutting out Arkansas in the 2022 College World Series.
• Ole Miss is now 8-4 in conference play, its best start since the 2021 season when it also started 8-4.
• With three SEC series wins under their belts, the Rebels have already matched their total from 2024 and are one series win away from matching their combined total from the past two seasons.
• Ole Miss is ranked in all five polls this week coming in at No. 6 in the D1Baseball poll, No. 7 in both the USA Today and Baseball America polls, No. 8 in the Perfect Game poll, and No. 9 in the NCBWA poll.
• In his last four outings, Walker Hooks has posted a 0.96 ERA, giving up just one run while striking out 13 batters over 9.1 innings.
• Luke Hill is on an 11-game hitting streak, hitting .457 with 18 runs scored, 11 RBI, and 11 walks during that stretch.
• Ole Miss has hit 67 home runs this season, seventh-most in the NCAA and fourth-most in the SEC. They are seventh in the nation in home runs per game, averaging 2.03 home runs per game.
• They are ranked eighth in the NCAA in walks drawn (217), 12th in slugging percentage (.551), and 15th in both on base percentage (.435) and runs scored (296).

Ole Miss’ pitching staff is ranked seventh in the NCAA in K/9 (11.7) and ninth in K:BB at 3.04.
 
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS

Game 1: LHP Hunter Elliott (5-0, 3.63 ERA) vs. LHP Liam Doyle (5-1, 2.53 ERA)
Game 2: RHP Riley Maddox (3-2, 6.10 ERA) vs. RHP Marcus Phillips (2-1, 2.68 ERA)
Game 3: RHP Mason Nichols (2-0, 4.83 ERA) vs. RHP Tegan Kuhns (2-1, 2.79 ERA)

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Friday and Saturday’s games will be streamed live on SEC Network+ with Richard Cross (PxP) and Keith Kessinger (analyst) on the call. Sunday’s game will be broadcast on SEC Network with Richard Cross (PxP) and Jensen Lewis (analyst) on the call.

SCOUTING REPORT

The Tennessee Volunteers come into the weekend with a 29-4 overall record and a 9-3 record in SEC play. They hosted Texas A&M last weekend no hitting and run ruling the Aggies in game one but dropped both games of a doubleheader on Saturday to lose the series. It was their first series loss of the season after opening SEC play with series wins over Florida, Alabama, and South Carolina.

The defending national champions come to Oxford for the first time since March of 2022 when they swept the series. The Rebels have not won a series against the Volunteers since 2018, losing the last three matchups. Ole Miss leads the all-time series against Tennessee, holding a 51-46-1 record over the Volunteers.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION

The Rebels set new program records for runs scored and RBI in a single game in their 29-1 win over Alcorn State on Wednesday. Their 29 runs scored took down a program record that had stood since 1989 when Ole Miss defeated Illinois College 28-0.

The previous single-game RBI record was 25 which had been accomplished three times and as recently as last season against High Point. The Rebels collected 27 RBI in Wednesday’s win over Alcorn to set a new record.

The Ole Miss offense also had 44 total bases which was just two shy of the single-game program record and 23 hits which was four short of the program record.

IT JUST MEANS MORE

The Ole Miss pitching staff leads the SEC in strikeouts, innings pitched, and pickoffs during conference play. The Rebels come into the weekend with 144 punchouts and four runners picked off over 111.1 innings of work. They are also ranked third in the conference in walks allowed, issuing just 38 free passes in conference games.

Offensively, Ole Miss leads the SEC in walks drawn during conference games with 71.

The Rebel offense is also ranked second in the conference in batting average (.299), hits (132), and total bases (240) and third in slugging percentage (.544), on base percentage (.407), runs scored (99), RBI (95), and home runs (25) when playing conference opponents.

SO HOT RIGHT NOW

Luke Hill is currently riding an 11-game hitting streak and a 17-game on base streak. Over his last 11 games, Hill is hitting .457 (21-for-46) with two home runs, 18 runs scored, 11 RBI, and 11 walks.

Hill hit two home runs in last weekend’s series against Kentucky including the go-ahead, game-winning shot in the top of the 12th inning on Saturday.

WE’LL TAKE IT

Over their last 13 games, the Rebels have worked 97 walks and been hit by pitches 20 times for 117 total free passes.

They drew 18 walks on April 1 against Jackson State, one shy of the program record set last season against High Point. The Rebels have worked 20+ walks in two of their last three SEC series, drawing 22 against Missouri and 24 against Florida.

Ole Miss is ranked eighth in the country and second in the SEC in total walks (217) and 15th in the NCAA in on base percentage (.435).

WASTE NO TIME

The Rebels are outscoring opponents 47-13 in the first inning and 76-28 over the first two innings of games this season, jumping on opponents early. They are 16-2 when scoring in the first inning and 22-1 when they score the first run of a game.

NEVER SAFE

The Rebel pitching staff has picked off 14 runners this season, their highest total since 2002. They lead the SEC in total pickoffs by a wide margin with the next highest total being eight. Hunter Elliott leads the team with seven pickoffs, the most by a Rebel pitcher in the Bianco Era.

IN A PINCH

Will Furniss has made the most of his pinch-hitting opportunities, hitting .600 (3-for-5) in those situations.

He went 3-for-3 in pinch hit opportunities in the series against Missouri, hitting a three-RBI home run on Saturday and a double on Sunday.

REBEL NATION STAND UP

Ole Miss currently sports the fourth-highest attendance numbers in the NCAA, averaging 9,198 fans through the first 21 home games of the season. 193,162 total fans have already walked through the gates at Swayze Field through the first two months of the season.

SEC schools make up nine of the top 10 in attendance numbers with LSU, Arkansas, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss making up the top four.

NOT JUST YOUR SUNDAY STARTER

Last week, Mason Nichols was named one of this year’s 90 recipients for the Taylor Medal, the highest academic honor awarded by the University of Mississippi. He is the 28th Rebel athlete to earn the Taylor Medal since 2007.

Nichols has been a mainstay in the Rebels’ starting rotation this season, making a start in every weekend series so far. In eight starts, he has posted an ERA of 4.83 while striking out 39 batters over 31.2 innings of work. On March 2, in a start against Wright State Nichols struck out a career-high 10 hitters and is one of only two Rebel pitchers to reach double-digit strikeouts in a game this season.

Nichols will graduate with a degree in biological sciences in May. A three-year team representative on Ole Miss’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Nichols’ community involvement has included volunteering at events for individuals with special needs, church activities for the elderly and team projects to give back to low-income families.

STAY GOLDEN

Hunter Elliott was named to the Golden Spike Midseason Watch List by USA Baseball last week. He is the seventh Rebel ever to be named to the Watch List and the first since Jacob Gonzalez in 2023.

Elliott has a 5-0 record in eight starts this season, posting a 3.63 ERA, 51 strikeouts and a .212 batting average against. The Tupelo native has allowed the eighth-fewest runs in the SEC at just 16 in 39.2 innings of work. He is also ranked 16th in the conference in ERA, 11th in opponent batting average, and 11th in strikeouts.

The redshirt junior has issued just six walks in four SEC starts while striking out 26 batters.

Elliott’s 51 total strikeouts and rate of 11.57 strikeouts per nine innings are both top 60 in the NCAA. His seven runners picked off are the most in the SEC and the most by a Rebel pitcher in the Bianco Era (since 2001).

HUMP WEEK

Isaac Humphrey was named the SEC Player of the Week and the NCBWA Dick Howser Trophy Player of the Week after his huge weekend in Missouri.

Humphrey hit .389 (7-for-18) with four home runs, 13 RBI, and 21 total bases in four total games, including the Rebels’ midweek matchup with Southern Miss.

The senior went 1-for-3 with a double in Pearl before really heating up in Columbia. Humphrey hit .400 (6-for-15) with four home runs, 13 RBI, and 19 total bases as Ole Miss swept Missouri for their first conference sweep since 2022.

He came into the series with three total home runs on the season and more than doubled his total with four long balls in three games. He launched two home runs in the series-clinching win on Saturday for the first multi-home run game of his career.

Humphrey drove in 13 of the Rebels’ 40 runs scored in the series, a whopping 32.5 percent of the scoring.

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.