No. 15 Baseball Opens Oxford Regional Against Murray State Friday Night

OXFORD, Miss. – (Release) For the first time since 2021, No. 15 Ole Miss (40-19) will be hosting a regional at Swayze Field. The No. 10-seeded Rebels will welcome Georgia Tech (40-17), Western Kentucky (46-12), and Murray State (39-13) to Oxford this weekend. Regional action begins on Friday May 30 with first pitch between the Rebels and the Racers set for 7 p.m.

LEADING OFF

• Ole Miss went 3-1 last week at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, making it all the way to the championship game on Sunday where they lost to Vanderbilt 3-2.
• Last week was the first time the Rebels have played in the SEC Tournament final since 2019.
• They shut out No. 1 LSU in the semifinals for their first win over a No. 1 ranked team since 2021 and their first shut out of an SEC opponent since 2022.
• The pitching staff as a whole posted a 1.29 ERA over four games at the tournament, allowing just five earned runs over 35 innings. They struck out 35 batters while issuing just nine walks and holding opponents to a .151 batting average.
• Connor Spencer earned three saves in back-to-back-to-back games in Hoover, closing out the wins over Florida, Arkansas, and LSU and nearly doubling his regular season total.
• Judd Utermark is hitting .400 (14-for-35) and slugging .629 with 12 RBI and nine runs scored over his last eight games.
• Campbell Smithwick is hitting .455 (10-for-22) with an OPS of 1.065 and six RBI over his last eight games.
• Hunter Elliott has not given up an earned run over his last two starts, allowing just six hits and posting a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 16:3.
• Will McCausland has posted a 1.37 ERA over his last 13 appearances and has not given up an earned run over his last five outings.
• Hudson Calhoun hasn’t given up an earned run over his last seven outings and has struck out 20 of the last 42 batters he faced for a 47.6% strikeout rate.
• Ole Miss finished with a 16-14 record in conference play. It was the first time since 2021 that the Rebels finished with a winning record in SEC games.
• The Rebels won five SEC series during the regular season surpassing their combined total from the previous two seasons. It is the first time they have won five series since 2021.
• The Rebels have won 40 games for the first time since 2022 and for the 10^th time under head coach Mike Bianco.
• The Rebels are just three home runs shy of tying and four home runs from breaking the program single season record of 108 set by the 2022 team.
• The Rebels are ranked second in the SEC in total walks drawn as a team with 321 free passes so far this season.

PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUP

RHP Riley Maddox (6-5, 5.26 ERA) vs. RHP Nic Schutte (7-3, 4.02 ERA)

 

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Friday’s game will be streamed live on ESPN+with Derek Jones (PxP) and Jay Walker (analyst) on the call.

Fans can listen to all Ole Miss Baseball games on the Ole Miss Radio Network with David Kellum (PxP) and Brad Henderson (analyst) on the call.

TOURNEY TIME

The Rebel pitching staff was the story of the week at the SEC Tournament last week in Hoover, Alabama. The staff as a whole posted a 1.29 ERA over four games, allowing just five earned runs over 35 innings. They struck out 35 batters while issuing just nine walks and holding opponents to a .151 batting average.

The bullpen posted a 0.59 ERA, giving up just one earned run over 15.1 innings while striking out 14 and allowing just three walks. Connor Spencer closed three games in four days, earning the save in all three appearances and nearly doubling his save total from the regular season. He allowed just one baserunner over three combined innings.

The starting rotation of Hunter Elliott, Riley Maddox, Cade Townsend, and Walker Hooks put up a 1.83 ERA giving up just four earned runs over 19.2 innings of work. They gave up just 10 hits and struck out 21 batters. Townsend worked 4.2 scoreless innings against No. 1-ranked LSU in what was the first weekend start of his career.

KEEP IT 100

The Rebels hit three home runs in the final weekend of the regular season to reach the 100-home run mark for just the second time in program history.

With 105 total home runs on the season, the Rebels are now just three home runs shy of the single season record of 108 set by the 2022 team. That team reached the 100-home run mark in their 60^th game of the season and averaged 1.66 home runs per game.

The current edition of the Rebel offense reached the 100-home run mark in their 54^th game of the season and are currently averaging 1.78 home runs per game.

BASH BROS

For the first time in program history, three different Rebels have hit 15 or more home runs in a season. Austin Fawley leads the team with 17 while Judd Utermark has 16 and Mitchell Sanford has 15.

This is also the first time in program history that six different Rebels have hit double digit home runs. In addition to Utermark, Fawley, and Sanford, Ryan Moerman and Isaac Humphrey have each hit 11, and Will Furniss has hit 10.

BIG GAME HUNTER

Hunter Elliott has allowed just five earned runs and only 14 hits over his last five starts, working 29.2 innings and striking out 36 batters during that stretch.

The Ole Miss ace now owns the seventh-lowest ERA in the SEC and is one of five pitchers in the conference to have an opponent batting average below .200 (.188). His 1.12 WHIP is eighth-best in the SEC and he also ranks top 10 in strikeouts (94) and innings pitched (78.2).

Over his career, Elliott now owns a 5-1 record and a 2.13 ERA with 51 strikeouts and just 10 earned runs given up over seven starts (42.1 innings) in the month of May.

Hunter Elliott In May

	W-L	ERA	IP	H	ER	BB	K	BAA
2022	2-0	3.06	17.2	12	6	9	21	.194
2025	3-1	1.46	24.2	12	4	10	30	.143
Career	5-1	2.13	42.1	24	10	19	51	.164

When Elliott makes his inevitable start in this weekend’s regional, he will have a chance to make Ole Miss history. If he picks up the win and strikes out six or more batters, Elliott will become just the fifth Rebel ever to put together a season in which he compiled 10 wins and 100 strikeouts. The only four Rebels to accomplish the task previously are Doug Nikhazy in 2021, Ryan Rolison in 2018, Pete Montrenes in 2001, and Jamey Price in 1995.

If Elliott reaches the 100 strikeout mark this season he will also become just the fourth Rebel ever to put together two 100+ strikeout seasons in their career.

FOR THE CAUSE

Will McCausland has posted a 1.37 ERA over his last 13 appearances, allowing just three earned runs over 19.2 innings of work. He has 21 strikeouts to just four walks and is holding opponents to a .191 batting average during that stretch.

The junior has not given up an earned run over his last five appearances and has only given up two earned runs since April 18.

-Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports