The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Tulane
Baseball Heads to New Orleans for First Road Trip of 2019
2/21/2019 | Baseball
Rebels Meet Tulane for Three-Game Set
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#10 OLE MISS (2-1, 0-0 SEC) at TULANE (5-0, 0-0 AAC) February 22-24 New Orleans, Louisiana Greer Field at Turchin Stadium (5,000) |
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| Ole Miss Notes • Tulane Notes • SEC Notes | ||||||||
| Friday, Feb. 22 | Saturday, Feb. 23 | Sunday, Feb. 24 |
| PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: LHP Zack Phillips 0-1, 13.50 ERA, 2.2 IP Tulane: RHP Kaleb Roper 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 K, 3 BB |
PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: RHP Houston Roth 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.0 IP Tulane: RHP Keagan Gillies 0-0, 9.00 ERA, 3 K, 2 BB |
PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: RHP Gunnar Hoglund 0-0, 13.50 ERA, 2.0 IP Tulane: RHP Chase Solesky 0-0, 6.35 ERA, 4 K, 3 BB |
| Watch • Listen • Live Stats | Watch • Listen • Live Stats | Watch • Listen • Live Stats |
LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss enters the weekend coming off a 15-3 offensive explosion against Arkansas State. The Rebels racked up 19 hits in the win, their most since 2016.
• The Rebels enter their third game in the season at No. 3 in the nation and No. 1 in the SEC in home runs per game, averaging two per contest.
• Ole Miss ranks 9th in the nation and 2nd in the SEC in team batting avg, hitting .352 entering the weekend.
• The Rebels are 7th nationally and 2nd in the SEC in slugging percentage (.583).
• Thomas Dillard opened the season red-hot at the plate, hitting .833 over the opening weekend. Dillard's OPS over the first two games was an astronomical 2.389.
• Ole Miss sold more than 7,100 season tickets, a program record.
• Ole Miss is the only team in the SEC and one of just three teams (Baylor, Army) with seven or more returning players who started 48 or more games in 2018.
• Four Rebels (Cole Zabowski, Parker Caracci, Chase Cockrell, Tyler Keenan) were named Preseason All-SEC, the most in program history and tied for the most in the conference this season.
• Three Rebels earned Preseason All-America Honors: Parker Caracci (5x), Thomas Dillard, Ryan Olenek
• Ole Miss tied a program record with 48 wins in 2018, and at 48-17, the Rebels posted their best win percentage (.738) in 48 seasons. The 17 defeats were also the fewest in the Mike Bianco era.
• Ole Miss lost just one game against non-SEC competition in the entire 2018 regular season.
SEE YOU AT SWAYZE
In 2018, Ole Miss was No. 2 in the nation in both total and average attendance for the fourth consecutive season. Swayze Field attracted 8,965 fans per game and a total of 322,742 fans over 36 games.
The season included five of the top 10 most-attended games in program history, including the single-game attendance record of 12,152 in the series-deciding game against LSU on April 28, 2018, which Ole Miss won, 9-8. The Rebels also set the single-game postseason attendance record in the opening game of the NCAA Oxford Regional as Ole Miss topped Saint Louis, 9-2.
Going into 2019, Ole Miss broke its program record for season ticket sales. The previous program-high was 6,275 for the 2017 season. At the start of the 2019 campaign, the season ticket sales figure eclipsed 7,000 for the first time in history.
The Rebels were second in the nation in opening-day attendance in 2019 (8,832), behind only LSU.
SEC CHAMPS
Ole Miss opens the 2018 season as the reigning SEC Tournament Champion. The Rebels fell in their first game of the conference tournament to Auburn but reeled off five straight wins against top competition to capture the crown. The run culminated with a 9-1 drubbing of LSU in the title game. The Rebels won their third SEC Tournament title and their ninth overall conference crown. Ole Miss also secured a share of the SEC Western Division title in 2018, the 15th West championship won by the Rebels.
REBELS IN THE RANKINGS
Ole Miss opens the 2018 season as a top-10 team in three of the six major polls (D1Baseball, Perfect Game, USA Today). The Rebels are 11th according to Collegiate Baseball and NCBWA and are 13th in Baseball America's preseason poll.
RECORD-BREAKING REBELS
Ole Miss tied a program record with 48 wins in 2018, and at 48-17, the Rebels posted their best win percentage (.738) in 48 seasons. The 17 defeats were also the fewest in the Mike Bianco era.
PRESEASON HONORS
Ole Miss earned four preseason All-SEC honors, the most in Rebel baseball history and tied for the most in the conference this season. First baseman Cole Zabowski landed on the first team, while Parker Caracci, Chase Cockrell and Tyler Keenan earned second team honors. Six of the Rebels' starting nine offensive players carry either 2019 preseason or 2018 postseason honors into the start of the season.
Preseason All-American
Parker Caracci - 1st Team (Perfect Game); 2nd Team (D1Baseball, NCBWA, Collegiate Baseball); 3rd Team (Baseball America)
Thomas Dillard - 2nd Team (D1Baseball)
Ryan Olenek - 3rd Team (Collegiate Baseball)
Preseason All-SEC
1B Cole Zabowski - First Team
RHP Parker Caracci - Second Team
IF/OF/DH Chase Cockrell - Second Team
3B Tyler Keenan - Second Team
SEC SPEED
Ole Miss is No. 20 in the nation and No. 2 in the SEC, averaging 2.67 stolen bases per game.
STARTING OFF
Ole Miss must replace its entire weekend starting rotation as Ryan Rolison, Brady Feigl and James McArthur were all selected in the 2018 MLB Draft and have moved on to the professional ranks.
GOOD WILL PITCHING
Will Ethridge earned the Friday night role after posting the team's best ERA over the offseason. The junior out of Lilburn, Georgia, posted a miniscule 0.60 ERA in the fall with 18 strikeouts compared to four walks (4.50 K/BB). He kept it going in the spring, holding opposing hitters to two runs over 11 innings for a 1.67 ERA.
Ethridge was outstanding in his 2019 debut, going 5.2 scoreless innings with just four hits allowed, striking out five and walking two.
TO THE LEFTY
It was a hot competition for the No. 2 and 3 weekend starter roles behind Ethridge, and junior college transfer Zack Phillips seized the Saturday night spot. Phillips, a lefty out of Texarkana, Arkansas, was strong in the fall, striking out 16 over 12.2 innings, but he came back even better after the winter break. The Grayson CC transfer allowed just two runs in 10 innings of work this spring for a 2.20 ERA. He silenced the powerful Rebel lineup, throwing five scoreless innings in his final intrasquad outing of the spring.
FAB FRESHMAN
The final starting role was taken by highly touted freshman Gunnar Hoglund. Hoglund was drafted in the first round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates but elected to come to Oxford.
The rookie out of Hudson, Florida, has lived up to his billing thus far. His fall ERA was second only to Ethridge at 1.23 over 14.2 innings of work. He was outstanding in the spring as well, posting a 6.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio, going 8.2 innings without issuing a free pass. Before his final start of the spring, he allowed just two earned runs.
CLOSING TIME
Parker Caracci had a breakout 2018 season that ended in All-America honors and a selection in the 37th round of the MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. However, Caracci elected to return for his redshirt-junior campaign, and he has worked his way back to top form going into the season.
Caracci pitched for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team over the summer, posting a perfect 0.00 ERA with two saves and an opposing batting average of .094 in 9.2 innings of work.
Heading into the season, Caracci is a first-team All-American according to Perfect Game, in addition to four other All-America nods. He's also All-SEC Second Team and is on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award Watch List.
MILLER TIME
Austin Miller was the first arm out of the Rebel bullpen in 2019. He relieved Ethridge in Friday's 10-1 win over Wright State, allowing just one run on three hits over 3.1 innings to earn his first career save.
BULLPEN BRIGHT SPOTS
Ole Miss saw two bright spots in its bullpen in the 9-5 Game 2 defeat to Wright State. Max Cioffi entered with an 8-0 deficit and went 3.2 scoreless, allowing just one hit and one walk while fanning five. He was relieved by freshman lefty Kaleb Hill. In his collegiate debut, the rookie out of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, yielded just one run on one hit and two walks over two innings of work.
RAKING REBELS
Ole Miss is off to a torrid start at the plate. The Rebels rank 9th in the nation and 2nd in the SEC in team batting average (.352). They are 7th in the nation with six home runs through three games, and they're 3rd nationally averaging two per game—they are tied for the SEC lead in both categories. Ole Miss also ranks 7th nationally and 2nd in the SEC in slugging percentage (.583). The Rebels are also averaging 10 runs scored per game, good for 17th in the nation and 3rd in the SEC.
VETERAN LINEUP
Ole Miss is the only team in the SEC and is one of just three teams in the nation (Baylor, Army) with seven returning players with 48 or more starts each in 2018.
In total, the Rebels return a combined 2,744 career at-bats. That group brings back a combined .307 batting average from 2018 with 438 hits, 299 runs scored, 90 doubles, 55 home runs and 263 RBI.
SWAYZE SHOWER SEASON
Ole Miss ranks No. 3 in the country and first in the SEC, averaging two home runs per game.
Five Rebels return after hitting eight or more home runs in 2018—Thomas Dillard (13), Cole Zabowski (10), Tyler Keenan (9), Chase Cockrell (9) and Grae Kessinger (8).
HONORED HITTERS
Six of the Rebels' starting nine offensive players carry either 2019 preseason or 2018 postseason honors into the start of the season: Thomas Dillard (Preseason All-American); Ryan Olenek (Preseason All-American, 2018 All-SEC First Team); Cole Zabowski (Preseason All-SEC First Team); Chase Cockrell (Preseason All-SEC Second Team); Tyler Keenan (Preseason All-SEC Second Team, 2018 Freshman All-American); Anthony Servideo (2018 SEC All-Freshman Team).
REBS RAISED THE BAR
Through the 2018 regular season, Ole Miss scored 132 more runs on 114 more hits than in 2017. The Rebel offense added 24 more doubles, 24 more home runs and 128 more RBI. Ole Miss also struck out 78 fewer times than it did during the regular season in 2017. The Rebels hit .050 points better and slugged nearly .100 points better than they did a year prior.
SERIES HISTORY VS. TULANE
Ole Miss and Tulane have played four games that ended 1-0, taking place in 1949, 1955, 1956 and 1957. The Rebels are 3-1 in those games. ... Two Rebel pitchers have thrown one-hitters against Tulane: Lee Alford (1952) and Larry Williams (1958). Four have thrown two-hitters. ... Ole Miss and Tulane first played in 1902, splitting a two-game series. The Green Wave won the first meeting, 6-4. ... The Rebels last traveled to New Orleans in 2010. Ole Miss took the series, 2-1, after winning the first two games of the three-game set.
DILLY, DILLY!
Left fielder Thomas Dillard went 8-for-9 (.833/.889/1.500) over the weekend with a double, a home run, three runs and two RBI. The junior slugger reached base in all five of his plate appearances in Game 1, and eight of the nine times he stepped to the plate over the weekend. He drew three walks, including two intentional walks in which he didn't see a pitch.
Going into the weekend, Dillard ranks third nationally and first in the SEC in batting average, second nationally and first in the SEC in on-base percentage, second nationally and first in the SEC in slugging percentage.
COOPED UP
Catcher Cooper Johnson homered in his first at-bat of the season. He went 3-for-4 in Game 1 and was a triple shy of the cycle with two RBI and two runs scored. Johnson hit .571 over the opeing weekend.
