Rebels Head to Bluegrass State for Top 10 Matchup at Louisville

			#7 OLE MISS (12-3, 0-0 SEC) at #7 LOUISVILLE (11-4, 2-1 ACC) March 12-13 Louisville, Ky. Jim Patterson Stadium (4,000)
Ole Miss Notes • Louisville Notes • SEC Notes

Tuesday, March 12 3 p.m. CT	Wednesday, March 13 11 a.m. CT
PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: LHP Doug Nikhazy 1-1, 3.48 ERA, 13 K, 4 BB Louisville: RHP Luke Smith 1-0, 4.30 ERA, 13 K, 4 BB	PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: TBA Louisville: TBA
Watch • Listen • Live Stats	Watch • Listen • Live Stats

LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss enters the week coming off a series sweep of UAB, outscoring the Blazers 30-14 over three games.
• The Rebels are 9-1 in their last 10 games.
• Ole Miss is No. 10 in the country and second in the SEC with 20 home runs on the season.
• The Rebels have stolen 33 bases this season, the second-most in the SEC and 13th-most in the country.
• Ole Miss is averaging 8.5 runs per game, the second-highest scoring rate in the SEC and 15th-best in the nation.
• As a team, Ole Miss is slashing .302/.409/.483, all good for 26th or better in the nation and top-five in the SEC.
• Ole Miss has the SEC's leader in RBI (Keenan), home runs (Dillard) and hits (Olenek).
• Tyler Keenan enters the midweek as the SEC's leader in RBI at 26, good for No. 4 in the nation.
• Thomas Dillard enters the midweek as the SEC's leader in home runs with seven, good for seventh in the nation.
• Ryan Olenek enters the midweek as the SEC's leader in hits with 27, good for eighth in the nation.
• Austin Miller is tied for first in the SEC in hits and runs allowed, he's second in the league in walks allowed, sixth in ERA and seventh in opposing batting average
• Louisville is second in the second ranked opponent the Rebels have faced this season. Ole Miss is set to meet seven more during SEC play in 2019.
• For the second time this season, Ole Miss will meet a former Rebel assistant turned head coach. After taking on Cliff Godwin's ECU squad last week, the Rebels will take on Dan McDonnell's Cardinals. McDonnell coached under Bianco from 2001-06, helping bring two NCAA Regional titles, an SEC West title and an SEC Tournament crown to Oxford.
• Ole Miss and Louisville have met 14 times, with the Rebels holding an 8-6 advantage. The Rebels captured a 2-1 series victory the last time the teams met in 2016 in Oxford. The last trip to Louisville brought a 1-1 midweek split in 2015.

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.

This season is the 30th anniversary of Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field, which opened February 19, 1989. Prior to the construction of the current facility, the Rebels played at Old Swayze Field, which stood where The Pavilion at Ole Miss currently stands.

MENTIONABLE 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. 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

2019 Weekly Honors
Thomas Dillard - SEC Player of the Week (Week 2), Golden Spikes Award Performance of the Week (Week 2), NCBWA National Hitter of the Week (Week 2), Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week (Week 2)
Ryan Olenek - Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week (Week 3)

ON THE CARDS

Ole Miss will reunite with former Rebel assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Dan McDonnell. McDonnell was on the Rebel staff from 2001-06, the early Bianco years. McDonnell's final two seasons in Oxford featured a pair of NCAA Regional titles, as well as an SEC West Championship in 2005 and an SEC Tournament title in 2006. This marks the second time Ole Miss has met a former assistant coach, having played Cliff Godwin and ECU last week.

Ole Miss holds and 8-6 lead in the all-time series against Louisville, including an even 5-5 split in the Bianco era. The two teams last met for a three-game series in Oxford, with Ole Miss taking Games 1 and 3 to win the series. Ole Miss last traveled to Louisville in 2015, earning a split of two midweek games. The Rebels also went to Louisville for a midweek series in 2012, and the teams split that one as well, making the series 2-2 when played in the Bluegrass State. Ole Miss has outscored Louisville 105-70 in the all-time series, including a 21-1 win for the Rebels in their first-ever meeting in 1991.

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 minuscule 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. After missing a start at Tulane with a blister on his finger, Ethridge returned in Week 3, throwing three pristine innings before he hit his predetermined pitch count. He allowed just two baserunners, scattering a pair of hits across his outing while striking out 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.

Phillips turned in his best outing as a Rebel in Week 4. He went a career-high 7.0 innings, striking out seven as the Rebels beat UAB, 13-4.

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.

Hoglund came through with his best outing in red and blue, allowing just one run and spreading six hits over 5.0 innings against Long Beach State. He struck out three and walked none along the way.

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.

GREEN IS BACK

Senior Connor Green has emerged as a linchpin in the Rebel bullpen in 2019. Green posted a 2.73 ERA in 20 appearnces as a freshman but saw his role diminished the two following seasons, including a switch to a submarine delivery as junior. Now, he's back over the top and better than ever. Green picked up his first two career wins in back-to-back games—Sunday at Tulane and Tuesday against UT Martin.

Green was outstanding once again against Long Beach State. He went 2.0 innings without allowing a baserunner, striking out two to bridge the gap in the Rebels' 7-6 win. He had another strong outing against ECU, throwing one inning and allowing just one hit, striking out two.

MILLER TIME

Austin Miller has been one of the Rebels' top bullpen arms and one of the top arms in all the SEC this season. The junior out of North Liberty, Iowa, is tied for first in the SEC in hits and runs allowed, he's second in the league in walks allowed, sixth in ERA and seventh in opposing batting average.

SWAYZE SHOWER SEASON

With 20 home runs on the season, Ole Miss ranks 10th nationally and second in the SEC. The Rebels are averaging 1.33 home runs per game, good for 11th in the nation and first in the SEC.

SEC LEADERS

Ole Miss has a trio of players who are all over the top of the SEC hitting charts. Ole Miss has the SEC leader in hits (Olenek), RBI (Keenan), home runs (Dillard) and slugging percentage (Dillard). Ryan Olenek (2nd) and Thomas Dillard (5th) are the only two players from the same team in the top five of the SEC batting average charts. Dillard (3rd) and Olenek (6th) are also the only two from the same team to rank in the top six in the league in on-base percentage. Dillard and Olenek are also tied for third in the SEC in runs scored, the only teammates in the top three.

DILLY DILLY!

Thomas Dillard's incredible start to the 2019 season has drawn some major national recognition. He ranks in the top 20 nationally in home runs (7th), slugging percentage (10th), total bases (11th), runs scored (17th) and on-base percentage (20th).

Dating back to last season, Dillard is on a 17-game hitting streak, including hits in all 15 games in 2019.

Week 2 Honors
• SEC Player of the Week
• Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week
• NCBWA National Hitter of the Week
• Golden Spikes Award Performance of the Week

OLEY ON FIRE

Ryan Olenek picked up where he left off after hitting .350 and earning All-SEC First Team honors in 2018. In addition to being named a Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball, in Week 3 of 2019, Olenek was named a National Player of the Week by the Publication.

The senior out of Winter Park, Florida, has reached base in all 15 games this season and is eighth in the nation and tied for first in the SEC in hits with 27.

He also attracts baseballs at an alarming rate. He has been hit by six pitches this season, ranking 37th in the country and second in the SEC. He has been hit by 29 pitches over his career.

OK, TK

Tyler Keenan had a tremendous rookie campaign, earning Freshman All-American honors, as well as an All-SEC Second Team nod going into 2019—and he has shown no signs of a sophomore slump.

Keenan is No. 4 in the nation and No. 1 in the SEC in RBI with 26 on the year. He's also in the top 25 in the nation in sacrifice flies (8th) and home runs (23rd).

ANT MAN

Sophomore Anthony Servideo has been a spark plug for the Rebels this season, playing second base, right field and shortstop. He has hit .297 along the way with nine runs scored and eight RBI. He's also been electric on the basepaths, with a team-high six stolen bases at a perfect 6-for-6 rate. He has also drawn 13 walks and boasts the team's third-best on-base percentage at .490.

Z-BOMBS

Junior Cole Zabowski is coming off his best week this season, in which he hit .316 with four runs scored, a double, his third homer of the season and eight RBI. He boosted his batting average to .305 on the year, and he's third on the team with 15 RBI.

CATCHER U

Junior Cooper Johnson is off to an excellent start to 2019 and looks poised to be the next in a line of prolific catchers to play for head coach Mike Bianco. Johnson is hitting just shy of .300 with four doubles, eight runs scored, a home run and six RBI. He also has just one passed ball through 10 games and has erased four would-be base stealers.

RebelsCalendar

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Parker Caracci

Chase Cockrell

Thomas Dillard

Will Ethridge

Brady Feigl

Connor Green

Gunnar Hoglund

Cooper Johnson

Tyler Keenan

James McArthur

Austin Miller

Doug Nikhazy

Ryan Olenek

Zack Phillips

Ryan Rolison

Anthony Servideo

Cole Zabowski

The University of Mississippi Athletics