Road Trip Continues as Baseball Meets Memphis at AutoZone Park

			#21 OLE MISS (17-8, 3-3 SEC) at MEMPHIS (11-11, 1-2 AAC) March 26, 2019 Memphis, Tennessee AutoZone Park (10,000)
Ole Miss Notes • SEC Notes

Tuesday, March 26

PROJECTED STARTERS
Ole Miss: LHP Jordan Fowler
1-0, 5.17 ERA, 13 K, 8 BB
Memphis: RHP Landon Kelly
1-2, 3.48 ERA, 22 K, 4 BB

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LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss enters the week coming off its first series loss of the season. The Rebels won Game 2 but took the series loss, its first series defeat in SEC play since dropping two of three at South Carolina on May 4-6, 2018.
• All of the Rebels' eight losses have come by four runs or fewer, and seven have come by three runs or fewer.
• Ole Miss nearly threw two no-hitters last week. The Rebels successfully no-hit UAPB in a 25-0 win on Wednesday. On Saturday, Doug Nikhazy and Parker Caracci combined on a two-hit shutout of Mizzou.
• Ole Miss ranks seventh in the nation and second in the SEC with 204 runs scored on the season.
• The Rebels are No. 10 in the nation and second in the SEC with 30 home runs this year.
• Ole Miss is averaging 8.2 runs scored per game, good for 12th in the country and third in the SEC.
• The Rebels are fourth in the SEC and 28th nationally with 44 stolen bases on the year.
• Ole Miss has been hit by 38 pitches this season, the most in the SEC and 31st-most in the country.
• Tyler Keenan is No. 1 in the SEC and No. 3 in the country with 39 RBI on the season.
• Thomas Dillard is tied for the SEC lead and ranks ninth nationally with nine home runs in 2019.
• Ryan Olenek ranks second in the SEC in both hits and batting average at .423 on the year.
• The Rebels and Tigers will meet for the 149th time Tuesday. Ole Miss holds the all-time series lead at 95-53. Their 150th meeting will take place on April 16 in Oxford.
• Ole Miss won both contests against Memphis last season, an 8-6 win in Oxford and a 12-0 win at AutoZone Park.

REBS ASSAULT RECORD BOOK

Ole Miss enters the weekend coming off one of the most dominant performances in program history, overwhelming Arkansas-Pine Bluff 25-0 on Wednesday. The Rebels scored 25 runs, their most since April 22, 2003, a 25-5 win over Southern Miss—just three shy of the program record (28). Ole Miss racked up 21 hits along the way, the most since May 13, 2016 against Kentucky. All 25 runs were driven in, tying a program record for RBI in a game.

Ole Miss hit six home runs in the win, two shy of the program record (8), including four in one inning. The six home runs were a Bianco era record. The four-home-run inning came as a pair of back-to-back home runs. The Rebels have now hit back-to-back homers four times this season.

Meanwhile, four Rebel pitchers combined for the sixth no-hitter in program history and the first since Russ Johnson no-hit Mississippi State in 1966. It was the first combined no-hitter in school history.

CLOSE DEFEATS

All of the Rebels' eight losses have come by four runs or fewer, and seven have come by three runs or fewer.

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)

OLE MISS VS. MEMPHIS

Ole Miss and Memphis will meet for the 149th time Tuesday. The Rebels hold the all-time series lead at 95-53, dating back to 1916. Ole Miss won the first two meetings, 12-1 and 9-3. The Rebels won the first 17 games in the series until the Tigers broke through with a 14-11 win in 1961.

Ole Miss won both contests against Memphis last season, an 8-6 win in the first midweek game of the season in Oxford, and a 12-0 victory on April 4 at AutoZone Park. The script was flipped in 2017, when Memphis won both meetings, a 9-6 February win in Oxford and a 2-1 11-inning victory at AutoZone Park.

STARTING OFF

Ole Miss must replace its entire weekend starting rotation as Ryan Rolison (1st Round), Brady Feigl (5th Round) and James McArthur (12th Round) were all selected in the 2018 MLB Draft.

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 missed his second start of the season at Tulane with a blister, but aside from that hiccup, he has been every bit of the Friday night ace the Rebels hoped for. His 0.46 ERA would rank third in the SEC and ninth in the nation, but he is 2.1 innings shy of the NCAA ranking minimum of 1.0 IP/game.

Ethridge was phenomenal in his first SEC start of the season, going 6.0 scoreless, scattering three hits with nine strikeouts to earn the win in a 1-0 victory over Alabama.

NIKHAZY FLIRTS WITH NO-NO

Freshman lefty Doug Nikhazy has moved into the Saturday night role and didn't disappoint in his first weekend start and first SEC start. Nikhazy took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and exited after 7.2, having allowed no runs on two hits. Parker Caracci closed out the win, and the two combined a two-hit shutout.

Nikhazy became the first Rebel freshman to start a shutout in SEC play since Drew Pomeranz on April 5, 2008, against Vanderbilt.

Prior to his SEC starting debut, Nikhazy was called upon for two tough midweek starts against ranked opponents, No. 14 ECU and No. 7 Louisville. In those starts, Nikhazy allowed three runs in each game, yielding four hits against ECU and five against Louisville, going a total of 11 innings between the two starts, striking out 12. In six relief appearances, Nikhazy has allowed only two runs over 6.1 innings.

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.

Last Friday, Caracci threw the final 1.1 innings of a two-hit shutout, retiring four Missouri hitters in order with three strikeouts to earn his fourth save of the season.

REBELS NO-HIT GOLDEN LIONS

On Wednesday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Zack Phillips, Kaleb Hill, Pierce Smith and Taylor Broadway combined for the Rebels' first no-hitter since 1966 and the first combined no-no in program history.

The game was called after seven innings with the run rule in effect, but the foursome went a combined 7.0 IP with no runs allowed on no hits with three walks and 12 strikeouts.

SWAYZE SHOWER SEASON

With 30 home runs on the season, Ole Miss ranks 10th nationally and 2nd in the SEC. The Rebels are averaging 1.2 home runs per game, good for 12th in the nation and third in the conference.

REBS ARE RUNNIN'

Ole Miss is No. 7 in the nation and No. 2 in the SEC with 204 runs scored on the season. The Rebels are averaging 8.2 runs per game, good for 12th nationally and third in the conference.

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 RBI (Keenan) and home runs (Dillard). Ryan Olenek isn't far off, ranking second in the SEC in both hits and batting average.

CROOKED NUMBERS

Ole Miss has scored 3 or more runs in an inning 28 times this season. The Rebels have had 10 three-run innings, 6 four-run innings, 6 five-run innings, two six-run innings, two seven-run innings, one eight-run inning and one nine-run inning.

DOUBLE DIGITS

Ole Miss scored in double figures 10 times this season, including a season-high of 25 Wednesday against UAPB. The Rebels have reached double figures in hits 11 times, including a season high of 21 against UAPB.

DILLY DILLY!

Thomas Dillard's incredible start to the 2019 season has drawn some major national recognition. He ranks in the top 50 nationally in home runs (9th), walks (13th), home runs per game (22nd), walks per game (30th), total bases (39th), slugging percentage (42nd) and runs scored (48th).

Dillard's 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, is No. 2 in the SEC and seventh in the nation in hits. He's also second in the conference and 22nd in the nation in batting average. He's third in the league in hist per game and ranks as the fifth-toughest player to strike out in the conference. Olenek also ranks in the top 50 nationally with nine doubles. He has 49 doubles in his Rebel career is two away from tying David Dellucci and Burney Hutchinson for fifth in Rebel history.

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. 3 in the nation and No. 1 in the SEC in RBI with 39 on the year. His 1.56 RBI/game average is also first in the conference and is eighth nationally.

CATCHER U

Junior Cooper Johnson is off to an excellent start to 2019 and is poised to be the next in a line of prolific catchers to play for head coach Mike Bianco. Johnson has just one passed ball through 25 games and has erased eight would-be base stealers.

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Players Mentioned

Taylor Broadway

Parker Caracci

Chase Cockrell

Thomas Dillard

Will Ethridge

Brady Feigl

Jordan Fowler

Kaleb Hill

Gunnar Hoglund

Cooper Johnson

Tyler Keenan

James McArthur

Doug Nikhazy

Ryan Olenek

Zack Phillips

Ryan Rolison

Pierce Smith

Cole Zabowski

The University of Mississippi Athletics