Baseball Takes On No. 8 Arkansas in Second Straight SEC Road Series

			#21 OLE MISS (18-8, 3-3 SEC) at #8 ARKANSAS (21-4, 5-1 SEC) March 29-31 Fayetteville, Ark. Baum Stadium at George Cole Field (10,737)
Ole Miss Notes • SEC Notes

Friday, Mar. 29 8 p.m.	Saturday, Mar. 30 3 p.m.	Sunday, Mar. 31 1:30 p.m.
PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: RHP Will Ethridge 4-1, 0.71 ERA, 22 K, 10 BB Arkansas: RHP Isaiah Campbell 5-0, 1.93 ERA, 51 K, 5 BB	PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: LHP Doug Nikhazy 2-2, 2.88 ERA, 23 K, 9 BB Arkansas: RHP Connor Noland 0-1, 4.50 ERA, 17 K, 8 BB	PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: RHP Gunnar Hoglund 1-0, 4.09 ERA, 16 K, 5 BB Arkansas: RHP Cody Scroggins 2-0, 3.00 ERA, 36 K, 10 BB
Watch • Listen • Live Stats	Watch • Listen • Live Stats	Watch • Listen • Live Stats

LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss enters the week coming off a 9-6 midweek win over Memphis. The Rebels are looking to bounce back after their first series loss of the season last week at Missouri.
• The Rebels and Razorbacks have met 91 times in their history, with the Hogs holding a 47-44 series lead.
• Last season, Ole Miss took two of three from Arkansas in Oxford, with the Rebels taking the series in an 11-10 thriller on Sunday. After the win, Tyler Keenan and Parker Caracci both earned SEC weekly honors.
• In its last trip to Fayetteville, Ole Miss won two of three over No. 10 Arkansas.
• Ole Miss is No. 8 in the nation with 213 runs scored on the season, 29 more than at this point in 2018.
• Ole Miss has scored three or more runs in an inning 30 times this season.
• The Rebels rank 12th nationally and second in the SEC with 30 home runs on the year.
• All of the Rebels' eight losses have come by four runs or fewer. Seven have been by three or fewer.
• Tyler Keenan enters the weekend at No. 3 in the country at No. 1 in the nation with 40 RBI.
• Ryan Olenek has hits in 24 of 26 games this season and is 2nd in the SEC in both hits and batting average.
• Thomas Dillard enters the weekend with nine home runs, good for 1st in the SEC and 12th nationally.
• Ole Miss is No. 22 in the nation in on-base percentage. The Rebels rank 16th nationally in walks and lead the SEC in HBPs. Both Dillard and Anthony Servideo rank in the Top 25 nationally in walks drawn.
• Ole Miss has 13 more stolen bases than it did at this point last season. The Rebels have been caught stealing five fewer times in eight more attempts.

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. THE HOGS

Ole Miss and Arkansas have met 91 times coming into the weekend. The Razorbacks hold a 47-44 edge in the all-time series.

The Rebels and Hogs put on a show at Swayze Field with a terrific series last March. Arkansas won the first game, 6-4, as both Friday night aces, Blaine Knight and Ryan Rolison, were roughed up in the early going by two of the SEC's top offenses. Ole Miss swung back in Game 2, using outstanding pitching efforts from Brady Feigl and Parker Caracci for a 5-4 victory.

Sunday was a slugfest, but the Rebels held off a tremendous late charge by the Razorbacks. The game-deciding home run came off the bat of Tyler Keenan, a three-run blast that put Ole Miss ahead 11-6 at the time. As it turned out, the Rebels needed every run. The Hogs tacked on four runs in the eighth, but Caracci again shut it down, going the final 1.2 innings with just one baserunner allowed. For their efforts Caracci earned SEC Pitcher of the Week, and Keenan was named SEC Freshman of the Week.

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 0.71 ERA would rank fourth in the SEC and 10th 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.

PUTTING UP ZEROES

Ole Miss has three shutouts on the season, good for fifth in the SEC and 20th in the nation.

K COUNT

Ole Miss is No. 36 in the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 2.67. The Rebel pitching staff is 50th nationally, averaging 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings.

SWAYZE SHOWER SEASON

With 30 home runs on the season, Ole Miss ranks 12th nationally and 2nd in the SEC. The Rebels are averaging 1.15 home runs per game, good for 20th in the nation and second in the conference.

REBS ARE RUNNIN'

Ole Miss is No. 8 in the nation and No. 3 in the SEC with 213 runs scored on the season. The Rebels are averaging 8.2 runs per game, good for 10th 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 30 times this season. The Rebels have had 11 three-run innings, 7 four-run innings, 6 five-run innings, 2 six-run innings, 2 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 last Wednesday against UAPB. The Rebels have reached double figures in hits 12 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 (12th), walks (13th), home runs per game (25th), walks per game (26th), total bases (41st), slugging percentage (44th), RBI (44th) and runs scored (40th).

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. 6 in the nation and No. 2 in the SEC in hits. He's also second in the conference and No. 20 in the nation in batting average. He's third in the league in hits per game. Olenek also ranks just outside 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 40 on the year. His 1.54 RBI/game average is also first in the conference and is seventh 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 26 games and has erased eight would-be base stealers.

RebelsCalendar

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Parker Caracci

Chase Cockrell

Thomas Dillard

Will Ethridge

Brady Feigl

Gunnar Hoglund

Cooper Johnson

Tyler Keenan

James McArthur

Doug Nikhazy

Ryan Olenek

Ryan Rolison

Anthony Servideo

Cole Zabowski

The University of Mississippi Athletics