Rebels Host Little Rock and No. 14 ECU on Consecutive Days at Swayze

			#9 OLE MISS (8-2, 0-0 SEC) vs. LITTLE ROCK (2-9, 0-0 Sun Belt) March 5 Oxford, Miss. Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field (11,477)
Ole Miss Notes • SEC Notes

Tuesday, March 5
3 p.m.

PROJECTED STARTERS
Ole Miss: LHP Jordan Fowler
0-0, 8.31 ERA, 4 K, 5 BB
Little Rock: RHP Aaron Funk
0-0, 9.95 ERA, 2 K, 7 BB

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			#9 OLE MISS (8-2, 0-0 SEC) vs. #14 ECU (8-4, 0-0 AAC) March 6 Oxford, Miss. Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field (11,477)
Ole Miss Notes • ECU Notes • SEC Notes

Wednesday, March 6
3 p.m.

PROJECTED STARTERS
Ole Miss: LHP Doug Nikhazy
1-0, 1.80 ERA, 6 K, 2 BB
ECU: TBA

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LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss enters the midweek on a five-game win streak. The Rebels are halfway through a nine-game homestretch.
• Ryan Olenek made it back-to-back National Player of the Week honors from Collegiate Baseball for the Rebels. Thomas Dillard earned the honor last week.
• Olenek and Dillard have both opened the 2019 season on 10-game hitting streaks. Dillard's streak stands at 12, dating back to last season. Olenek has a hit and a run scored in all 10 games this season.
• The Rebels are sixth nationally with 16 home runs on the season.
• Ole Miss is currently 2nd in the nation in average attendance. The Rebels have held that spot for the past four seasons straight.
• Ole Miss will face Little Rock for the second time during this academic year. The Rebels edged the Trojans 6-5 over 12 innings of fall scrimmage action on 10/27.
• ECU head coach Cliff Godwin returns to Oxford, where he was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator from 2011-14. His tenure included the Rebels' College World Series run before he left for his current position.
• No. 14 ECU is Ole Miss' first ranked opponent of 2019, but it won't be its last. The Rebels will face a gauntlet in league play—the SEC placed a record 11 teams in this week's USA Today Baseball Coaches Poll. Including the Pirates, the Rebels have 25 of their remaining 47 games against ranked opponents.

GAME INFO
Location: Oxford, Mississippi
Venue: O-U Stadium/Swayze Field (11,447)
TV: SEC Network+
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
LiveStats: OleMissStats.com

VS. LITTLE ROCK
Tuesday, March 5 | 3 p.m.
History: Ole Miss: 18-4
Last: 3/7/18 in Oxford
Ole Miss won, 10-2

VS. ECU
Wednesday, March 6 | 3 p.m.
History: Ole Miss: 3-0
Last: 2/17-2/19/2017 in Oxford
Ole Miss swept 5-4, 3-2, 8-6

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
• OleMissGameday.com
• OleMissGameday.com/baseball/parking
• OleMissTix.com

GENERAL ADMISSION SEATING
General Admission seating is located in left field and overflow into right field. For left field and right field general admission, you are allowed to bring in your own folding chair to sit in. You are only able to enter the stadium with a folding chair through the left or right field gate entrances and are responsible for removing your chair after the game has ended. If all seats are filled in left field or right field, we offer standing room only around the stadium. Please be mindful when standing around the stadium as to not block another person's view.

PROMO SCHEDULE
TUESDAY
• Schedule Magnet/Team Poster
• Kids Night/$1 Hot Dogs

WEDNESDAY
• Rebel Kids Club Night
• Kids Night/$1 Hot Dogs

FRIDAY
• Schedule magnet giveaway

SATURDAY
• Baseball Movie Night
• Movie poster giveaway

SUNDAY
• Kids Run the Bases pres. by Belles and Beaus

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)

REMATCH WITH LITTLE ROCK

Ole Miss and Little Rock squared off in 2018, with the Rebels taking a 10-2 win in Oxford. The two squads also met in a fall scrimmage on Oct. 27. Over 12 innings, the Rebels edged the Trojans, 6-5, on a game-winning home run in the bottom of the 12th by Cole Zabowski.

ECU CONNECTIONS

ECU head coach Cliff Godwin was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Ole Miss from 2011-14. His tenure included NCAA Regional berths in 2012 and 2013, as well as the Rebels' College World Series run in 2014.

Ole Miss and ECU met for the first time on opening weekend in 2017. The Rebels swept the sixth-ranked Pirates in a competitive series, taking the three games 5-4, 3-2 and 8-6. The opening game drew 12,117, at the time the attendance record for Swayze Field. It was edged last year by the series finale vs. LSU (12,152). The series in total attracted 33,070, which still stands as the program's three-game series record.

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 last weekend 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 3. He went a career-high 5.0 innings, scattering four hits and two walks, giving up a pair of runs and striking out a career-best five.

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.

BULLPEN BRIGHT SPOTS

While the Rebels continue to work to replace their starting rotation, they've gotten some outstanding performances out of the bullpen. Of their 50 runs allowed, only 13 have come in the final four innings, including zero in the 7th through 10 games.

Ole Miss has five pitchers with ERAs under 2.00, and four of them—Connor Green, Ryan Olenek, Austin Miller and Doug Nikhazy—have worked exclusively out of the bullpen. That number will drop to three Wednesday when the freshman Nikhazy (1.80 ERA, 5.0 IP) makes his first career start.

SWAYZE SHOWER SEASON

With 16 home runs on the season, Ole Miss ranks sixth nationally and second in the SEC. The Rebels are averaging 1.6 home runs per game, also good for sixth in the nation and second in the SEC.

BASH BROTHERS

Ole Miss is one of two teams in the SEC (South Carolina) with two players ranked in the top 25 in the nation in home runs. Thomas Dillard is fifth in the country and first in the SEC with six, while Keenan is 23rd nationally and tied for third in the SEC with four. Ole Miss and South Carolina are also the only two teams in the conference with two players ranked in the top 25 in RBI. Keenan is tied for 24th with 16 and Dillard is T9th with 19.

DILLY DILLY!

Thomas Dillard's incredible start to the 2019 season has drawn some major national recognition. Dillard leads the SEC and ranks eighth or better nationally in home runs (5th), home runs per game (6th), slugging percentage (6th) and total bases (8th).

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

The junior out of Oxford is one of two players in the nation (along with New Mexico State's Nick Gonzales) to rank in the top 10 nationally in slugging percentage, total bases, home runs per game, home runs, RBI per game and RBI.

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. Last week, Oley went .529 at the plate with four doubles and five runs scored. He also pitched against UT Martin. In his second career appearance and first of the season, he tossed a flawless ninth inning, retiring the Skyhawks in order with two strikeouts to seal the 12-6 win.

The senior out of Winter Park, Florida, is hitting at a .475 clip through seven games with 15 runs scored. He has at least one hit and one run scored in every game this season, putting him on a 10-game hit streak to open the year. He ranks in the top 20 nationally in runs scored per game (19th) and hits per game (15th).

He also attracts baseballs at an alarming rate. He has been hit by five pitches this season, ranking 28th in the country and third in the SEC. He has been hit by 28 pitches over his career.

OLEY DILLY!

Ole Miss is one of two teams in the SEC (Alabama) with two players in the top 60 in the nation in batting average. Ryan Olenek is 21st in the nation and third in the SEC at .475 on the season, while Dillard is seventh in the conference and 56th nationally at .436.

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 Ranks 20th nationally in RBI per game (4th in SEC), 23rd in home runs (3rd in SEC). 24th in RBI (4th in SEC) and 32nd in home runs per game (3rd in SEC).

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 .318 along the way with eight runs scored and six RBI. He's also been electric on the basepaths, with a team-high five stolen bases at a perfect 5-for-5 rate. He has also drawn a team-best nine walks. Servideo ranks in the top 50 nationally in walks and stolen bases per game. His .531 on-base percentage is second on the team behind Ryan Olenek's .542.

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 .346 with three doubles, six runs scored, a home run and four RBI. He also has just one passed ball through 10 games and has erased two would-be base stealers.

RebelsCalendar

Players Mentioned

Parker Caracci

Chase Cockrell

Thomas Dillard

Will Ethridge

Brady Feigl

Jordan Fowler

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