The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Central Arkansas
Baseball Hosts Central Arkansas in Midweek
3/23/2021 | Baseball
Rebels Look to Stay Hot After SEC Sweep of Auburn
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#3 OLE MISS (16-4, 3-0 SEC) vs. CENTRAL ARKANSAS (7-8, 4-4 SOUTHLAND) Tuesday, Mar. 23 Oxford, Miss. Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field (11,477) |
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| Ole Miss Notes • SEC Notes • Central Arkansas Notes | ||||||||
| Tuesday, March 23 6:30 p.m. CT  |
| PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: RHP Josh Mallitz 1-1, 4.50 ERA, 15 K, 4 BB Central Arkansas: RHP Ryan Johnston 1-2, 7.36 ERA, 7 K, 3 BB |
| Watch • Listen • Live Stats |
LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss enters the midweek at 16-4 after sweeping Auburn at Swayze Field on SEC Opening Weekend. The Rebels won their fifth straight SEC opening series and claimed the top spot in the SEC West.
• The Rebels improved to a high ranking of No. 3 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and the Collegiate Baseball rankings. Ole Miss has earned a top-five ranking every week this season.
• Ole Miss won its 12th straight game at home against Auburn, having swept the last three series with the Tigers at Swayze Field. The Rebels notched their first sweep to start SEC play since 2014 (vs. Vandy).
• Ole Miss is No. 12 in the nation in runs scored with 151 on the season.
• Gunnar Hoglund leads the nation in strikeouts with 55. Over the last two weeks, Hoglund has gone 14.0 innings with no runs allowed on seven hits and two walks with 27 strikeouts.
• Over his last seven games, Kevin Graham is 16-for-26 with eight runs scored, three doubles, two home runs and five RBI.
• Tim Elko is fourth nationally and second in the SEC in RBI with 27. He is 18th nationally and fifth in the conference in home runs with seven.
• Ole Miss and UCA have met six times with the Rebels holding a 5-1 lead all-time with all meetings taking place in Oxford. The two teams last squared off in 2015, when the Rebels rolled to an 18-4 victory.
REBS VS. BEARS
Ole Miss and Central Arkansas have met six times with the Rebels holding a 5-1 all-time advantage with all meetings taking place in Oxford. The Bears won the first meeting, a 4-3 final in 10 innings on March 18, 2008. Since then, Ole Miss has outscored UCA 45-10. The most recent contest came on April 21, 2015, an 18-4 win for the Rebels.
SWEEP TO START
Ole Miss opened SEC play with a sweep of Auburn at Swayze Field. The Rebels won their fifth consecutive SEC Opening Weekend series and notched their first sweep to start SEC play since taking three from Vanderbilt in 2004. Ole Miss has now won 12 straight games at home over Auburn, sweeping the last four series with the Tigers at Swayze.
ONE-RUN MAGIC
After Friday night's 1-0 win and Saturday's 6-5 victory over Auburn, Ole Miss improved to 6-1 on the season in one-run games. Friday night's result was the Rebels' ninth straight victory in 1-0 games. The last time Mike Bianco's squad lost a 1-0 contest was Feb. 24, 2007, against Wright State, a game that was shortened to five innings due to weather.
WEST AND HIGHLY FAVORED
Ole Miss was picked to win the SEC Western Division by the conference coaches, garnering seven of the division's 14 first-place votes. This marked the first time since 2008 that the Rebels were picked to win the SEC West. Ole Miss was projected to finish sixth in the division last season. After one week of SEC play, Ole Miss claimed that top spot. The Rebels were the only team in the division to earn an opening-weekend sweep. Florida is the only other team in the conference at 3-0 through the first week.
FIRST NO. 1 RANKING
Baseball America, D1Baseball, Perfect Game and NCBWA made Ole Miss the consensus No. 1 team in the nation after Week 1, the first No. 1 ranking in program history. Four weeks into the season, Ole Miss owns a high ranking of No. 3 in the USA Today Coaches and Collegiate Baseball Polls.
RECORD-SETTING STREAK
Ole Miss opened the 2020 season with a defeat at home to No. 1 Louisville, led by eventual first round MLB Draft pick Reid Detmers. Starting the next day, Ole Miss went on the greatest tear in program history, reeling off 20 straight victories before finally snapping the spell on Feb. 26, 2021, with a 3-2 loss to UCF. The streak spanned 378 days. The Rebels finished tied for the fifth-most consecutive wins in SEC history (Record: 24 - Texas A&M, 2015) and the longest win streak in the conference since Mizzou won 20 straight in 2017.
LONE STAR SWEEP
Ole Miss went a perfect 3-0 on opening weekend, securing three top-10 wins along the way in the State Farm College Baseball Showdown. The Rebels opened their season with a 7-3 victory over No. 10 TCU. The Rebels plated four runs in the second inning and never looked back to start the year at 1-0. The following day, Mike Bianco's squad found itself in a dogfight with No. 3 Texas Tech. The Red Raiders took an early 2-0 lead, but the Rebels answered back with five runs in the third, which was just enough in a 5-4 victory. Ole Miss completed the sweep with an emphatic 8-1 win over Texas on Monday. The Rebels' final game in Arlington was tight in the early going, but they poured on four runs in the sixth inning and punctuated the weekend with three runs in the ninth.
WELCOME TO THE GUN SHOW
Gunnar Hoglund has made consecutive starts on Friday night, his first in the lead role of the Rebel rotation. Over his last two starts against ULM and Auburn, the junior out of Hudson, Florida, has gone 14.0 innings with no runs allowed on seven hits and two walks with 27 strikeouts. Hoglund is No. 1 in the nation with 55 strikeouts on the season. His 14 strikeouts against ULM were two shy of the program record and the most by a Rebel since Drew Pomeranz struck out 15 in 2010. Ole Miss is 21-5 in games where Hoglund pitches, including wins in each of his last nine starts. Hoglund has struck out 10 or more in four of his five starts this season.
DOUG DAY RETURNS
Doug Nikhazy will return to the Ole Miss starting rotation on Friday for Game 2 at Alabama, head coach Mike Bianco announced Monday. Nikhazy missed his last two starts with a strained pectoral muscle. In two previous starts, Nikhazy notched a 2.39 ERA over 11.1 innings with three runs allowed on five hits with 19 strikeouts and three walks.
THE DOC IS IN
Sunday starter Derek Diamond went at least 5.0 innings in his first six starts to begin his Rebel career. After falling short of that mark the last two weeks, Doc got back on track with a scoreless six-inning gem in his first career SEC start against Auburn. Diamond allowed only four hits and walked just one, striking out six along the way.
BROADWAY IS CLOSED
Taylor Broadway has been a dominant force at the back end of the Rebel bullpen in 2021. Broadway is second in the SEC and 28th nationally with three saves, two of which he picked up in Ole Miss' SEC opener against Auburn. He's also 30th in the nation and eighth in the conference in wins with a 3-0 record. He has earned the win or save in five one-run games this season.
GOLDEN ARMS
Doug Nikhazy and Gunnar Hoglund are expected to form one of college baseball's best one-two punches at the top of the rotation. Both are Preseason All-Americans and both were named to the Golden Spikes Award Watch List. They are also one of just three duos in the nation to represent the same team in the top 25 of the D1Baseball starting pitcher power rankings.
STRIKES AT SWAYZE
Ole Miss is fourth in the SEC and No. 4 in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings, averaging 12.5 Ks per game. The Rebels have struck out at least 10 batters in 16 of 20 games this season. Ole Miss also ranks in the top 50 nationally in WHIP, ERA and strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Rebels struck out 16 Texas Tech batters on Feb. 21, their most against a ranked team since fanning 16 against No. 23 UNCW in 2017. The Rebels struck out 42 batters over opening weekend in Texas. Ole Miss' 18 strikeouts against Arkansas State were its most since Game 2 against Xavier last season.
HEAT SHEET
Derek Diamond and Gunnar Hoglund both made D1Baseball's Heat Sheet after hitting 97 and 96 MPH on the radar gun, respectively. Both Rebel starters saw significant upticks in velocity from 2020 to 2021.
NEW LINEUP
Cael Baker and Trey LaFleur combined to start the first 17 games of the season at first base for Ole Miss, but the Rebels lost both before the SEC opener against Auburn. Baker fractured his hamate bone against Louisiana Tech and is expected to be out four to six weeks, while LaFleur will be out three weeks with mono. Head coach Mike Bianco moved third baseman Tim Elko across the diamond to first and brought Justin Bench in from center field to play third. With Bench on the dirt, sophomore John Rhys Plumlee started Friday in center and hit .333 over the weekend with two runs scored and one RBI. Freshman TJ McCants impressed in his starts in center on Saturday and Sunday. In addition to outstanding defensive play, the freshman out of Cantonment, Florida, slashed .500/.667/1.167 with two runs scored, a double, his first career home run and three RBI.
TOOL TIME TIM
Through 20 games, Tim Elko is fourth nationally and second in the SEC in RBI. He's 18th in the country and fifth in the conference in home runs. Elko was voted captain by his teammates for the second straight season. The Preseason All-American and All-SEC third baseman hit .354 with four doubles and three home runs in 2020. The senior out of Lutz, Florida, shined over the summer in the Northwoods League, earning Rawlings Big Stick Award honors as the best hitting first baseman in the league, in addition to an All-Star nod. After a slow start, the Rebel captain exploded for five home runs as part of a 10-for-17 week three, earning SEC and National Player of the Week.
GRAHAM SLAMS
Through 20 games, Kevin Graham leads Ole Miss with a .384 batting average. He is 28th nationally and sixth in the SEC with 28 hits. Graham is second on the team with a .603 slugging percentage thanks to four doubles and four home runs.
CHAT IS BACK
Peyton Chatagnier returns in 2021 as the Rebels' starting second baseman after hitting .311 with four doubles and four home runs last year. He also scored the ninth-most runs in the nation as a freshman and entered the season as the No. 5 second baseman in the D1Baseball positional power rankings. The sophomore out of Cypress, Texas, hit .455 with a nation-leading four doubles on opening weekend to earn SEC Co-Player of the Week honors. Chatagnier suffered a pulled hamstring after hitting his third double of the day against Texas and missed 10 games. In his two weeks back in the lineup, Chatagnier has hit .348 with two doubles, two RBI and five runs scored.
CATCHER U
After a sensational freshman season, catcher Hayden Dunhurst has shown early in 2021 that he's ready to further etch his name among the long line of phenomenal catchers in Oxford. The Preseason All-SEC is fourth on the team with a .321 batting average through 20 games. Dunhurst has shown improvement in his plate discipline this season, ranking third in the SEC and 11th nationally with 18 walks drawn through 20 games.
