The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Florida
No. 2 Baseball Rides Hot Streak Into Gainesville
3/31/2021 | Baseball
Rebels Travel to Take on No. 15 Florida for Thursday-Saturday Series
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#2 OLE MISS (20-4, 6-0 SEC) at #15 FLORIDA (16-8, 3-3 SEC) Apr. 1-3 Gainesville, Fla. Florida Ballpark at Alfred A. McKethan Field (7,000) |
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| Ole Miss Notes • SEC Notes | ||||||||
| Thursday, Apr. 1 7 p.m. CT  |
Friday, Mar. 26 5:30 p.m. CT  |
Saturday, Mar. 27 Noon CT |
| PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: RHP Gunnar Hoglund 3-0, 2.27 ERA, 55 K, 7 BB Florida: RHP Franco Aleman 0-1, 4.58 ERA, 22 K, 8 BB |
PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: LHP Doug Nikhazy 1-1, 4.15 ERA, 22 K, 7 BB Florida: RHP Christian Scott 0-1, 1.35 ERA, 18 K, 3 BB |
PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: RHP Derek Diamond 2-2, 3.96 ERA, 29 K, 6 BB Florida: LHP Hunter Barco 3-2, 5.58 ERA, 43 K, 6 BB |
| Watch • Listen • Live Stats | Watch • Listen • Live Stats | Watch • Listen • Live Stats |
SERIES INFO
Dates: Apr. 1-3
First Pitch: 7 p.m. CT | 5:30 p.m. CT | Noon CT
Location: Gainesville, Fla.
Venue: Florida Ballpark at Alfred A. McKethan Field
Dimensions: LF-330, CF-400, RF-330 (7,000)
TV/Live Stream: SEC Network (Thu.) | SEC Network+ (Fri./Sat.)
Play by Play: Clay Matvick (Thu.)
Analyst: Ben McDonald (Thu.)
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network/TuneIn App
Play by Play: David Kellum
Analyst: Brad Henderson
Series History: Tied 51-51
Last Meeting: Apr. 5-6, 2019 (in Oxford)
Results: W, 12-4 | W, 16-4 | W, 12-10
Last in Gainesville: May 5-7, 2017
Results: L, 2-11 | L, 4-7 | L, 4-6
• Ole Miss enters the weekend at 20-4 after sweeping its second straight SEC series at Alabama, Winners of seven straight, the Rebels are 6-0 in SEC play, the program's best conference start since 1964.
• Mike Bianco's squad improved to a high ranking of No. 2 in the Collegiate Baseball poll. The Rebels are No. 3 in every other major national poll. Ole Miss has earned a top-five ranking every week this season.
• Ole Miss swept both Alabama and Auburn for the first time since 2001. The Rebels swept consecutive SEC series for the first time since 2013 and secured their first road SEC sweep since 2014.
• The projected SEC West champion, Ole Miss has staked an early claim to the top spot. The Rebels are the only team in the conference still undefeated in league play.
• TJ McCants was named SEC Freshman of the Week after his clutch performances in Tuscaloosa.
• Gunnar Hoglund leads the nation in strikeouts with 65 and leads the SEC (11th nationally) in strikeouts per 9 IP, averaging 15.53 Ks per contest. He's also third in the SEC in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 8.12.
• Tim Elko leads the SEC and is third nationally in RBI with 34. He is No. 7 nationally and No. 2 in the conference in home runs with nine. He also leads the SEC in total bases and is No. 3 in slugging.
• Ole Miss and Florida are tied 51-51 in the all-time series. Ole Miss swept the last meeting in Oxford by a combined score of 40-18. Florida swept the last series in Gainesville in 2017.
HISTORIC SEC START
Ole Miss has started SEC play at 6-0 for the first time in...a long time. We originally tweeted and published that this 6-0 start is the best since the famed 1969 team started 6-0 against SEC teams en route to the College World Series. However, one of those wins—the Mar. 26 victory over Tennessee—did not count toward conference standings. At the time, only Western Division games counted toward the Rebels' conference record. The 6-0 start actually dates back to 1964, another College World Series team, which won its first 11 SEC games. A special thanks to Jeff Muir and Tim Climer for pointing out this error.
SPRING CLEANING
Ole Miss swept both Alabama and Auburn to start SEC play, the first time since 2001 that the Rebels swept both Alabama schools in the same season. It's also the first time Ole Miss swept consecutive SEC series since going 6-0 against Alabama and Tennessee in 2013. This was Ole Miss' first SEC road sweep since taking three from No. 17 Kentucky in 2014. Mike Bianco's Rebels are the first team to start SEC play at 6-0 since South Carolina in 2016 and the only SEC West team to start 6-0 since he came to Oxford in 2001
REBS vs. GATORS
Ole Miss and Florida have met 102 times and are tied 51-51 in the all-time series. The Rebels swept the last meeting, in 2019 in Oxford, by a combined score of 40-18. The last time the two teams met in Gainesville in 2017, Florida swept the series. Eight Rebels are from the state of Florida: Justin Bench (Redington Beach), Trey LaFleur (Pesacola), TJ McCants (Cantonment), Gunnar Hoglund (Hudson), Josh Mallitz (Tampa), Tim Elko (Lutz), Doug Nikhazy (Windermere), Luke Baker (Gainesville).
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 are the only team in the SEC at 6-0 through two weeks of league play.
ONE-RUN MAGIC
After Friday night's 1-0 win and Saturday's 6-5 victory over Auburn, Ole Miss improved to 7-1 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. Ole Miss also has 10 come-from-behind wins.
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. Six weeks into the season, Ole Miss holds a high ranking of No. 2 from Collegiate Baseball. The Rebels are No. 3 in all other 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 three consecutive starts on Friday night, his first in the lead role of the Rebel rotation. Over his three Friday night starts, the junior out of Hudson, Florida, has gone 20.0 innings with three runs allowed on 11 hits and three walks with 37 strikeouts. Hoglund is No. 1 in the nation with 65 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 22-5 in games where Hoglund pitches, including wins in each of his last 10 starts. Hoglund has struck out 10 or more in five of his six starts this season.
STRIKES AT SWAYZE
Ole Miss is third in the SEC and No. 4 in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings, averaging 12.3 Ks per game. The Rebels have struck out at least 10 batters in 19 of 24 games this season. Ole Miss also ranks in the top 50 nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio, WHIP, walks per nine innings, ERA, shutouts and hits per nine innings. 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.
DOUG DAY RETURNS
Doug Nikhazy made an impressive return to the rotation at Alabama. After missing his last two starts with a strained pectoral muscle, Nikhazy went five innings (78 pitches) with no runs allowed on just one hit and two walks with seven strikeouts. In two previous starts before injury, 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 in consecutive two weeks, Doc got back on track with a scoreless six-inning gem in his first career SEC start against Auburn. The sophomore out of Ramona, California, allowed only four hits and walked just one, striking out six along the way. In Game 3 at Alabama, he went 6.0 once again, allowing three runs on six hits and three walks, again fanning six to set the stage for a Rebel sweep.
BROADWAY IS CLOSED
Taylor Broadway has been a dominant force at the back end of the Rebel bullpen in 2021. Broadway leads the SEC and is fourth nationally with six saves, including three last week. Broadway saved both games of a doubleheader to clinch a series win at Alabama over the weekend. On the week, Broadway struck out seven over 2.2 innings, allowing just one hit and no runs.
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.
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, freshman TJ McCants has taken over the starting position in center.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
TJ McCants started all three games of the Alabama series in center field and made the most of them, earning SEC Freshman of the Week honors. McCants was outstanding defensively, and offensively, he hit .364 against the Crimson Tide with five runs scored, a double, a home run and three RBI. McCants accounted for both runs of the Rebels' 2-0 shutout win in Game 2, including a solo home run.
TOOL TIME TIM
Through 24 games, Tim Elko leads the SEC and is third nationally in RBI. He's seventh in the country and second 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 ian 2020. After a slow start, the Rebel captain exploded in Week 3 for five home runs as part of a 10-for-17 week three, earning SEC and National Player of the Week. Elko began the season at third base but moved to first base due to injuries at the position for the Rebels.
CHAT IS BACK
Peyton Chatagnier hit .455 with a nation-leading four doubles on opening weekend to earn SEC Co-Player of the Week honors. The sophomore out of Cypress, Texas, suffered a pulled hamstring after hitting his third double of the day against Texas and missed 10 games. Despite playing through residual effects of the injury, Chatagnier has continued to excel at the plate. He hit .455 against Alabama, including the game-tying home run to spark a ninth inning rally in Game 1's victory.
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 catcher is fourth on the team with a .329 batting average through 24 games. Dunhurst has shown improvement in his plate discipline this season, ranking fourth in the SEC and ninth nationally with 21 walks drawn. Defensively, Dunhurst has thrown out six baserunners this season.
WATCHFUL EYE
Ole Miss has shown some of college baseball's best plate discipline this season, ranking 11th in the country and fourth in the SEC with 125 walks drawn. The Rebels are third in the conference and 29th nationally with a .397 team on-base percentage.
