The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Vanderbilt
Baseball Welcomes No. 2 Vanderbilt for Senior Weekend
5/13/2021 | Baseball
Rebels and Commodores Set for Two National TV Tilts at Swayze
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#14 OLE MISS (34-14, 14-10 SEC) vs. #2 VANDERBILT (35-10, 16-7 SEC) May 14-16 Oxford, Miss. Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field (11,477) |
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| Ole Miss Notes • SEC Notes • Vanderbilt Notes | ||||||||
| Friday, May 14 6 p.m. CT  |
Saturday, May 15 4 p.m. CT  |
Sunday, May 16 2 p.m. CT |
| PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: LHP Doug Nikhazy 6-2, 2.47 ERA, 84 K, 22 BB Vanderbilt: RHP Kumar Rocker 11-1, 2.31 ERA, 110 K, 24 BB |
PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: RHP Derek Diamond 3-3, 4.91 ERA, 57 K, 18 BB Vanderbilt: RHP Jack Leiter 7-2, 2.10 ERA, 106 K, 29 BB |
PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: RHP Drew McDaniel 4-0, 4.50 ERA, 50 K, 15 BB Vanderbilt: RHP Patrick Reilly 4-1, 3.86 ERA, 40 K, 15 BB |
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LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss enters the weekend at 34-14 after striking out 19 and racking up 14 hits in Tuesday's 9-4 win over Little Rock. The Rebels are coming off a series defeat at Texas A&M after dropping Game 1 and 3, each by one run.
• Ole Miss holds a high ranking of No. 14 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and Collegiate Baseball rankings.
• Ole Miss is second nationally and leads the SEC with 504 hits on the season.
• Ole Miss is fourth in the nation and leads the SEC with 373 runs scored this season.
• The Rebel offense is 15th in the nation and leads the SEC in batting average at .304, including a league-best .305 in conference play. Eight Rebels are hitting over .300 on the season.
• The Ole Miss offense leads the SEC in hits, runs scored, on-base percentage and batting average. The Rebels are also top-five in the league in slugging percentage, doubles, walks, hit by pitch, sacrifice flies and runs per game.
• The Rebel pitching staff is second nationally and second in the SEC in strikeouts per nine innings at 11.8. Ole Miss is second in the league and seventh in the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 3.79.
• Ole Miss leads the nation in attendance at 226,421 (7,076 per game) and holds 12 out of college baseball's top 18 most-attended on-campus games this season, including six games with 10,000-plus fans. Each of the 13 largest crowds in college baseball this season have watched the Rebels play.
• The Rebels will be without one of college baseball's best pitchers for the remainder of the season. Gunnar Hoglund, who ranks in the top 10 nationally in strikeouts, will undergo UCL surgery on May 18.
• Ole Miss is 12-6 on the season against ranked teams, including 8-4 against teams in the top 10.
MR. 900
Mike Bianco reached 900 career wins and 800 at Ole Miss with a Saturday win at Texas A&M. The longtime Rebel head coach won exactly 100 games in three seasons at McNeese State before taking the reins in Oxford. He is one of 16 active head coaches with 900 career victories and one of just two in the SEC alongside LSU's Paul Mainieri and Arkansas' Dave Van Horn. The SEC's winningest active coach joined Ron Polk and Skip Bertman as the only coaches in conference history with 800 wins.
REBS VS. COMMODORES
Ole Miss and Vanderbilt have met 128 times with the Rebels holding a 66-60-2 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams first met in 1900, a 6-5 Vanderbilt victory. The Rebels and Commodores last met May 26, 2019 in Hoover for the SEC Tournament Championship. Playing their sixth game in six days, the underdog Rebels raced out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning and led 9-1 before Vanderbilt battled back. The eventual National Champion Commodores ultimately battled back to an 11-10 win. Vandy was last in Oxford in 2017, where Ole Miss won the first and third games to take the series. The last sweep in the series came in 2013, three wins for Vanderbilt in Oxford. Ole Miss last swept Vandy in Oxford in 2008.
INJURY BUG BITES
The injury bug has bit Ole Miss hard in 2021, most recently with the loss of ace right-hander Gunnar Hoglund, who is out for the season with a torn UCL. He will have surgery on Tuesday, May 18. The Rebels have also been without one of their top relief arms, Max Cioffi, who also underwent UCL surgery after making just two appearances this season. Ole Miss' team captain and top hitter Tim Elko missed 33 days with a torn ACL but has since returned in a pinch-hitting capacity. Outfielder and two-sport star Jerrion Ealy is out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery before the start of the 2021 campaign. Other notable injuries include co-ace Doug Nikhazy, starting second baseman Peyton Chatagnier and starting first baseman Cael Baker, who have all since returned to the lineup.
CLOSE CONTESTS
Ten of the Rebels' 14 losses have come by four runs or fewer, including five one-run losses.
KEEP IT CLEAN
Ole Miss is 27-8 this season when making one error or fewer.
EARLY TO SHINE
Ole Miss is 20-5 when it scores first this season. The Rebels are 16-5 when they score in the first inning.
FREAKY FRIDAY
Every time Ole Miss has won Game 1 of a series in SEC play, it has gone on to sweep the series. Every time the Rebels have lost the series-opener, they have gone on to lose the series, 1-2.
SENIOR WINNERS
This weekend, Ole Miss will honor its senior class and recognize the four seniors on roster who have exhausted their eligibility: Taylor Broadway, Greer Holston, Austin Miller and Tyler Myers. Through its entire time on campus, this senior class has racked up 171 wins, including 16 during the shortened 2020 campaign. With its next win this class will become the winningest in program history, surpassing the classes of 2007 and 2008, which each won 171. Holston is the lone senior roster who has been along for the entire ride from 2017-2021.
RESUME VS. RANKED FOES
Ole Miss is 12-6 on the season against ranked opponents, including 8-4 against teams then-ranked in the top 10. The Rebels are are 3-4 against teams ranked in the top three. Ole Miss is No. 11 in the RPI and has played the nation's 17th-toughest schedule. The Rebels are 13-9 against quadrant one opponents, tied for the 7th-most Q1 wins in the country.
MAIN ATTRACTION
Ole Miss leads the nation in attendance at 226,421 (7,076 per game) and holds 12 out of college baseball's top 18 most-attended on-campus games this season, including six games with 10,000-plus fans. Each of the 13 largest crowds in college baseball this season have watched the Rebels play.
DOUG DAY
On Saturday in front of 13,338 at Dudy Noble Field on Super Bulldog Weekend, Doug Nikhazy stole the show. The left-hander out of Windermere Florida, threw a one-hit, complete-game shutout, striking out 12 and walking two, allowing just three total baserunners—none of which advanced past first base. Nikhazy is the first Rebel to throw a one-hitter since Adam Yates one-hit Southeastern Louisiana in a seven-inning game on Feb. 14, 2001. It was the first complete game of Nikhazy's career, and he became the first Rebel to throw a nine-inning complete game since Christian Trent against Auburn on April 5, 2014. Trent also threw an eight-inning complete game in a loss at Missouri on May 1, 2015. Nikhazy tied a career-high with 12 strikeouts and set a new personal best in SEC play. Nikhazy turned around and struck out 11 last week against LSU.
Ole Miss is 6-1 when Doug Nikhazy starts since the junior left-hander returned after missing two weeks with a strained pectoral muscle. In his seven starts back on the hill, Nikhazy has allowed 10 earned runs (1.99 ERA) on 29 hits and 15 walks (0.97 WHIP) with 62 strikeouts (4.13 K/BB Ratio) in 45.1 innings. The junior left-hander has walked three or fewer batters and struck out five or more batters in all seven games since his return, including four starts with nine or more strikeouts.
HOGLUND OUT
One week after being named SEC Pitcher of the Week, Gunnar Hoglund's season came to an abrupt end as an MRI revealed a torn UCL, which will require surgery. Dr. James Andrews will perform the procedure on Tuesday, May 18. The junior out of Hudson, Florida, missed the first start of his Rebel career on April 23 due to arm stiffness but returned to throw a near-flawless six innings against South Carolina. Hoglund needed just 73 pitches to go 6.0 scorless with just one hit allowed. He walked none and struck out nine along the way. Hoglund was third in the SEC and fifth nationally with 96 strikeouts when his season came to a close. 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. Hoglund has struck out seven or more in eight of his nine starts this season.
STRIKES AT SWAYZE
Ole Miss is second in the nation and second in the SEC in strikeouts per nine innings, averaging 11.8 Ks per game. The Rebels have struck out at least 10 batters in 32 of 48 games this season, including 13 in SEC play. Ole Miss also ranks No. 7 nationally and second in the conference in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 3.49.
19K MAGIC
Ole Miss' 19 strikeouts against Little Rock (5/12/21) were two shy the program record of 21 and the most since the Rebels fanned 19 on Feb. 21, 2017 against Arkansas State. The Rebels' SEC-play season-high of 18 came in an April 3 win at then-No. 15 Florida.
LEADERS OF THE PACK
Ole Miss is 24-4 this season when the Rebel pitching staff holds the opponent to five runs or fewer.
REBS ARE RUNNIN'
Ole Miss ranks fourth nationally and leads the SEC in runs scored with 373. The Rebels also rank in the top five in the SEC in hits, batting average, walks, hit by pitch, runs per game, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, sacrifice flies and doubles. Ole Miss has scored eight runs or more 24 times this season, including 15 games in double figures.
GREATEST HITS
Ole Miss leads the SEC and ranks second nationally in hits wiith 504. Ole Miss also leads the SEC and ranks 15th nationally in team batting average at .306 on the year, including a league-best .305 mark in SEC play. Eight different Rebels have a batting average of .300 or higher. As a team, Ole Miss has 28 multi-hit games this season.
ELKO'S TRIUMPHANT RETURN
Just 33 days after he tore his ACL, Tim Elko hit a three-run home run at Texas A&M. The senior out of Lutz, Florida, sustained the injury on Apr. 5 while avoiding a diving North Alabama first baseman. The NCBWA Hitter of the Month for March made his return to action on May 1 against South Carolina, popping up to a standing ovation at Swayze Field. Four days later, Elko crushed a three-run opposite-field home run at Texas A&M. While Elko was sidelined, and while he remains limited to a pinch-hitting role, the Rebel offense has stepped up collectively. In 20 games since his injury, the Rebels have hit .333 as a team, averaging eight runs scored on 12 hits per game. All nine Rebel starters have hit .285 or better.
CONSISTENT KG
Kevin Graham has reached base safely in 41 consecutive games and in 46 of 48 games this season. His is the sixth-longest streak in college baseball this season and the second-longest in the SEC. It is the third-longest active streak in the country. Graham is No. 2 in the SEC and 13th nationally with 66 hits.
CATCHER U
After a sensational freshman season, catcher Hayden Dunhurst has cemented himself as the next in a long line of phenomenal catchers in Oxford. Dunhurst leads the SEC with a combined 15 runners caught stealing or picked off.
TJ McCANS
TJ McCants has continued to show he's one of the top freshmen in the nation. He is third among SEC freshmen with a .360 batting average in conference play. The freshman out of Cantonment, Florida, was on a streak of 26 consecutive games reaching base and 11 straight games with a hit before going 0-for-4 with a sacrifice fly on Tuesday against Little Rock. McCants has hits in 23 of the last 27 games, including 11 multi-hit performances. The Rebel center fielder is also seventh in the conference with a .436 on-base percentage in league play.
CALIFORNIA LOVE
Jacob Gonzalez has been one of Ole Miss' most consistent performers all season and ranks second in the SEC (13th nationally) in hits with 66 and third in the conference (13th nationally) in runs scored with 51.The freshman out of Glendora, California, earned some love from the league office last Monday, earning his first SEC Freshman of the Week honor. Gonzalez hit .600 (6-for-10) in three games against South Carolina. He scored five runs and drove in five, notching a double and a home run.
LEATHERWOOD MEANS MORE
After a slow start to the season, Hayden Leatherwood has been one of the best hitters in SEC play. The senior out of Collierville, Tennessee, is fourth in the conference and leads Ole Miss with a .386 bating average in league play. He's also fifth in the SEC with a .700 slugging pct. and 14th with a .421 on-base pct. in conference games.
MORE HITS, MORE WINS
Ole Miss has out-hit its opponent in 34 of 48 games this season. The Rebels are 28-6 in those games.
