The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Auburn
Baseball Opens SEC Tournament Play vs. Auburn
5/25/2021 | Baseball
Rebels Eye Third Straight Trip to SEC Tournament Title Game
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#10 OLE MISS (38-17, 18-12 SEC) vs. AUBURN (25-26, 10-20 SEC) May 25, 2021 Hoover, Ala. Hoover Metropolitan Stadium (10,800) |
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| Ole Miss Notes • SEC Notes • Auburn Notes | ||||||||
| Tuesday, May 24 TBA (Game 4)  |
| PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: LHP Doug Nikhazy 8-2, 2.12 ERA, 107 K, 26 BB Auburn: LHP Jack Owen 2-4, 4.84 ERA, 42 K, 10 BB |
| Watch • Listen • Live Stats |
LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss enters the SEC Tournament at 38-17 overall with an 18-12 mark in SEC play. The Rebels captured a road series win at Georgia last weekend to seal the program's sixth winning record in league play in the last seven seasons.
• Ole Miss holds a high ranking of No. 10 (NCBWA) in this week's national rankings.
• The Rebels finished the regular season at 14-7 against ranked teams, including 10-5 against teams in the top 10. Ole Miss is No. 15 in the RPI, 11th in strength of schedule and holds the third-most Q1 wins in the country at 17-11.
• Six Rebels earned SEC year-end honors, highlighted by Tim Elko's selection as the conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the first such honor in program history. Doug Nikhazy (First Team), Hayden Dunhurst (Second Team, All-Defense, All-Newcomer), Justin Bench (Second Team), Jacob Gonzalez (All-Freshman) and TJ McCants (All-Freshman) rounded out the list of SEC awards.
• Ole Miss is second nationally and leads the SEC with 560 hits on the season.
• Ole Miss is sixth in the nation and leads the SEC with 410 runs scored this season.
• The Rebel offense leads the SEC in on-base percentage at .394. Seven Rebels have an on-base percentage of .400 or higher.
• The Ole Miss offense leads the SEC in hits, runs scored, on-base percentage and hit by pitch. The Rebels are also top-five in the league in slugging percentage, batting average, doubles, walks, sacrifice flies and runs per game.
• Ole Miss has reached double-figure hits 31 times in 55 games. The Rebels have scored in double figures 16 times.
• 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 3.35.
• Ole Miss led the nation in attendance at 261,372 (7,260 per game) and holds 10 out of college baseball's top 17 most-attended on-campus games this season, including seven games with 10,000-plus fans. Eleven of the 14 largest crowds in college baseball this season have watched the Rebels play.
REBS IN HOOVER
Ole Miss has qualified for the SEC Tournament for the 25th time in program history, including each of the last nine tournaments and all but two seasons (2002 and 2011) during the Mike Bianco era.
The Rebels have reached the SEC Tournament finals six times, including each of the last two seasons. Ole Miss has won the SEC Tournament title three times, most recently in 2018. The Rebels won the inaugural tournament in 1977—hosted in Oxford—as well as the 2006 title in Hoover.
Ole Miss is has played in the seventh-most SEC Tournament games at 82 and has recorded the sixth-most wins with an even 41-41 all-time record—totals excluding pre-SEC Tournament era championship series.
In their most recent trip to Hoover in 2019, the Rebels took the long road to the title game, playing on the first single-elimination day. Ole Miss rattled off four wins in five days, including three over teams ranked in the top 15—No. 15 Texas A&M, No. 4 Arkansas and No. 7 Georgia. In the SEC title game, Mike Bianco's squad jumped out to a 9-1 lead over No. 2 Vanderbilt before the eventual national champion chipped its way back, ultimately winning 11-10 on a walk-off in the ninth inning.
In 2018, the Rebels also took an interesting route to the title, earning the coveted first-round bye but falling in their first game to Auburn. Ole Miss roared back, topping Georgia on a walk-off in the 10th inning before exacting revenge on Auburn, 7-0. The Rebels then took a 2-1 win over Texas A&M to seal a spot in the title game for the first time since 2008. With the trophy on the line, the Rebels left no doubt, trouncing LSU 9-1 behind a four-run seventh inning to claim the SEC Tournament crown for the first time since 2006.
REBS VS. TIGERS
Ole Miss leads the all-time series with Auburn, 94-88. The Rebels earned a series sweep over the Tigers earlier this season on SEC Opening Weekend despite the absence of Doug Nikhazy. The Rebels won Game 1, a 1-0 pitchers' duel behind a fantastic 8.0 inning outing from Gunnar Hoglund and a game-deciding home run by freshman Calvin Harris in the eighth inning. Drew McDaniel earned the win in Game 2, allowing two runs over six innings as the Rebels built an early lead and weathered a late Auburn rally in a 6-5 win. In the finale, the Rebel offense erupted for 14 runs in the first six innings. The Rebels again endured a late charge by the Tigers and ultimately cruised to a 19-11 win. The two teams most recently met in Hoover in 2018, facing one another twice. Auburn won the first matchup, 9-3, but the Rebels responded with a resounding 7-0 win in the second meeting en route to the 2018 SEC Tournament title.
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 and slid into the designated hitter role last weekend at Georgia. 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
Eleven of the Rebels' 17 losses have come by four runs or fewer, including five one-run losses.
KEEP IT CLEAN
Ole Miss is 30-11 this season when making one error or fewer.
EARLY TO SHINE
Ole Miss is 22-6 when it scores first this season. The Rebels are 16-6 when they score in the first inning.
SEC HONORS
Ole Miss brought home a total of eight SEC honors from six different players, highlighted by Tim Elko's selection as the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the first in program history. Doug Nikhazy was named to the All-SEC First Team, while Justin Bench and Hayden Dunhurst were each named to the second team. Dunhurst also earned All-Defense and All-Newcomer honors. Jacob Gonzalez and TJ McCants were both named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.
RESUME VS. RANKED FOES
Ole Miss is 14-7 on the season against ranked opponents, including 10-5 against teams then-ranked in the top 10. The Rebels are are 5-5 against teams ranked in the top three. Ole Miss is No. 15 in the RPI and has played the nation's 11th-toughest schedule. The Rebels are 17-11 against quadrant one opponents, the third-most Q1 wins in the country.
MAIN ATTRACTION
Ole Miss led the nation in attendance at 261,372 (7,260 per game) and holds 10 out of college baseball's top 17 most-attended on-campus games this season, including seven games with 10,000-plus fans. Eleven of the 14 largest crowds in college baseball this season have watched the Rebels play.
ROAD REBS
Ole Miss is 11-8 away from home this season, including 3-0 in neutral territory and two SEC road series victories at Alabama and Georgia.
UNSWEEPABLE
The Rebels were one of five SEC teams to not get swept in the 2021 regular season (Arkansas, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Georgia). The last time Ole Miss entered the postseason without a losing sweep was 2018, when they were selected as a top-eight national seed and crowned SEC Western Division Champions before winning the SEC Tournament in Hoover
DOUG DAY
On Saturday, April 17, 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.
In one of college baseball's marquee pitching matchups this season, Nikhazy outdueled Kumar Rocker on Friday, May 15, at Swayze Field. Nikhazy allowed just one run—a solo home run, scattering five hits and two walks across 7.0 innings while striking out 10 Vanderbilt batters in a 3-1 Rebel victory.
Ole Miss is 8-1 when Nikhazy starts in SEC play. The First Team All-SEC selection has allowed 11 earned runs (1.67 ERA) on 38 hits and 19 walks (0.97 WHIP) with 85 strikeouts (4.47 K/BB Ratio) in 59.1 innings. The junior left-hander has walked three or fewer batters and struck out seven-plus in eight of nine SEC starts, including six 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. The projected first round MLB Draft pick struck out seven or more in eight of his nine full 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 39 of 55 games this season, including 19 in SEC play and each of the last eight games. Ole Miss also ranks No. 7 nationally and 2nd in the conference in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 3.38.
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 27-4 this season when the Rebel pitching staff holds the opponent to five runs or fewer.
REBS ARE RUNNIN'
Ole Miss ranks sixth nationally and leads the SEC in runs scored with 410. 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 8-plus 26 times this season, including 16 games in double figures.
GREATEST HITS
Ole Miss leads the SEC and ranks second nationally in hits wiith 560. Ole Miss is second in the SEC and ranks 30th nationally in team batting average at .297 on the year, including a .289 mark in SEC play. Seven different Rebels have a batting average of .295 or higher. Ole Miss has 31 double-figure 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. He returned to the starting lineup last weekend at Georgia and went yard again with a majestic blast to left field. This week, Elko was named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the first such honor in Ole Miss baseball history.
CONSISTENT KG
Kevin Graham has reached base safely in 48 consecutive games and in 53 of 55 games this season. His is the third-longest streak in college baseball this season and the second-longest in the SEC. He is tied with Jace Jung of Texas Tech for the longest active streak in the country.
CALIFORNIA LOVE
Jacob Gonzalez, a two-time SEC Freshman of the Week, was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team on Monday. His second FOTW honor came a week prior after Gonzalez hit .571 with three home runs, including his first career multi-homer game to lead the Rebels to a series-clinching victory on Sunday against Vanderbilt. The freshman out of Glendora, California, is second the SEC and is No. 13 nationally in runs scored. He's also third in the conference and 13th nationally in 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 19 runners caught stealing or picked off. This week, he was named to the All-SEC Second Team, in addition to All-Newcomer and All-Defense honors.
TJ McCANS
TJ McCants has continued to show he's one of the top freshmen in the nation, making it official this week with an SEC All-Freshman Team nod. He is third among SEC freshmen and fifth overall with a .351 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 in the a midweek matchup against Little Rock. McCants has hits in 29 of the last 34 games, including 15 multi-hit performances. The Rebel center fielder is also 11th in the conference with a .422 on-base percentage in league play.
MORE HITS, MORE WINS
Ole Miss has out-hit its opponent in 36 of 55 games this season. The Rebels are 30-6 in those games.
