The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Texas A&M
Road Rebs Head to Texas A&M for SEC Series
5/6/2021 | Baseball
Rebels Look to Extend Six-Game Win Streak vs. Aggies
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#9 OLE MISS (32-12, 13-8 SEC) at TEXAS A&M (25-22, 5-16 SEC) May 7-9 Oxford, Miss. Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field (11,477) |
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| Ole Miss Notes • SEC Notes • Texas A&M Notes | ||||||||
| Friday, May 7 6:30 p.m. CT  |
Saturday, May 8 11 a.m. CT  |
Sunday, May 9 1 p.m. CT |
| PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: RHP Gunnar Hoglund 4-2, 2.47 ERA, 96 K, 16 BB Texas A&M: LHP Dustin Saenz 5-5, 4.04 ERA, 85 K, 19 BB |
PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: LHP Doug Nikhazy 5-2, 2.09 ERA, 75 K, 19 BB Texas A&M: LHP Chris Weber 1-2, 3.92 ERA, 45 K, 16 BB |
PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: TBA Texas A&M: TBA |
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LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss enters the week at 32-12 after a weekend sweep of No. 7 South Carolina. The Rebel pitching staff held the Gamecocks under five runs scored in each game as Mike Bianco's squad trailed just one inning all weekend.
• Ole Miss earned its way back in the top 10 with a high ranking of No. 9 (Collegiate Baseball).
• The Rebs remain in the SEC West title chase, sitting two games off the division lead at 13-8 with nine games to play.
• Ole Miss leads the SEC and ranks second nationally with 456 hits on the season, including 28 hits in three games against a South Carolina pitching staff that ranks No. 2 in SEC play in opponent batting average.
• The Rebel offense leads the SEC in team batting average at .304, including a league-best .304 in conference play. Ole Miss hit .289 vs. a Gamecock pitching staff that has allowed a .218 average for the season (.223 vs. SEC).
• The Ole Miss offense ranks in the top five in the SEC in hits, BA., runs, runs per game, OBP, SLG, walks and doubles.
• The Rebel pitching staff is fourth nationally and third 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 3.49.
• Gunnar Hoglund is No. 5 in the nation and third in the SEC with 96 strikeouts on the season.
• Taylor Broadway leads the SEC and ranks sixth nationally with nine saves.
• Ole Miss leads the nation in attendance at 219,718 (7,087 per game) and holds 18 out of college baseball's top 26 most-attended on-campus games this season, including six games with 10,000-plus fans. In total, 24 of the 29 largest crowds in college baseball this season have watched the Rebels play.
• Ole Miss holds a 16-13 advantage all-time vs. Texas A&M, including six straight wins and nine of the last 10.
MILESTONE AHEAD
Mike Bianco is just one win away from reaching 900 for his career and 800 during his Ole Miss tenure. The longtime Rebel head coach won exactly 100 games in three seasons at McNeese State before taking the reins in Oxford. He will become 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 will join Ron Polk and Skip Bertman as the only coaches in conference history with 800 wins.
REBS VS. AGGIES
Ole Miss and Texas A&M have met 29 times with Ole Miss holding a 16-13 advantage in the all-time series. The Rebels have won the last six meetings in the series, nine of the last 10 and each of the past three series. The two teams first met in College Station in 1998 with Ole Miss winning the first meeting, though the Aggies took the first series. The two teams last met at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, where Ole Miss won a 1-0 thriller for its fourth win over Texas A&M that season. Ole Miss last went to College Station in 2018 and won two of three with all three games being decided by one run. Seven of the last eight meetings in the series have been decided by one run.
SWEEP CAROLINA
Ole Miss swept an SEC series for the third time this season, taking three games from No. 7 South Carolina at Swayze Field last weekend. The Rebels trailed for a total of one inning all weekend. Offensively, Ole Miss hit .289 against a Gamecock pitching staff that ranks No. 2 in SEC play with a .223 opponent batting average. Meanwhile, the Rebel pitching staff held the South Carolina bats at a .167 average, posting a team ERA of 2.67, compared to a 6.28 mark for the Gamecocks. This was the Rebel program's first-ever sweep of South Carolina.
MIDWEEK WINNERS
Ole Miss is 10-1 on the season in midweek games, including a 10-0 mark at home. The Rebels are 19-4 against all non-conference foes in 2021.
MAIN ATTRACTION
Ole Miss leads the nation in attendance at 219,718 (7,087 per game) and holds 18 out of college baseball's top 26 most-attended on-campus games this season, including six games with 10,000-plus fans. In total, 24 of the 29 largest crowds in college baseball this season have watched the Rebels play.
EARLY TO SHINE
Ole Miss is 19-3 when it scores first this season. The Rebels are 16-3 when they score in the first inning.
KEEP IT CLEAN
Ole Miss is 25-6 this season when making one error or fewer.
ONE-RUN MAGIC
Ole Miss is 8-3 on the season in one-run games. Ole Miss has won nine straight 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 15 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. The Rebels hold a high ranking of No. 9 this week and are a unanimous top-15 team.
HISTORIC SEC START
Ole Miss started SEC play at 6-0 for the first time since the 1964 team started 11-0 in league play en route to a College World Series appearance. 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.
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.
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 5-1 when Doug Nikhazy starts since the junior left-hander returned after missing two weeks with a strained pectoral muscle. In his six starts back on the hill, Nikhazy has allowed just six earned runs (1.41 ERA) on 27 hits and 12 walks (1.02 WHIP) with 53 strikeouts (4.42 K/BB Ratio) in 38.2 innings. The junior left-hander has walked three or fewer batters and struck out five or more batters in all six games since his return.
WELCOME TO THE GUN SHOW
Gunnar Hoglund missed a start for the first time in his career last week due to arm soreness but bounced right back with an SEC Pitcher of the Week performance, going 6.0 shutout innings with just one baserunner allowed on a lone single. Hoglund struck out nine Gamecocks along the way and, despite one missed start, the junior out of Hudson, Florida, is third in the SEC and fifth nationally with 96. 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 third in the SEC and No. 4 in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings, averaging 11.8 Ks per game. The Rebels have struck out at least 10 batters in 30 of 44 games this season. Ole Miss also ranks No. 7 nationally and second in the conference in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 3.49. Ole Miss' 18 strikeouts against Arkansas State were its most since Game 2 against Xavier last season. The Rebels matched that mark in an April 3 win at No. 15 Florida.
LEADERS OF THE PACK
Ole Miss is 23-4 this season when the Rebel pitching staff holds the opponent to five runs or fewer.
BROADWAY IS CLOSED
Taylor Broadway has been a dominant force at the back end of the Rebel bullpen in 2021, leading the SEC and sitting sixth nationally with nine saves on the season. Ole Miss is 15-4 this season when Broadway pitches, including 14 scoreless outings. He closed out all three wins last weekend vs. South Carolina.
REBS ARE RUNNIN'
Ole Miss ranks fourth nationally and second in the SEC in runs scored. The Rebels also rank in the top five in the SEC in hits, batting average, walks, runs per game, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and doubles. Ole Miss has scored eight runs or more 21 times this season, including 14 games in double figures.
GREATEST HITS
Ole Miss leads the SEC and ranks second nationally in hits. Ole Miss also leads the SEC and ranks 14th nationally in batting average at .304 on the year, including a league-best .304 mark in SEC play. Seven different Rebels currently have a batting average of .300 or higher. As a team, Ole Miss has 25 multi-hit games this season.
ELKO RETURNS
The same week he was named the NCBWA Hitter of the Month for March, Rebel slugger Tim Elko suffered a torn ACL on Apr. 5 while avoiding a diving North Alabama first baseman. Without Elko, the Rebel offense stepped up collectively. In 15 games since his injury, the Rebels have averaged 7.5 runs and 11.5 hits per game. Less than one month after his injury, Elko returned to the field, pinch hitting Saturday, May 1, vs. South Carolina. The senior captain out of Lutz, Florida, took the plate to a standing ovation and popped out to continued cheers at Swayze Field. Prior to his injury, Elko led the SEC with 36 RBI in 28 games.
CONSISTENT KG
Kevin Graham has reached base safely in 37 consecutive games and in 42 of 44 games this season. His is the sixth-longest streak in college baseball this season, the third-longest active streak in the country and the second-longest active streak in the SEC.
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. The Preseason All-SEC catcher is fourth in the SEC with a .464 on-base percentage. He's hitting .391 with runners in scoring position. Defensively, Dunhurst leads the SEC with a combined 14 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 leads all SEC freshmen with a .373 batting average in conference play. For the season, McCants leads Ole Miss with a .352 average. The freshman out of Cantonment, Florida, has reached base in 23 consecutive games and is on an eight-game hitting streak. McCants has hits in 19 of the last 23 games, including 11 multi-hit performances. He has two or more hits in four of the last six games. McCants is also third in the conference with six stolen bases in league play.
CALIFORNIA LOVE
Jacob Gonzalez earned some love from the league office on 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. The freshman out of Glendora, California, is fourth in the SEC in runs scored and is the sixth-toughest hitter to strike out in the conference with 20 Ks in 175 at-bats. In his last 17 games, Gonzalez is hitting .449 (31-for-69) with 23 runs scored, 16 RBI, six doubles and two home runs with nine multi-hit and five multi-RBI games in that span.
