The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Tennessee
Top-5 Showdown Set as Tennessee Visits Swayze
3/24/2022 | Baseball
No. 1 Ole Miss Facing Stiff Competition in Opening Home SEC Series
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#1 OLE MISS (16-4, 2-1 SEC) vs. #1 TENNESSEE (20-1, 3-0 SEC) March 25-27 Oxford, Miss. Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field (11,477) |
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| Ole Miss Notes • Tennessee Notes • SEC Notes | ||||||||
| Friday, March 25 6:30 p.m. CT  |
Saturday, March 26 7 p.m. CT  |
Sunday, March 27 1:30 p.m. CT |
| PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: LHP John Gaddis 2-0, 2.78 ERA, 25 K, 7 BB Tennessee: RHP Chase Burns 4-0, 0.67 ERA, 34 K, 9 BB |
PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: RHP Jack Dougherty 1-0, 4.26 ERA, 23 K, 4 BB Tennessee: RHP Chase Dollander 3-0, 3.38 ERA, 44 K, 6 BB |
PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: RHP Derek Diamond 3-1, 5.32 ERA, 24 K, 9 BB Tennessee: RHP Drew Beam 4-0, 1.09 ERA, 19 K, 6 BB |
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LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss resumes SEC play with a weekend series against the Tennessee Volunteers. The series is the Rebels' SEC home opener.
• Both Ole Miss and Tennessee boast a No. 1 ranking, with the Rebels earning the top spot in the Baseball America and D1Baseball polls and the Volunteers coming in at No. 1 in the Perfect Game poll.
• It will be just the second time ever that Rebels and Volunteers have met up as ranked foes. In the most recent meeting in 2019 in Knoxville, Ole Miss was ranked No. 15, while Tennessee came in at No. 23.
• The series matches up the SEC's two highest scoring offenses, with Tennessee pacing the league at 11.4 runs per game, second in the nation, and Ole Miss ranking second in the conference at 9.8 runs per, the nation's eighth highest average.
• The Rebels are coming off of an 11-8 victory over Memphis Wednesday night in Oxford. It was the 12th game this season in which the Rebels scored double-digit runs.
• Jacob Gonzalez posted four hits on the night, the most by a Rebel this season. Gonzalez is batting .600 over the last four games with a .727 on-base percentage.
• Ole Miss ranks in the top-20 in several statistical categories, including walks (17th), batting average (20th), on-base percentage (10th), runs (10th), scoring (8th), slugging percentage (10th) and strikeouts per nine innings (7th).
• The Rebels are ranked in the top-10 in all six major polls, remaining number one in the D1Baseball Poll and rising to the top spot in the Baseball America Poll. It is the first time ever that Ole Miss has been ranked No. 1 in back-to-back weeks.
STILL ON TOP
Earning a road series victory at Auburn, Ole Miss has garnered the No. 1 ranking in the nation for just the third week in program-history, maintaining the top spot in back-to-back weeks for the first time ever. The Rebs are ranked No. 1 in two polls, the Baseball America Poll and the D1Baseball Poll.
ON A HEATER
Few players in college baseball have been as host at the plate as Jacob Gonzalez over the last week. Over the last four games, Gonzalez is batting .600 with a 1.200 slugging percentage, a .727 OBP, nine hits, three doubles, a pair of home runs and five walks. Maybe most impressively, Gonzalez has scored 10 runs over those four games. In the previous 16 games, the Rebel shortstop crossed the plate 18 times, which still led the team.
PLAINS: CONQUERED
Going on the road to open SEC play, Ole Miss enjoyed a successful weekend on The Plains. The Rebels earned their first series victory at Auburn since 2009, grabbing a 13-5 win on Thursday and clobbering the Tigers 15-2 on Saturday. The Rebels' 33 runs were their most in a series since 2019, with Saturday's 15 runs standing as the most since beating those same Auburn Tigers 19-11 in Oxford in 2021.
HIGH OCTANE OFFENSE
Ole Miss' 196 runs, ranking 10th in the nation and second in the SEC, behind this weekend's opponent, Tennessee. The Rebels' 9.8 runs per game is also the second most in the conference, the eighth highest average in college baseball. Ole Miss has posted double-digit runs in 12-of-20 games, scoring 15 or more runs four times.
SAC DADDIES
Peyton Chatagnier and Reagan Burford lead the nation with five sacrifice flies apiece this season, tied with Arkansas State's Jaylon DeShazier. Three of Chatagnier's sacrifices came in the same game as the junior plated Burford three times in the Friday night win over VCU.
PATIENCE PAYS
Ole Miss has implemented a patient approach at the plate from top to bottom and nobody has embodied that more than TJ McCants, who has cut down dramatically on strike outs. The sophomore struck out 27.3% of the time during his rookie campaign and has dropped that number down to 19.7%.
AIN'T IT GRAND?
Kevin Graham and Tim Elko each hammered a grand slam in the 11-1 Wednesday night win over ULM, with Graham going yard in the fifth and Elko following up with a towering shot to dead center in the sixth. It marked the first game with multiple grand slams in a game for Ole Miss since 1998 against the Memphis Tigers. One of the two players to hit a grand slam that day? Current Ole Miss assistant coach Carl Lafferty
Elko also pummeled a grand slam in Ole Miss' 16-2 win over Oral Roberts, giving the Rebel captain five in his career, all in the last two seasons.
CROOKED NUMBERS
The Rebel offense has been all over its opponents this season, scoring 196 runs in 158 innings, good for an average of 1.24 runs per inning. Ole Miss has scored early and often, plating multiple runs in 53 of those 158 frames.
WE LOVE FREE BASES
Ole Miss has shown patience at the plate and has made it pay off. The Rebels have received 140 free passes via walks and HBPs, with 70 of those runners coming around to score.
WALK THIS WAY
Jacob Gonzalez has demonstrated a keen eye at the plate all season long, tying for fourth in the nation with 23 walks. Gonzalez has drawn at least one base on balls in 13-of-20 games and has drawn multiple free passes eight times. Gonzalez has drawn as many walks as Ole Miss' opponents in five games this season.
SWAYZE PACKED
The Ole Miss faithful came out in droves on opening weekend, packing the stands at Swayze and bringing the energy right from the first pitch. Friday's crowd of 11,146 was the nation's largest on opening day and the second biggest opening day crowd in school-history. The following day, 11,621 strong entered the gates, the eighth largest crowd ever at Swayze Field. All in all, the weekend total came in at 32,888 the second-highest in the nation and third highest series total ever at Ole Miss.
SHOW STOPPER
Senior right-handed reliever Brandon Johnson is one of 66 players tabbed to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List. Johnson is one of nine SEC players and one of four from the SEC West named to the watch list.
WHO'S NUMBER ONE?
Despite being picked to tie for second in the SEC West, Ole Miss was also projected as SEC Champions with the most first place votes in the 2022 SEC Preseason Poll, voted on by the league's head coaches. Ole Miss is seeking its first regular season conference title since 2009.
SEC PRESEASON COACHES POLL
East (Championship Votes)
1. Vanderbilt (2)
2. Florida (2)
3. Georgia
4. Tennessee
5. South Carolina
6. Kentucky
7. Missouri
West (Championship Votes)
1. Arkansas (3)
2. Ole Miss (4)
2. Mississippi State (2)
4. LSU (1)
5. Alabama
6. Texas A&M
7. Auburn
THE BOYS ARE BACK!
Ole Miss returns nearly the entirety of its potent offense from the 2021 season with eight of nine positional starters returning to the Rebel lineup, Ole Miss is poised once again to put up gawdy numbers on the scoreboard.
Percentage Return from 2021
• Games Started - 88.6%
• Runs - 88.5%
• Hits - 91.8%
• Doubles - 91.7%
• Triples - 100%
• Home Runs - 90.6%
• RBIs - 91.3%
• Walks - 85.1%
THAT'S GOLD, JERRY
Ole Miss' Hayden Dunhurst and Jacob Gonzalez were two of 55 players named to the 2022 Golden Spikes Award Preseason watch list, announced by USA Baseball. The Rebels are one of just eight teams with multiple players on the list, joining LSU, Arizona State, Arkansas, California, Florida, Texas and Vanderbilt.
STARS AND STRIPES
Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco has been tapped as the manager for the 2022 USA Collegiate National Team for this upcoming summer, marking the Rebel skipper's managerial debut for the Red, White and Blue. It will be the second time donning a Team USA uniform for Bianco, who served as the pitching coach for the Collegiate National Team in 2013. Under Bianco's guidance, the USA posted a 1.87 ERA, a 20-3 record and 222 strikeouts. The remaining 2022 Collegiate National Team staff, as well as more information about the 2022 Collegiate National Team schedule, will be announced at a later date.
SWAYZE CRAZIES
Ole Miss led the nation in attendance in 2021 with 303,859 fans entering the gates at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field across 40 games. The Rebels' average attendance of 7,596 also ranked first in college baseball, with Ole Miss ranking as one of just three schools to average more than 4,000 fans per game. During the season, Ole Miss welcomed four of the top-10 single game crowds and two of the top-three series crowds ever seen in Oxford, setting the record in the three-game set against Arkansas.
Top-10 Single-Game Crowds
4. April 10 vs. Arkansas - 11,857
5. April 23 vs. LSU - 11,788
7. April 24 vs. LSU - 11,653
8. April 10 vs. Arkansas - 11,524
Top-3 Series Crowds
1. April 10-11 vs. Arkansas - 33,423
3. April 22-24 vs. LSU - 32,476
CONSISTENCY IS KEY
Ole Miss is one of five programs to host at least 10 NCAA Regional appearances since 2004, joining Florida State, Florida, LSU and North Carolina. The Rebels are also one of eight programs to earn at least five regional hosting bids since 2014, being joined by Florida State, Florida, LSU, Louisville, TCU, Vanderbilt and Texas Tech.
JUCO PRODUCTS
Ole Miss has nine junior college products on the 2022 roster, five of which are new additions. Four of the five JUCO players come from schools within the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference.
RESPECT FROM THEIR PEERS
Ole Miss landed a league-high five players on the Preseason All-SEC team, having a player recognized at four of five infield positions.
Ole Miss Preseason All-SEC Selections
• Jacob Gonzalez - Shortstop - First Team
• Hayden Dunhurst - Catcher - Second Team
• Tim Elko - First Base - Second Team
• Peyton Chatagnier - Second Team
• Kevin Graham - Second Team
MISSISSIPPI MADE
Of the 41 players on the Ole Miss roster, 11 hail from the state of Mississippi. The 11 local products are tied for the most for the Rebels since 2017.
HELLO FROM THE OTHER SIDE
Ole Miss has bolstered the roster with three new lefties in transfer John Gaddis and true freshmen Hunter Elliott and Luke Ellis. Relief arm Jackson Kimbrell also returns to the Rebel roster.
STARS IN THE MAKING
Ole Miss has six players ranked in D1Baseball's Top 2022 MLB Draft College Prospect Rankings. All six Rebels are ranked inside the top-150, tied for the most in the top-150 in the nation. Additionally, a pair of Rebs find themself in the top-100 for the 2023 rankings.
Rebels in the Top 2022 MLB Draft Prospect Rankings
• Hayden Dunhurst - No. 27
• TJ McCants* - No. 49
• Derek Diamond - No. 63
• Jack Washburn - No. 101
• Kevin Graham - No. 124
• Drew McDaniel - No. 133
Rebels in the Top 2023 MLB Draft Prospect Rankings
• Jacob Gonzalez - No. 2
• Jack Dougherty - No. 55
* - Draft eligible sophomore
STUDS AROUND THE DIAMOND
When D1Baseball released its top-50 position power rankings this offseason, Ole Miss was well represented, landing at least one player at every single position. The Rebels' full rankings can be found below:
Rebels in the Top-50 Position Rankings
• Jacob Gonzalez - No. 2 shortstop
• Hayden Dunhurst - No. 4 catcher
• Tim Elko - No. 5 first baseman
• Peyton Chatagnier - No. 13 second baseman
• Justin Bench - No. 25 third baseman
• Kevin Graham - No. 16 outfielder
• TJ McCants - No. 32 outfielder
• Derek Diamond - No. 40 starting pitcher
• Brandon Johnson - No. 41 relief pitcher
• Jack Dougherty - No. 62 relief pitcher
• Jack Washburn - No. 75 starting pitcher
• John Gaddis - No. 76 starting pitcher
• Drew McDaniel - No. 115 starting pitcher
YOU'RE GONZO GO FAR, KID
Bursting onto the scene last season with one of the greatest true freshmen seasons ever in a Rebel uniform, shortstop Jacob Gonzalez quickly established himself as one of the nation's elite young talents. In addition to being named D1Baseball's National Freshman of the Year, the California native joined Stephen Head as the only Rebs ever to be named an All-American as a freshman, earning the honor from both D1Baseball and the NCBWA. Starting all 67 games at short, Gonzalez led all true freshmen in hits and runs scored. Poised for another big season, the sophomore has reeled in a myriad of preseason honors for 2022.
Gonzalez' Preseason Honor Round Up
• Preseason All-America (Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, D1Baseball, NCBWA, Perfect Game)
• First Team Preseason All-SEC
• D1Baseball No. 2 '23 College Draft Prospect
• D1Baseball No. 3 '23 College Draft SEC Prospect
• D1Baseball No. 2 ranked shortstop
COME TO THE SIP
With a pair of electric arms departing for the Major League Baseball Draft in Gunnar Hoglund and Doug Nikhazy, Ole Miss utilized the transfer portal to bring in some talent on the mound in Division I transfers John Gaddis and Jack Washburn. Both bring quality experience to the Rebel roster, with Gaddis pitching four seasons at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Washburn moving to Oxford after two seasons at Oregon State.
The Gaddis File
• 2021 All-Southland Second Team
• 13 appearances with 10 starts in 2021
• Won five games with a team-low 2.25 ERA
• 72 strikeouts in 64.0 innings of work
• 7.0 or more innings in 6-of-last-7 starts
The Washburn File
• Son of former MLB star Jarrod Washburn
• 21 appearances with five starts in 2021
• 3.12 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 34.2 innings
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Rebels by following Ole Miss baseball on Twitter at @OleMissBSB, on Facebook at Facebook.com/OleMissBaseball, on Instagram at Instagram.com/officialolemissbsb and on TikTok at @olemissbsb. Also, follow head coach Mike Bianco on Twitter at @CoachMikeBianco.
