The University of Mississippi Athletics
Tuesday, March 14
Jacksonville, Ala.
6 PM
Ole Miss
at
Jacksonville State
Baseball Travels to Jacksonville State for Road Midweek Matchup
3/13/2023 | Baseball
Rebels Open Four-Game Road Trip at Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium
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#2 OLE MISS (14-2, 0-0 SEC) at JACKSONVILLE STATE (6-10, 0-0 ASUN) March 14, 2023 Jacksonville, Ala. Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium (2,020) |
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| Ole Miss Notes • Jacksonville State Notes • SEC Notes | ||||||||
| Tuesday, March 14 6 p.m. CT  |
| PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: RHP Jordan Vera 0-0, 10.13 ERA, 7 K, 5 BB Jacksonville State: RHP Jake Peppers 2-1, 5.40 ERA, 16 K, 5 BB |
| Watch • Listen • Live Stats |
LEADING OFF
- Ole Miss is on an eight-game winning streak heading into a midweek matchup at Jacksonville State Tuesday
- The Rebels will open SEC conference play this weekend in Nashville with a three-game series against No. 6 Vanderbilt
- Ole Miss moved up in five of the six national polls this week, with their highest ranking coming at No. 2 from the NCBWA
- Over the weekend, Kemp Alderman and TJ McCants became the first pair of teammates to combine for six home runs in two-consecutive games since 1998
- The Rebels hit 3+ home runs in three-consecutive games last week for the first time since the 2019 Oxford Regional
- Last Saturday, Kemp Alderman gave Ole Miss their first true (9+ inning) walk-off since April 24, 2021 vs. LSU
- Ole Miss is ranked fifth in the NCAA in batting average, 11th in slugging percentage, 14th in on-base percentage, and 14th in home runs
- Kemp Alderman is currently ranked top-five in the SEC in home runs, home runs per game, RBI, and total bases
- Jacob Gonzalez has reached base in all 16 games of the 2023 season so far and is one of four Rebels with active double-digit on-base streaks
- Mason Nichols has worked nine innings out of the bullpen for the Rebels, allowing just one earned run on three hits and earning two saves
- The Rebels went 8-1 against the Big Ten Conference over the first four weeks of play with three wins each over Maryland and Purdue and a win each over Minnesota and Nebraska
BASH BROS
During the first two games of Ole Miss' series against Purdue, Kemp Alderman and TJ McCants became the first pair of teammates to combine for six home runs in two-consecutive games since 1998. McCants hit two in Friday's matchup and added one more Saturday while Alderman hit two on Saturday after hitting one the night before. Alderman now leads the team with eight long balls while McCants is in second with six.
The last pair to accomplish the feat were brothers Jason and Josh Huisman (3/15/1998 at Kentucky and 3/17/1998 at NE Louisiana). Jason Huisman hit two home runs in each game while Josh Huisman added one in each.
WHO YA GONNA CALL?
With the game tied 6-6 in the 10th inning, Kemp Alderman hit a solo walk-off home run to give the Rebels the win in Saturday's contest with Purdue. Alderman's blast was the team's first true walk-off (9+ innings) of the season and the first since he hit a walk-off home run on April 24, 2021 against LSU.
HOMERS ARE CONTAGIOUS
From March 7 to March 11 the Rebels hit three or more home runs in three-consecutive games for the first time since the 2019 Oxford Regional. They hit three in a midweek win over Southern Miss, three in a series opening win over Purdue, and then four in their extra-inning win in game two against the Boilermakers. TJ McCants hit four of the 10 home runs, Kemp Alderman hit three, Peyton Chatagnier hit two, and Anthony Calarco hit one.
YOU GO, WE GO
Jacob Gonzalez and Ethan Groff have combined to start all 16 games this season in the leadoff position and in 15 of the 16 games they have shared the first and second slots in the Ole Miss lineup. They are hitting a combined .381 (45-for-118) at the top of the lineup with 39 RBI, 41 runs scored, and 30 walks drawn. Gonzalez and Groff are tied for the team lead in on-base percentage, each posting a .538, and walks with 15 apiece.
POLLING ALONG
Ole Miss moved up in five of the six major national polls this week, receiving their highest ranking at No. 2 from the NCBWA. They also came in at No. 3 in the D1Baseball and USA Today Coaches Polls, No. 6 in the Baseball America poll, No. 8 in the Perfect Game poll, and No. 11 in the Collegiate Baseball poll.
OUT OF THE GATE
Ole Miss has scored 52 of their 154 total runs in the first two innings of games, 33.8 percent of their total run production. They are outscoring opponents 52-11 in the first two innings of play. 62.3 percent of their runs have been scored in the first five innings of games.
GOING STREAKING
Jacob Gonzalez has reached base at least once in each game of 2023, currently riding an on-base streak of 16 games. Gonzalez has a .538 on-base percentage, has worked 15 walks, and has been hit by five pitches.
Ethan Groff and Kemp Alderman have on-base streaks of 11 games and Peyton Chatagnier has reached in 10-straight games. Alderman is also riding a 10-game hitting streak, the second-longest hitting streak by a Rebel this season (Gonzalez, 11 games, 2/17-3/4)
MVP, MVP, MVP
Ethan Groff was named MVP of the Cambria College Classic on March 3-5, hitting .500 (7-for-14) with eight RBI, five runs scored, and two stolen bases in Minneapolis. He drove in four runs against No. 18 Maryland and four more against Nebraska. The senior outfielder had at least two hits and scored at least one run in all three games of the tournament.
SAUN-K
Grayson Saunier struck out 11 batters in his third collegiate start against Minnesota on March 4. It was the most by an Ole Miss starter since Dylan DeLucia struck out 12 in the opening game of the Coral Gables Regional against Arizona last season.
SUNDAY DRIVE
Calvin Harris had a career day on February 26 against No. 13 Maryland, posting a career-high eight RBI in what was the first four-hit game and multi-home run game in his time as a Rebel. Harris became the first Rebel to drive in eight runs since Thomas Dillard in 2019 and is one of only three players to drive in eight runs in a game since at least 1997 (Sikes Orvis, 2015).
NUMBER OF THE BEAST
Ole Miss hit six home runs on February 26 in a victory over Maryland, becoming one of just three teams in the Mike Bianco era to accomplish that feat in a single game. The Rebels did it last season against Alabama and in 2019 against UAPB. Before 2019, the Rebels had not put together a six-home run game since March 2, 1999.
STUDENT BECOMES THE TEACHER
With three more victories, head coach Mike Bianco will pass the legendary Skip Bertman for second-most wins by an SEC head coach. Bianco currently has 868 wins as the head coach of the Rebels, trailing just behind Bertman's 870 wins as the head coach of LSU from 1984-2001. Bianco played for Bertman at LSU from 1988-89 and coached on his staff from 1993-97.
OFF AND RUNNING
The Rebel offense came out hot on Opening Weekend, scoring 35 total runs over their first three games. That mark was the highest for an Opening Weekend series since 2008 when they scored 45 runs against Minnesota.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW
11 Rebel freshmen have made their debut in 2023: Will Furniss, Brayden Jones, Cole Ketchum, Mason Morris, Will Plattner, JT Quinn, Grayson Saunier, Tim Simay, Sam Tookoian, Judd Utermark, and Jordan Vera.
Saunier made his collegiate debut on Opening Weekend getting the start for game two against Delaware. He allowed just one hit over four innings while striking out five batters. Quinn made his first career start against Arkansas State while Furniss and Utermark each hit a home run in their first career at-bats. Jones, Ketchum, and Tookoian each posted scoreless outings in their debuts out of the bullpen.
HOME SWEET HOME
Ole Miss has now won its home opener in 21 of 23 seasons during the Mike Bianco era and has won the opening home series of the season in 20 of Bianco's 23 campaigns. The Rebels have lost a home opening series just once, losing two-of-three to UCF in 2021.
SEC PRESEASON COACHES POLL
West (First Place Votes)
1. LSU (12)
2. Texas A&M (1)
3. Arkansas
4. Ole Miss (1)
5. Alabama
6. Auburn
7. Mississippi State
East (First Place Votes)
1. Tennessee (12)
2. Florida (2)
3. Vanderbilt
4. South Carolina
5. Georgia
6. Kentucky
7. Missouri
COMING HOME
Jacob Gonzalez has been climbing the Ole Miss all-time runs scored leaderboard this season, just outside the top-10 with 158 runs scored in his career. Despite being outside of the top-10, Gonzalez is only 40 runs off of the top spot with well over half of the season still left to play. Former player and current Ole Miss Sports Network color analyst Brad Henderson owns the record, scoring 198 runs over the course of his 203 career games.
Gonzalez owns the second and fifth-highest records for runs scored in a single season with 73 in 2021 and 67 in 2022.
PACK 'EM IN
2023's home opener against Delaware saw 11,242 fans pack the stands at Swayze Field, the second-highest Opening Day attendance number in program history. It was also the 18th highest single-game attendance number in the history of Swayze Field.
GOING, GOING, GONZO
Junior Jacob Gonzalez came into the 2023 season as one of the most decorated athletes during the preseason. Gonzalez was named a Preseason All-American by five different major publications (Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, D1Baseball, NCBWA, and Perfect Game) while also being the only Rebel represented on the Preseason All-SEC list.
Gonzalez also became the first Rebel since 2008 to be named to the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List twice in his career, earning the honor in both 2022 and 2023. D1Baseball named him the No. 3 MLB prospect in all of college baseball while MLB Pipeline ranked him No. 5 in their same list.
MISSISSIPPI MADE
Of the 39 players on Ole Miss' roster in 2023, 12 of them hail from the state of Mississippi. The next closest state if Florida with five followed by Tennessee and California with three. In all, 17 states are represented on the Rebels' roster.
TOUGH CROWD
Ole Miss will be playing against 10 opponents this season who participated in the 2022 NCAA Baseball Tournament. Just three of those opponents are of the non-conference variety, with seven of their 10 conference opponents having made it to the big dance last year. Ole Miss was directly responsible for eliminating two of those opponents (Southern Miss and Arkansas) from postseason play in 2022.
REBELS ON THE BIG STAGE
The 2022 National Champions will appear on national television nine times throughout the 2023 season. Ole Miss will appear on SEC Network six times, ESPNU twice, and ESPN2 once during their 2023 campaign. Their national television debut will also be their first SEC matchup of the year as they take on Vanderbilt at 6:00 p.m. in Nashville on ESPNU. The Rebels will be on ESPN2 on April 29 when they host LSU for game two of a three-game set.
National TV Games
March 16 at Vanderbilt (6:00 p.m. CT) – ESPNU
March 18 at Vanderbilt (11:00 a.m. CT) – SEC Network
April 1 at Texas A&M (7:00 p.m. CT) – SEC Network
April 8 vs. Arkansas (2:00 p.m. CT) – SEC Network
April 15 at Mississippi State (3:00 p.m. CT) – SEC Network
April 22 vs. LSU (2:00 p.m. CT) – ESPN2
May 4 at Missouri (6:00 p.m. CT) – SEC Network
May 11 vs. Auburn (7:00 p.m. CT) – ESPNU
May 13 vs. Auburn (2:00 p.m. CT) – SEC Network
ON DRAFT
The Rebels had seven players selected in last year's 2022 MLB Draft, their most in a draft since 2019. Derek Diamond, Hayden Dunhurst, and Dylan DeLucia were all selected in the sixth round of the draft. Diamond was picked by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Dunhurst was picked by the Kansas City Royals, and DeLucia was picked by the Cleveland Guardians.
Brandon Johnson was selected in the ninth round by the Kansas City Royals, Tim Elko was selected in the 10th round by the Chicago White Sox, Kevin Graham was selected in the 14th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Justin Bench was taken in the 17th round by the San Francisco Giants.
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.
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