The University of Mississippi Athletics
Friday, March 10
Oxford, Miss.
6:30 PM
Ole Miss
vs
Purdue
Baseball Hosts Purdue for Final Non-Conference Weekend Series
3/9/2023 | Baseball
Boilermakers Come to Swayze for Three-Game Set From March 10-12
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#4 OLE MISS (11-2, 0-0 SEC) vs. PURDUE (8-4, 0-0 Big Ten) March 10-12, 2023 Oxford, Miss. Swayze Field (11,477) |
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| Ole Miss Notes • Purdue Notes • SEC Notes | ||||||||
| Friday, March 10 6:30 p.m. CT  |
Saturday, March 11 1:30 p.m. CT  |
Sunday, March 12 1:30 p.m. CT |
| PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: RHP Jack Dougherty 1-1, 2.92 ERA, 15 K, 5 BB Purdue: RHP Khal Stephen 1-0, 3.52 ERA, 7 K, 5 BB |
PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: RHP Grayson Saunier 1-0, 4.63 ERA, 20 K, 9 BB Purdue: LHP Jonathan Blackwell 2-0, 2.93 ERA, 18 K, 5 BB |
PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: LHP Xavier Rivas 3-0, 7.30 ERA, 17 K, 10 BB Purdue: TBA 0-0, - ERA, - K, - BB |
| Watch • Listen • Live Stats | Watch • Listen • Live Stats | Watch • Listen • Live Stats |
LEADING OFF
- Ole Miss has now won five-straight games after defeating No. 22 Southern Miss 11-5 on Tuesday
- Ole Miss is one of only two teams (New Mexico) in the NCAA that has four everyday starters hitting .400 or better
- Ethan Groff hit .500 (7-for-14) with eight RBI, five runs scored, and two stolen bases at the Cambria College Classic and was named MVP of the tournament last weekend
- Jack Dougherty put together a career-long outing his last time out, working six innings in a start against Maryland. He struck out seven batters, tying his career-high, and allowed just one run on three hits
- The Rebel bullpen allowed just four earned runs and issued just two walks in 11.1 innings of work at the Cambria College Classic
- Grayson Saunier struck out 11 batters in his third collegiate start last Saturday, 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
- Ole Miss is ranked fourth in the NCAA in batting average (.352), fifth in fielding percentage (.988), eighth in slugging percentage (.606), and ninth in on-base percentage (.455)
- Mason Nichols has worked six scoreless innings in four appearances so far this season, allowing just one hit and earning two saves
- Ole Miss will host Purdue this weekend for a three-game set, the first meeting between the two programs since 2005
- The Rebels are currently 5-1 against the Big Ten Conference with three wins over Maryland and a win each over Minnesota and Nebraska
- The Rebels came into the week ranked No. 4 in the D1Baseball poll for the fourth-straight week
TRANSF3R TO THE SIP
Three everyday starters for the Rebels this season joined the team as transfers in the offseason and have made immediate impacts in the lineup: Ethan Groff, Anthony Calarco, and Ethan Lege. The trio is hitting a combined .343 and has scored nearly a third of all of Ole Miss' runs and collected a third of their RBI.
The Division I transfer duo of Calarco and Groff is hitting a combined .400 (36-for-90) with 39 RBI, 28 runs scored, and 13 extra-base hits.
4-FOR-.400
Ole Miss is one of only two teams in the NCAA that has four everyday starters hitting .400 or better. Jacob Gonzalez, Ethan Groff, Calvin Harris, and Peyton Chatagnier all have a batting average of .400 or better through 13 games, with Anthony Calarco not far behind at .390. The four Rebels (Gonzalez, Groff, Harris, Chatagnier) have combined to provide 51.3 percent of the team's hits, 49.2 percent of the runs, 53.7 percent of the RBI, and 42.3 percent of the home runs.
New Mexico is the only other team in the nation to have four starters at or above a .400 batting average.
MVP, MVP, MVP
Ethan Groff was named MVP of the Cambria College Classic last weekend, hitting .500 (7-for-14) with eight RBI, five runs scored, and two stolen bases in Minneapolis. His eight RBI put him near the top of the SEC leaderboard with 24 total RBI on the season. That mark is good enough for ninth nationally. He is ranked seventh nationally in RBI per game, driving in 1.85 runs per game. He has at least one RBI in seven of his last eight games.
YOU GO, WE GO
Jacob Gonzalez and Ethan Groff have combined to start all 13 games this season in the leadoff position and in 12 of the 13 games they have shared the first and second slots in the Ole Miss lineup. They are hitting a combined .414 (41-for-99) at the top of the lineup with 39 RBI, 32 runs scored, 21 walks drawn, and an on-base percentage of .546.
GOING STREAKING
Jacob Gonzalez has reached base at least once in each game of 2023, currently riding an on-base streak of 13 games. Gonzalez has a .554 on-base percentage, has worked 11 walks, and has been hit by four pitches. The junior shortstop also leads the team in batting average (.420) and doubles (4).
Anthony Calarco has reached base in each of his first 12 games in a Rebel uniform and is just behind Gonzalez and Groff with a .500 on-base percentage.
WE'LL TAKE IT FROM HERE
The Ole Miss bullpen allowed just four earned runs and issued just two walks in 11.1 innings of work at the Cambria College Classic last weekend. Mason Nichols, Mitch Murrell, and Tommy Henninger all put together scoreless outings, allowing just one hit between the three of them. The freshmen combination of Brayden Jones, Mason Morris, and Sam Tookoian worked 5.1 innings in relief, allowing just six hits and issuing only one walk.
Nichols has worked six scoreless innings in four appearances so far this season, allowing just one hit and earning two saves. Jones also has two saves to his name and has posted a 1.23 ERA with five strikeouts in 7.1 innings.
SAUN-K
Grayson Saunier struck out 11 batters in his third collegiate start last Saturday, 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. Saunier leads the Ole Miss pitching staff with 20 total strikeouts, tied for 13th amongst SEC pitchers.
OUT OF THE GATE
Ole Miss has scored 43 of their 126 total runs in the first two innings of games. That number is equal to 34.1 percent of their total runs. They are outscoring opponents 43-6 in the first two innings of play. 63.5 percent of their runs have been scored in the first five innings of games.
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). Harris now leads the team in batting average, hits, runs scored, and sacrifice flies.
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.
POLLING ALONG
Ole Miss will spend a fourth-straight week as the No. 4 team in the country according to D1Baseball's weekly poll. They also came in at No. 5 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, No.8 in both the Baseball America and Perfect Game polls, and No. 13 in the Collegiate Baseball national poll.
STUDENT BECOMES THE TEACHER
With seven more victories, head coach Mike Bianco will pass the legendary Skip Bertman for second-most wins by an SEC head coach. Bianco currently has 864 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 and has allowed just four earned runs over his first 6.1 innings. 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 began his junior season with a chance at becoming the Ole Miss all-time career runs scored leader by the end of the year. Gonzalez has scored 144 runs in his career as a Rebel, needing to score just 55 more to pass Brad Henderson for the top spot. Henderson scored 198 runs over the course of 203 career games.
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.
QUITE THE CAREER
Jacob Gonzalez comes into his junior season as the SEC active career leader in runs scored with 140 over two seasons of play. He is ranked third in home runs (30), sixth in RBI (107), eighth in hits (159), ninth in on-base percentage (.424), and 12th in batting average (.315).
Despite having pitched only one season in his career so far, Hunter Elliott will start 2023 ranked third in SEC active career ERA with a 2.70. He is just one strikeout shy of being in the top-15 for active career strikeouts.
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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