The University of Mississippi Athletics
Tuesday, April 18
Jonesboro, Ark.
6 PM
Ole Miss
at
Arkansas State
Midweek Matchup In Jonesboro Next for Baseball
4/17/2023 | Baseball
Rebels Head to Arkansas State Before Hosting No. 1 LSU This Weekend
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OLE MISS (20-16, 3-12 SEC) at ARKANSAS STATE (12-20, 3-10 SBC) April 18, 2023 Jonesboro, Ark. Tomlinson Stadium/Kell Field (1,200+) |
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| Ole Miss Notes • Arkansas State Notes | ||||||||
| Tuesday, April 18 6 p.m. CT  |
| PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: RHP Jordan Vera 2-1, 8.88 ERA, 17 K, 14 BB Arkansas State: TBA 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0 K, 0 BB |
| Watch • Listen • Live Stats |
LEADING OFF
- Ole Miss will be in Jonesboro, Arkansas Tuesday for a midweek matchup against Arkansas State
- The Rebels and the Red Wolves met back in February in Oxford with Ole Miss coming away with an 11-3 win.
- Ole Miss has won the last three matchups against Arkansas State and six of the last seven.
- Ole Miss is the best fielding team in the SEC and ranked eighth in the nation with a .983 fielding percentage.
- The Rebels are second in the SEC and 35th in the nation in doubles with 77. Only Auburn has hit more doubles in the conference with 80.
- Head coach Mike Bianco became the second-winningest SEC head coach of all time on April 4 against Memphis passing Skip Bertman with his 871st win.
- The Rebels have scored 36 runs with two outs over their last 12 games and are hitting .294 as a team with two outs.
- Kemp Alderman is currently riding a 31-game on-base streak dating back to February 25, the longest streak of the season for Ole Miss.
- Alderman has hit a career-best 15 home runs so far, fifth-most in the SEC and 11th in the NCAA.
- Ethan Lege has only struck out 12 times in 109 at bats, the third-lowest rate in the SEC.
- Ole Miss will host the No. 1 team in the country this weekend as LSU comes to Oxford for a three-game set starting on Friday April 21.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
The Rebels are ranked second in the SEC in doubles with 77 on the season. They hit seven last weekend in their series against Mississippi State and 16 total on the week. Calvin Harris and Jacob Gonzalez each hit four doubles last week to make up half of the team total. Gonzalez is third in the conference and 22nd in the nation with 15 total doubles.
LOCK DOWN D
The Rebels are the best fielding team in the SEC with a .983 fielding percentage. They have only made 21 errors on the season and were the only team in the conference to not make an error last week.
KEMP-TANI?
Kemp Alderman made his first-career appearance on the mound in the ninth inning of last Wednesday's win over Alcorn State. He faced four batters, striking out three and walking one. He also went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs scored in the game.
Alderman is riding a 31-game on-base streak and has hit six extra-base hits in his last five games. He is ranked fifth in the SEC in home runs and total bases and sixth in RBI. His 15 home runs are a career-best and have him tied for 11th in the nation in round-trippers.
LEADING THE WAY
Despite being hitless in his last two games, Calvin Harris is 12-for-26 (.461) with four doubles, four RBI, and five runs scored over his last six games. He has four multi-hit games during that stretch and has scored at least one run in 12 of his last 17 games. He currently leads the team in batting average (.366) and hits (53) and is second in runs scored, doubles, and total bases.
OUT OF THE GATE
Ole Miss has scored 143 runs in the first four innings of games. Over half (52.4%) of their run production has occurred in those early innings. They are outscoring opponents 75-30 in the first two innings of play.
COMING HOME
Jacob Gonzalez has been climbing the Ole Miss all-time runs scored leaderboard this season, currently ranked seventh all-time with 175 runs scored in his career. Gonzalez is only 23 runs off the top spot with just under 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.
STAY GOLDEN
Jacob Gonzalez was named to the 2023 Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List, becoming the first Rebel since 2014 to make the list. Gonzalez joined former Rebels Chris Ellis, Bobby Wahl, Stuart Turner, and Alex Yarbrough as the only representatives from Ole Miss to make the Midseason Watch List. Ellis was the last to do it during the 2014 season.
Before the 2023 season started, Gonzalez became the first Rebel since 2008 to make the Preseason Watch List twice, having also been named to the list prior to last season. He is also one of just two Rebel position players to make the list during that time with the other being Hayden Dunhurst in 2022.
SECOND TO ONE
Head coach Mike Bianco passed the legendary Skip Bertman for second-most wins by an SEC head coach on April 4 with Ole Miss' 7-2 win over Memphis. Bianco played for Bertman at LSU from 1988-89 and coached on his staff from 1993-97. Ron Polk is the all-time leader with 1,218 wins at Mississippi State and Georgia.
GOING PRO
With the MLB and MiLB seasons ramping up, three former Rebels found themselves ranked in the Top-30 Prospects Lists for their organizations. Gunnar Hoglund is ranked as the No. 15 prospect in the Oakland Athletics organization, Ryan Rolison is ranked as the No. 28 prospect in the Colorado Rockies organization, and Doug Nikhazy is ranked as the No. 30 prospect in the Cleveland Guardians organization.
Lance Lynn (Chicago White Sox), Nick Fortes (Miami Marlins), Chad Smith (Oakland Athletics), Drew Pomeranz (San Diego Padres), and Ryan Rolison (Colorado Rockies) will all start the 2023 season on the active 40-man MLB roster for their respective clubs.
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 game two against 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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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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