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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Wednesday, March 6
Oxford, Miss.
6:30 PM
Ole Miss
vs
Memphis
Baseball Hosts Memphis for First Game of Season Series
3/4/2024 | Baseball
| Tuesday, March 5 6:30 p.m. CT  |
| PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: RHP Riley Maddox 0-1, 6.23 ERA, 7 K, 5 BB Memphis: RHP Cade Davis 0-2, 12.00 ERA, 7 K, 4 BB |
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss Baseball (8-5) meets up with Memphis (7-6) for the first of two matchups this season between the two teams. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. at Swayze Field.
LEADING OFF
- Ole Miss won its second-consecutive series last weekend, taking two out of three games from Iowa.
- The Rebels drew 31 walks and were hit by pitches 10 times in the series, scoring 27 runs on just 24 hits.
- Ole Miss leads the nation in walks (107), averaging 8.23 walks per game. It also leads the nation in sacrifice flies with 16.
- Jackson Ross leads the SEC, and is second in the nation, in walks with 16, averaging 1.23 per game.
- Ole Miss has scored 12 or more runs in five of its last seven games, outscoring opponents 88-34 during that stretch.
- Rebel pitching has allowed five or fewer earned runs in eight of their last nine games and issued four or fewer walks in seven of their 13 games this season.
- Grayson Saunier earned his second-consecutive win on the mound, allowing just two hits over five scoreless innings Sunday against Iowa.
- Treyson Hughes hit .583 (7-for-12) with four RBI and five runs scored over all five games last week.
- Ethan Groff went a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen bases last week and now leads the team in the category.
- The Rebels set a new program record for walks in a single game with 19 free passes on February 25 against High Point.
- Ole Miss will host Morehead State this weekend for a three-game series at Swayze Field, their first meeting since 1999.
SCOUTING REPORT
Matt Riser is in his first year as head coach for the Memphis Tigers. Riser spent 10 seasons as head coach at Southeastern Louisiana, where he led the Lions to four NCAA Tournament runs and three Southland Conference titles. Riser was also recognized by Baseball America as one of the nation's top coaches under the age of 40.
In 2023, Memphis had a 29-28 (10-14 AAC) record. The Tigers added 14 transfers to their 2024 roster and have some key returners.
Outfielder Will Marcy, was named the No. 8 MLB Draft Prospect in the AAC for the 2024 draft by Perfect Game. The NC State transfer is averaging .333 at the plate and has earned five RBI for the Tigers. Joining Marcy on the 2024 MLB Draft prospect list (No. 20) is redshirt-sophomore southpaw Luke Ellis. After an impressive 2023 season, Ellis was named to the AAC All-Freshman team where he went 3-3 on the mound in 25 appearances (five starts), recording 39 K's over 42.2 innings.
This will be the 43rd meeting between Ole Miss and Memphis. The Tigers (7-6, 0,0 AAC) head into Oxford for a Tuesday night matchup against the Rebels. Ole Miss is 31-11 against Memphis.
GETTING THEIR STEPS IN
Ole Miss leads the entire NCAA in walks drawn at the plate with 107 free passes. It is the only team in the nation to have broken the 100-walk mark, with the next closest team being South Carolina at 97. The Rebels are averaging 8.23 walks per game and have drawn double-digit walks in five of their 13 games this season. Their 107 walks come out to 9,630 total feet or 1.82 miles of free bases.
Over their last seven games, Ole Miss has drawn 79 total walks and drew 31 total in their three-game series against Iowa. In Friday's game against the Hawkeyes, the Rebels drew seven walks in just the eighth inning, including a stretch of five-consecutive. During their series against High Point, the Rebels set a new single-game program record for walks with 19 in game three.
Jackson Ross is tied for second in the NCAA and leads the SEC with 16 total walks himself. He is averaging 1.23 walks per game, also the most in the SEC.
HEATING UP
The Ole Miss pitching staff has been turning things up on the mound lately, posting double-digit strikeout numbers in six of their last seven games. They have given up five or fewer earned runs in eight of their last nine games and have allowed four or fewer walks in seven of their 13 total games this season.
As a whole, the staff has posted a 4.10 ERA over their last eight games while the bullpen has pitched to the tune of a 3.86 ERA during that time.
SACRIFICES MUST BE MADE
Ole Miss leads the nation in sacrifice flies as well, tied atop the leaderboard with Samford at 16. They have two or more sacrifice flies in five of their last six games and only five total games this season in which they have not scored via a sacrifice fly.
Ethan Lege is tied for second in the NCAA and leads the SEC in sacrifice flies with four.
BOMB SQUAD
The Rebels hit 10 home runs in their three-game series against High Point, doing something that has only been done once before in the Mike Bianco Era. The last time an Ole Miss team hit 10 or more home runs in a three-game series was in 2020 against Princeton just before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to 2020, the feat had not been accomplished since 1998.
POWER CYCLE
In their 25-2 win over High Point, the Rebels accomplished the incredibly rare feat of completing the home run cycle in just the first inning. Ethan Groff led off the inning with a solo home run followed by a grand slam by Will Furniss. With one out in the inning, Reagan Burford hit a two-RBI home run and then Jackson Ross completed the cycle with a two-out, three-RBI shot five batters later.
RUNNING AWAY WITH IT
Ole Miss scored 25 runs against High Point in the series finale, falling just three runs short of the single-game record set in 1989. Their 25 runs were the most scored in one game since March 20, 2019 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (W, 25-0). It was just the sixth time in the last six seasons that the Rebels have broken the 20-run mark in a game.
They scored 11 runs in just the first inning of play, the most in a single inning since April 26, 2018 against LSU. In total, 15 hitters came to the plate, seven had hits in the inning, five drew walks, and five drove in runs.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW
Eight freshmen made their collegiate debut over the Rebels' opening weekend in Hawaii. Trenton Lyons, Drew Markle and Campbell Smithwick all tallied their first career hits at the plate. Seth Farni and Brayden Randle also saw action as pinch hitters for Ole Miss. On the mound, Patrick Galle, Wes Mendes and Austin Simmons combined for 4.1 innings without surrendering a hit. Mendes struck out four batters in 3.0 innings of work, picking up the save in Saturday's victory over the Rainbow Warriors. Simmons, a standout dual-sport athlete with the Ole Miss football team, pitched a perfect inning, striking out two of the three batters he faced.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Rebels by following Ole Miss baseball on X 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 X at @CoachMikeBianco.
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/ BaseballHIGHLIGHTS: Baseball vs. Little Rock (3/31/26)
Tuesday, March 31
PRESSER | Mike Bianco - Mississippi State Postgame (3/29/26)
Sunday, March 29
PRESSER | Will Furniss - Mississippi State Postgame (3/29/26)
Sunday, March 29
PRESSER | Mike Bianco - Mississippi State Postgame (3/28/26)
Saturday, March 28