The University of Mississippi Athletics
Wednesday, May 8
Oxford, Miss.
5 PM
Ole Miss
vs
Murray State
Baseball Hosts Murray State for Makeup Game
5/7/2024 | Baseball
| Wednesday, May 8 5 p.m. CT  |
| PROJECTED STARTERS Ole Miss: RHP Grayson Saunier 4-3, 5.80 ERA, 25 K, 12 BB Murray State: RHP Bryce Valero 1-3, 7.03 ERA, 37 K, 25 BB |
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss (25-22, 9-15 SEC) hosts Murray State (30-18, 11-10 MVC) Wednesday night at 5 p.m. for a makeup of a previously rained out game.
LEADING OFF
- Ole Miss is coming off its third SEC series win of the season, taking two of three games from Auburn on the road.
- The series win was Ole Miss' first road series win since May 14-16, 2022 when they swept LSU in Baton Rouge.
- Andrew Fischer hit a home run, drove in three or more runs, and scored at least one run in each game of the series.
- The sophomore drove in nearly half of the Rebels' runs over the weekend, plating 11 of the 25 runs they scored. His 11 RBI were the most in the SEC and his 18 total bases were the second-most in the league.
- Fischer is hitting .360 (17-46) with 18 RBI, 11 runs scored, and five home runs over his last 12 games.
- Luke Hill is hitting .405 (17-42) with nine runs scored and five walks over his last 11 games.
- Jackson Ross leads the SEC and is fifth in the NCAA in walks with 49.
- His 49 walks this season are the second-most in a single-season over the last four seasons, behind only Jacob Gonzalez's 50 in 2022.
- Ole Miss is currently No. 3 in Strength of Schedule, having played one of the hardest schedules in the country.
- The Rebels are ranked 28th in the nation in strikeouts per nine, averaging 10 punchouts per game.
- Ole Miss is 18th in the NCAA in walks drawn (268), averaging 5.70 per game.
- Ethan Lege is the fourth-hardest hitter to strike out in the SEC, striking out just 16 times in 155 at bats.
- Connor Spencer has six saves this season, second-most in the SEC.
1,000 WINS AND COUNTING
Ole Miss head baseball coach Mike Bianco became one of only 21 active NCAA DI coaches with 1,000 career wins on April 20, 2024 as the Rebels defeated Georgia in game two of a doubleheader in Athens. He is also now the 98th head coach in NCAA history to reach the mark.
On his road to 1,000 wins, Bianco has delivered 18 postseason appearances, including eight Super Regional berths, a pair of trips to the College World Series, and the first national championship in program history. He has racked up 904 victories at Ole Miss and holds a 1,004-607 (.624) overall record for his career. His 904 wins at Ole Miss are the most in Rebel baseball history and rank third all-time among coaches in the SEC.
WALKING TALL
Jackson Ross' 49 walks this season are the second-most in a single-season over the last four seasons. He trails only Jacob Gonzalez's 50 total walks in 2022. Gonzalez led the team in walks each of the last three seasons with 35 in 2023, 50 in 2022, and 38 in 2021.
The program record for walks in a single season was set by Thomas Dillard in 2019 when he had 61.
Ross leads the SEC and is fifth in the NCAA in walks. He is currently averaging 1.04 free passes per game and has covered 4,410 feet in just walks.
CHANGE OF SCENERY
Since moving to second base three weeks ago, Luke Hill has made just two errors and has seen his batting average start to rise. In 15 games on the right side, Hill is hitting .356 (15-for-47) with 13 runs scored. The sophomore has at least one hit in 10 of his last 11 games and is on a three-game multi-hit streak.
In 30 games at shortstop, Hill was hitting .250 with five errors and just 15 RBI.
DOYLE RULES
Liam Doyle has struck out eight or more batters in five of his nine starts this season. In each of those five starts, he has only issued one walk and worked through 4+ innings.
Doyle struck out 10 batters in each of his first two SEC starts, becoming the first Rebel since Dylan DeLucia in 2022 to post multiple double-digit strikeout games in a season. He is also the first Rebel since Doug Nikhazy in 2021 to have double-digit strikeouts in consecutive outings.
STEALING YOUR HEART
The Rebels have stolen 48 bases so far this season, surpassing their entire season total from both 2023 and 2022. Since setting a new single-season program record in 2019 (93), Ole Miss had not stolen more than 44 bases in a season. They are currently averaging 1.05 stolen bases per game.
Ethan Groff has stolen 14 bases in 2024, having not been caught yet. Luke Hill is 12-for-14 in stolen base attempts.
CAPTAIN CLUTCH
Ethan Lege has been the Rebels' most clutch hitter, hitting .412 (21-for-51) with two outs in an inning. He has 18 two-out RBI, is hitting .297 with runners in scoring position, and is 8-for-13 when hitting with a runner on third base and less than two outs.
GETTING THEIR STEPS IN
Ole Miss is ranked 18th in the NCAA in walks with 268 free passes in 47 games. The Rebels are averaging 5.70 walks per game and are one of four teams from the SEC in the top-20 (South Carolina, Texas A&M, Georgia, Ole Miss).
During their series against High Point, the Rebels set a new single-game program record for walks with 19 in game three.
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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