Life in the Valley

Rebels Host After Posting Winning Mark in SEC; Advancing to SEC Final

Ranked 15 by D1Baseball, the Mississippi Rebels (40-19, 16-14 SEC) earned the #10 national seed for this tournament. Astoundingly, that’s the SEVENTH-highest seed among SEC schools, which make up the top 4 seeds, then add LSU at 6 and Georgia at 7.

Ole Miss certainly is a familiar opponent for the Racers. The teams have split 2 games over the last 2 seasons, both of which went extra innings. Granted, those were mid-week games and lots of pitchers saw action, but if they choose to, every team gets to run their #1 starter to the mound on Friday.

For the Rebels, who reached the SEC Tournament final before falling, 3-2, to Vanderbilt (beating Florida, Arkansas, and LSU along the way), that would mean Hunter Elliott, a lefty from Tupelo, Miss, who was the Dick Howser Pitcher of the Month in February and was drafted after last season in the 20th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers. But coming off a season where injury shelved him throughout, Elliott has come back this year in fine fashion, going 9-3 with a 3.09 ERA in 15 starts, striking out 94 in 78 2/3 innings. And don’t expect to take him deep. Elliott has allowed just 4 homers all season and opponents are hitting just .188 against him. Elliott’s WHIP is an excellent 1.12.

If Ole Miss is tempted to save Elliott for Saturday, Riley Maddox also made 15 starts, going 6-5 with a 5.26 ERA and 67 Ks in 65 innings. He’s allowed 10 homers and opponents are hitting .252 against him.

The Rebels also have a fine collection of bullpen arms. Mason Morris has averaged nearly 3 innings in his 17 appearances, with a 1.11 WHIP and 3.28 ERA. He’s also 2nd on the entire staff with 69 strikeouts. Walker Hooks (1-1, 3.89) has 40 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings with just 12 walks. Connor Spencer (0-1, 1.61, 0.94 WHIP) leads the Rebels with 7 saves. Ole Miss has a team ERA of 4.47 and a team WHIP of 1.37

Offensively, Mississippi’s .282 average might not wow you, till you remember the type of pitchers they were seeing almost every weekend. The Rebels, however, have more homers (105) than doubles (95), and carry a .901 OPS. Austin Fawley leads Ole Miss with 17 homers and he’s driven in 46. Judd Utermark has 16 homers and a team-leading 60 RBIs, while New Orleans transfer Mitchell Sanford has hit 15 bombs with a .303 average. He (59) and Luke Hill (60) lead the Rebels in runs. Six Rebels have at least 10 homers (only 4 have 10+ doubles). Hill also leads the club with 18 steals. Ole Miss has swiped 70 bases in 93 attempts. And like Murray State, you can probably forget the bunt. Mississippi has 12 sacrifices this season. Why bunt when you can mash?

Mississippi won the 2022 College World Series, defeating Oklahoma in a 2-game sweep in the final. Ole Miss has been to Omaha 6 times, first in 1956, but they’ve yet to get back since the title season. Head coach Mike Bianco is in his 25th season at the school. Ole Miss has made 8 Super Regional appearances during his tenure and won 946 games.

Ed Morgans is the founder of MVCBaseball.com. An Evansville graduate, Ed has written about and broadcast college baseball, while following the sport for 40 years.