Ole Miss vs ULL: Lafayette Super-Regional Preview
By Dave Bevan
Jun 2, 2013; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns left fielder Caleb Adams (13) is congratulated by teammates after a home run in the ninth inning against the Sam Houston State Bearkats during the Baton Rouge regional of the 2013 NCAA baseball tournament at Alex Box Stadium. Louisiana-Lafayette defeated the Sam Houston State Bearkats 7-5. Mandatory Credit: Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports
The Ole Miss Rebels are only two wins away from their first College World Series appearance since 1972.
The only thing that stands in front of Ole Miss making it to Omaha is Louisiana-Lafayette. The Ragin’ Cajuns are only ranked No. 1 in the nation (in some polls) and have a 57-8 record. Oh, and we have to play them in Lafayette. It should be no sweat.
The Rebels are coming off a regional win in Oxford. Even through rain delaying the series through Monday, the Rebs were able to pull of a perfect 3-0 championship win at Swayze to advance to the Super-Regionals.
The Ragin’ Cajuns had to fight through their regional host win. This is a team that lost to Jackson State, but knocked out Mississippi State to advance. The Cajuns defeated the Bulldogs 14-8 to force a final game of the series, then wrapped it up the next day with a 5-3 win.
Scouting the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns
The Cajuns have six players hitting above three-hundred. They are lead by Caleb Adams, who is batting .387 a clip and has tailed in 11 home runs on the season. Jace Conrad leads the team in RBI with 65 on the season.
As a team, the Cajuns are averaging .319 at the plate. They’ve racked up 66 home runs and 467 RBI on their opponents this season. The Cajuns also have an on-base percentage 497, and a 411 slugging percentage.
Right-handed junior, Austin Robichaux is the probable starting pitcher against the Rebels’ in Saturday’s game. Robichaux is 7-3 on the year through 12 starts. He holds a 2.83 ERA through 82.2 innings on the mound. He has allowed 30 runs off of 62 hits this season, which brings opponents to averaging .206 at the plate against Austin this season.
Scouting the Ole Miss Rebels
As a team, the Rebels top the Southeastern Conference with a .304 batting average, 39 home runs, and 376 total RBI this season.
Will Allenleads the team averaging .351 a clip, 7 home runs, and 59 RBI on the year. Sikes Orvis leads the team in home runs (2nd in the SEC), with 12 and is right behind Allen with 50 RBI this season.
Braxton Lee leads the Southeastern Conference in base steals, with 30 on the year. Three Rebels rank in the top six in the SEC in hits: Auston Bousfield (1st – 91), Allen (2nd – 87) and Austin Anderson (T6th – 81).
Ole Miss’ weekend rotation of Chris Ellis, Christian Trent, and Sam Smith holds a 2.60 ERA and have allowed a combined 80 runs this season through 287.0 total innings.
Chris Ellis is the probable pitcher against the Cajuns on Saturday. Ellis holds a 2.16 ERA through 10 quality starts this season. Ellis is coming off his 2nd complete game of the season, which led the Rebels to the Oxford Regional final, where they beat Washington to advance to the Super-Regional. He is also 10-1 on the season, and with one more win, he would tie a school record.
Super-Regional Info and How to Watch
#6 Ole Miss (44-18) at #1 Louisiana-Lafayette (57-8) NCAA Super Regional
Date: June 7-9, 2014
Game 1: 7:00 p.m.
Game 2: 8:00 p.m.
Game 3: 6:00 p.m. (if necessary)
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana
Venue: M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field
Capacity: 3,755
Surface: Turf
Ole Miss’ NCAA Tournament Record: 48-39
Radio: Ole Miss Baseball Network
Television: ESPN2
Announcers: Tom Hart & Ben McDonald