It feels great to have top 10 SEC baseball returning to Oxford and Swayze Field today. The program has been going on for two long years, and it feels like a lifetime since the national championship. But things have changed this year, and the Ole Miss Rebels are ranked 6th in the nation, coming off two-run rules this week and a great series win last weekend in Lexington.
The Rebels knocked off the Tigers in Memphis by a score of 10-0 to complete the season sweep of their rivals and then scored a program-record 29 runs en route to a thrashing of Alcorn State. Up next will be the season's biggest challenge, with the number 5 Tennesse Volunteers coming to town.
It will also be the return of potentially two of the most hated players in the eyes of Ole Miss fans as former Rebels Andrew Fischer and Liam Doyle will return to Swayze Field since spurning the program last offseason. The Volunteers are formidable opponents, the defending national champs, and were ranked number one in the country for most of the season. They come 29-4 and 9-3 in the conference. Many pundits viewed them as unbeatable in the league until a bad doubleheader last Saturday that resulted in them dropping a series to Texas A&M at home.
Now that can undoubtedly be a bad thing for the Rebels as Tony Vitello and his squad will arrive in Oxford focused and ready to play, but It also shows that there are chinks in the Tennessee armor.
The Rebels will run out the same starting rotation. Hunter will throw on Friday, Maddox on Saturday, and Nichols on Sunday. Elliott was not great last weekend, and the Rebels will need a big bounce-back start from him tonight. Maddox was excellent last weekend, turning in his best start of the season in a prominent spot, and hopefully, he can build on it. Nichols has also been consistent in filling in his role on the staff. The bullpen was also excellent last weekend and will need a similar effort to pull out a win.
On the Tennessee side, we will see former Rebel Liam Doyle setting up a battle of the southpaws in Swayze on Friday. Doyle has taken a step forward this season, being a good Friday starter for the Vols. He has a 2.50 ERA this year and racked up over strikeouts. He turned in a stellar start last weekend against the Aggies, throwing six no-hit innings, only allowing two walks and striking out 8.
The Volunteers also have a great Saturday stater in unsung Juco transfer Marcus Phillips, who has developed into a true force. He has a 2.68 ERA and has held opponents to under a .200 batting average this season. He allowed five runs in just four innings against A&M. Sunday, we expect to see freshman Tegan Kuhns. He has primarily been pretty solid for the Vols, but he does not go deep into games, setting up a potential bullpen battle on Sunday.
The Tennessee lineup packs a punch with six guys, one dotting. You have Hunter Ensley, who is hitting .376 with six home runs. You also have Levi Clark and Dalton Bargo, who have 1.200 OPS with OBP approaching .500. Dean Curley and Reese Chapman are slugging close to a .600 clip and have 10 and 9 home runs, respectively. Finally, no one is more dangerous than Andrew Fischer. He is hitting .302 with a 1.250 OPS, slugging an astonishing .750, and has tallied 13 homers already. He will be a force this weekend, but it would be good for this Rebel pitching staff to keep him in check.k
This will be a tough weekend for the Rebels, and taking 1 of these three would certainly not be a bad weekend, but taking this series would put the Rebels on an obvious path toward hosting a regional. Hotty Toddy.