Ole Miss baseball returns to Swayze Field this afternoon, first pitch at 4 PM CT, to take on the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles out of the Sun Belt. This is the first of two midweek meetings between the two teams, and it is always one of the marquee midweek matchups each season. This time, there will be a meeting of two top-25 teams, as both Southern Miss and Ole Miss were added to the new D1 Baseball poll.
Ole Miss is coming off a 4-0 week where they dominated the mound, particularly with their starting pitching. Southern Miss is coming off their first season loss, but they picked up the series win over the always pesky Lousiana Tech. The Golden Eagles are 7-1 on the year so far and picked up the upset victory over Mississippi State last week
Ole Miss will hand the ball to Saint Joseph's transfer Will McCausland, who will make his second appearance and first start in a Rebel uniform. Initially, I was slightly surprised, as I thought they would start Alex Canney again, but this move made sense. McCausland was a star at Saint Joe's and was incredible in his first appearance against Clemson. McCausland has electric stuff, throwing 3.2 innings against Clemson and striking out eight batters. He allowed three hits and one earned against the Tigers. I suspect that Canney will be available out of the pen today.
Southern Miss will be starting Sophmore McCarty English for his second appearance and first start of the season. He will look better than his first outing against Lafayette, where he only recorded two outs but allowed three earned runs off of a double and a home run. Hopefully, this will be a favorable matchup for the Rebels.
The Golden Eagles boast a strong lineup with four players, 1 dotting their OPS and another, Nick Monistere at .995 and Drey Barrett at a .813 OPS. Joey Urban, Ozzie Pratt, Davis, Gillespie, and Carson Paetow lead them offensively.
This will be an excellent test for the Rebs, mainly because there aren't many challenges on the schedule until SEC play. It is also a beautiful and warm day in Oxford, so pack Swayze and Hotty Toddy!