The Hogs come to Oxford to Kick off SEC Play: #13 Ole Miss vs #3 Arkansas Baseball Preview

Spring feels like it is finally here, and that means that it is time for SEC baseball. Ole Miss baseball will open conference play this weekend as the Razorbacks will roll into Oxford for the weekend series. The Hogs come in ranked #3 in the nation and have a record of 16-1. Their only loss comes at the hands of Kansas in Arlington, Texas, in one of the early season showcases. The Rebels enter ranked 13th, with a record of 14-2, after suffering a midweek loss to South Alabama on Tuesday. 

This will be another big test for the Rebels, who fared quite well in their first-ranked challenges of the season both in Arlington and against Southern Miss. Arkansas is a different beast, and picking up a series win over this team to start in the SEC would be a huge catalyst. It will certainly take a complete team effort. 

The Rebels will roll out the same three starters they have all season long. Hunter Elliott will take the ball Friday, Riley Maddox will be on the bump Saturday, and Mason Nichols will throw on Sunday. The key for the Rebels in this series will be getting quality starts out of all of their pitchers, and they might need a 7-inning Elliott gem to win this series.

The Razorbacks will maintain their same rotation. They also have a great one-two punch for Friday and Saturday. Zach Root will throw today and go toe-to-toe with Elliott. Both were named All-SEC to start the season, and it should be a great pitching duel. Root has a 2.11 ERA and has held opponents to a .156 BA, striking out 36 so far.

Saturday, we will see Landon Beidelschies for the Razorback. He has a 2.37 ERA but has allowed an opposing batting average of .243. Beidelschies, however, is excellent at limiting the free pass, only waking 3. Gabe Gaeckle will likely throw on Sunday, and he has easily been the weakest link of the rotation for Arkansas with a 6,16 ERA.

In terms of bullpen arms for the Hogs, you have Parker Coli who is yet to allow a run in 7 appearance. Dylan Carter also has a zero ERA in 5 games. Colin Fisher has thrown 11 innings for them. Carson Wiggins is the closer and has struck out 5 in 4 innings.

I do expect the Rebels to have a more consistent lineup this weekend. I do think you could see some changes at the shortstop position, as that position seems unsettled. I expect Austin Fawley to be the starting catcher for all three games this weekend, but that certainly is not guaranteed.

Arkansas has a really good lineup. But they are pretty top-heavy, sort of like the Rebels. They have three hitters with an average of .400 or better and three others hitting above .300. This does, however, have 2-3 bats in the lineup that are hitting between .175 and .230.

They are led by Sophomore infielder Kuhio Aloy, who transferred into Arkansas from BYU this season and has been nothing short of sensational. He is hitting .460 with a slugging percentage of an absurd 1.000, giving him an OPS of 1.557. He also leads their team with seven home runs and 31 RBIs.

Additionally, they have Brent Iredale, who is hitting .431, slugging .961, and is tied for the team lead in seven home runs with 29 RBIs. The final offensive leader is the other Aloy brother, Wehiwa, who is hitting .400 and has six home runs. For the other players hitting above .300, you have Cam Kozeal, Logan Maxwell, and Charles Davalan.

This will be the biggest challenge for the Rebels and should let us know where they will stack up in the SEC. They are currently ranked as the 8th best team in the SEC, but were picked 15th in the preseason poll, lets see if they can continue to prove people wrong. Hotty Toddy.