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Diamond Rebels Welcome Bulldogs for a Magnolia State Baseball Clash
Senior Sikes Orvis and the Rebels take on in-state rival Mississippi State this weekend.
Photo courtesy Josh McCoy Ole Miss Athletics
This weekend, two schools separated by 101 miles will meet on the diamond of Swayze field as Ole Miss welcomes Mississippi State into Oxford for a three-game series tilt.
Ole Miss (25-24, 11-13 SEC) get set to conclude the 2015 regular season with six of the next seven games being played at home. The Rebels are coming off a series against No. 14 Missouri where the Tigers took the first two games.
The Rebels salvaged a win on Sunday 4-3 as Sikes Orvis belted two solo home runs in the game to secure the victory. The multi-homer game was the second of Orvis’ career. The senior first baseman coincidentally homered twice against Missouri last season. He also became the second Rebel to hit two home runs in one game this season.
Mississippi State comes into this weekend with a mark of 8-16 in conference play and 24-24 on the season. The Bulldogs are led at the plate by redshirt-sophomore Jacob Robson paces the team with a .348 average at the plate to go along with a team-high 20 stolen bases. In his final year as a Bulldog, redshirt-senior Wes Rea has shown his power with 33 RBI, nine doubles, four home runs and a .489 slugging percentage.
The probable pitching matchup for this weekend showcases the arms of senior southpaw Lucas Laster Thursday, redshirt-junior right-hander Preston Brown Friday and sophomore Austin Sexton Saturday. Coach Mike Bianco will send Christian Trent and Brady Bramlett to the hill on Thursday and Friday respectively, and Saturday’s hurler has not yet been announced for the Rebels.
Last week, the Rebels and the Bulldogs met in the annual Governor’s Cup where Ole Miss won by a commanding 11-1 margin, which was the largest victory in the 36-year history of the Mayor’s Trophy/Governor’s Cup. Coming into this weekend’s matchup, these two teams have faced one another 450 times, and the Bulldogs barely the series at 237-208-5.
Game times for this series are slated for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 6 p.m. Friday and 4 Saturday. Fans that are not able to make it out to the ballpark can watch every minute of the games on SEC Network or listen to all the action on the Ole Miss Radio Network.
Adam Brown is HottyToddy.com sports editor and can be reached at adam.brown@hottytoddy.com.
| Sat, Aug 31 |  | vs Furman | W, 76-0 |
| Sat, Sep 7 |  | vs Middle Tennessee | W, 52-3 |
| Sat, Sep 14 |  | @ Wake Forest | W, 40-6 |
| Sat, Sep 21 |  | vs Georgia Southern | W, 52-13 |
| Sat, Sep 28 |  | vs Kentucky | L, 20-17 |
| Sat, Oct 5 |  | @ South Carolina | W, 27-3 |
| Sat, Oct 12 |  | vs LSU | L, 29-26 (2 OT) |
| Sat, Oct 26 |  | vs Oklahoma | W, 26-14 |
| Sat, Nov 2 |  | @ Arkansas | W, 63-35 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Georgia | W, 28-10 |
| Sat, Nov 23 |  | @ Florida | L, 24-17 |
| Sat, Nov 30 |  | vs Mississippi State | W, 26-14 |
| Thu, Jan 2 |  | vs Duke (Gator Bowl) | W, 52-20 |
| Mon, Nov 4 |  | vs Long Island University | W, 90-60 |
| Fri, Nov 8 |  | vs Grambling | W, 66-64 |
| Tue, Nov 12 |  | vs South Alabama | W, 64-54 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Colorado State | W, 84-69 |
| Thu, Nov 21 |  | vs Oral Roberts | L, 100-68 |
| Thu, Nov 28 |  | vs BYU | W, 96-85 OT |
| Fri, Nov 29 |  | vs 13 Purdue | L, 80-78 |
| Tue, Dec 3 |  | @ Louisville | W, 86-63 |
| Sat, Dec 7 |  | vs Lindenwood | W, 86-53 |
| Sat, Dec 14 |  | vs Southern Miss | W, 77-46 |
| Tue, Dec 17 |  | vs Southern | W, 74-61 |
| Sat, Dec 21 |  | vs Queens University | W, 80-62 |
| Sat, Dec 28 |  | @ Memphis | L, 87-70 |
| Sat, Jan 4 |  | vs Georgia | 11:00 AM SECN |
| Wed, Jan 8 |  | @ 23 Arkansas | 6:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Jan 11 |  | vs LSU | 5:00 PM SECN |
| Tue, Jan 14 |  | @ 5 Alabama | 6:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Jan 18 |  | @ 17 Mississippi State | 5:00 PM TBA |
| Wed, Jan 22 |  | vs 13 Texas A&M | 8:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Jan 25 |  | @ Missouri | 5:00 PM SECN |
| Wed, Jan 29 |  | vs Texas | 8:00 PM ESPN2 |
| Sat, Feb 1 |  | vs 2 Auburn | 3:00 PM TBA |
| Tue, Feb 4 |  | vs 10 Kentucky | 6:00 PM ESPN |
| Sat, Feb 8 | | @ LSU | 7:30 PM SECN |
| Wed, Feb 12 |  | @ South Carolina | 6:00 PM SECN |
| Sat, Feb 15 | | vs 17 Mississippi State | 5:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Feb 22 |  | @ Vanderbilt | 2:30 PM SECN |
| Wed, Feb 26 | | @ 2 Auburn | 6:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Mar 1 |  | vs 12 Oklahoma | 1:00 PM TBA |
| Wed, Mar 5 |  | vs 1 Tennessee | 8:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Mar 8 |  | @ 6 Florida | 5:00 PM SECN |