Rebels Begin Crucial Three-Game Series With LSU Tonight At 6:30 P.M.

The Rebels travel to Baton Rouge for a three-game series against the LSU Tigers, but as the series is set to begin tonight, history is not on the Rebels’ side. Ole Miss hasn’t won a series at Alex Box Stadium since 1982, and with the Tigers ranked 9th in the nation, the Rebels have a tough task in front of them if they hope to end that streak. 
The good news for Ole Miss is the resurgence of the offense. The Rebels found their swing against Alabama in the sweep, scoring 20 runs off of 20 hits. They followed that performance up with a 6-2 in over Southern Miss on Tuesday, so momentum is on their side heading into the series. Head coach Mike Bianco has been able to plug and play players in the lineup effectively as of late, most noticeably at the catcher position. 
Nick Fortes has seized the moment replacing Cooper Johnson behind the plate, hitting .583 over the last four games. Tim Rowe has added a consistent bat to the Rebel lineup, although he went 0-4 against Southern Miss. Look for the DH to have a bounce-back weekend against the Tigers. Before Tuesday’s game, I mentioned Kessinger’s issues with errors at SS on Tuesday, and he followed that with a three-error performance against the Golden Eagles. This weekend may be the freshman’s last chance to prove he deserves that starting spot. 
The Tigers boast a high-powered offense, which has six players in their starting lineup above the .300 mark compared to the Rebels’ one. With 10 home runs and 37 RBIs, Greg Deichmann provides the power for the Bayou Bengals. Although ranked highly, the Tigers haven’t fared as well in SEC play, the Tigers are at just 7-5 in the conference. 

Pitching Matchups
Thursday  
Ole Miss: James McArthur, RHP (2-1,1.85 ERA)
LSU: Alex Lange RHP, (3-4, 3.77 ERA)

Friday 
Ole Miss: David Parkinson, LHP (4-2, 2.85 ERA)
LSU: Jared Poché, LHP (6-1, 2.32 ERA)

Saturday
Ole Miss: Ryan Rollison, LHP (4-1, 1.99 ERA)
LSU: Eric Walker, RHP (4-0, 2.45 ERA)

Tonight’s game gets underway at 6:30 p.m. Friday’s game begins at 7 p.m. and Saturday’s game begins at 2 p.m. 
Games can be seen on SEC Network+ as always and can be heard on the Ole Miss Radio Network and OleMissSports.com. 
Weather 

Thursday and Friday should go smoothly, but a 50 percent chance of rain may put Saturday’s game in question. 

Steven Gagliano is a writer for HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at steven.gagliano@hottytoddy.com. 
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