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Diamond Rebels Clash with Arkansas State in Jonesboro
By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com
Junior Grae Kessinger steps up to the plate. Photo by Steven Gagliano.
The No. 15 Ole Miss baseball team returns to the diamond this evening as they travel to Jonesboro to take on the Arkansas State Red Wolves in their final non-conference tilt of the regular season. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m.
Ole Miss (32-20) is looking to bounce back from being swept this past weekend by their in-state rivals, the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Junior Grae Kessinger has reached first base successfully in the last 40 straight games. In SEC play, Kessinger leads the conference in batting average and hits. His reached-base streak is the 10th-longest active streak in the nation and the longest active streak in the conference.
The Rebels’ offense has scored three or more runs in an inning 49 times this season and has plated double-figure runs 17 times.
Arkansas State enters the game with a 25-26 record on the year after dropping three straight games to Georgia Southern over the weekend.
The Red Wolves are led at the plate by first baseman Sky-Lar Culver who is batting .328 with 63 hits, 14 doubles and 44 RBIs. As a club, Arkansas State is batting at a .257 clip.
Ole Miss leads Arkansas State 75-23 in the all-time series as the two squads meet for the 99th time. The Rebels have won the last three games in the series, with their last defeat coming in 2017 in Jonesboro, 5-0. The Red Wolves have won two of the last three in Jonesboro, taking the 2016 matchup 8-6.
Earlier this season, Arkansas State jumped out to a 2-0 lead in Oxford in the top of the first inning, but the Rebels answered with five runs in the bottom half and never looked back.
Coach Mike Bianco will hand the ball off to junior southpaw Zack Phillips. Phillips is 4-2 on the mound this season for the Rebels with a 5.28 ERA in 46.0 innings of work. The Red Wolves have not named a starter for the game.
Fans can listen to the action on the Ole Miss Radio Network.
| 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 | 11:00 AM ABC or ESPN |
| Sat, Nov 30 |  | vs Mississippi State | 2:30 PM ESPN or ABC |
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