Ole Miss Hosts ULM on the Diamond

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

The No. 4 Ole Miss Rebels enter their final non-conference weekend series as they play host to the ULM Warhawks. The first pitch of the series is set for Friday at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+. 

Ole Miss (11-2) is coming into the weekend after an 11-1 win over Alcorn State on Tuesday night. 

In the first 13 games of the season, the Rebel offense has scored 105 runs, which has them ranked No. 12 in the nation and No. 5 in the SEC. 

This weekend, Ole Miss will be without All-American left-hander Doug Nikhazy as he is battling a pec strain. Coach Mike Bianco looks to reinsert Peyton Chataginer at second base. 

The Rebels are continuing to show out on the mound with strikeouts per nine innings, averaging 13.3 per game, which ranks No. 3 in the nation and No. 2 in the conference. 

ULM (5-4) are coming off of a 10-3 loss to Louisiana Tech in the midweek prior to taking the backend of the series from Nicholls State. 

The Warhawks are led at the plate by Ryan Humenick with a .364 average and two home runs. His teammate Wiley Cleland has the team-high in RBI with 12. 

The probably pitching matchup for this series will see left-hander Cam Barlow (Friday), RHP Ty Barnes (Saturday) and LHP Tyler Lein (Sunday). Ole Miss will send to the bump Gunnar Hoglund (Friday), Drew McDaniel (Saturday) and Derek Diamond (Sunday). 

These two programs have met on the diamond 46 times with the Rebels holding a 35-11 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams met last season in Monroe for a two-game midweek set. The Rebels won a tight first game, 6-3, before hitting five home runs in Game 2 to run away with an 18-7 victory. As it turned out, that was the final game of the 2020 season as the spread of COVID-19 halted the campaign the next day.

Game times for this series are Friday (6:30 p.m.), Saturday and Sunday both set at 1:30 p.m.