Ole Miss Returns to Swayze to Host Missouri

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

Ole Miss baseball returns to Swayze Field this weekend as they play host to the Missouri Tigers in a three-game SEC series tilt. The first pitch is set for Friday at 6:30 p.m. and can be seen on SEC Network+.

Ole Miss comes in to the series with a 24-19 overall record and a 7-14 mark in SEC play. The Rebels dropped a hard-fought series to the Arkansas Razorbacks last weekend.

The Rebels starter Dylan DeLucia has been dominant on the mound over the last month. Going 4-0 including the win against the Razorbacks on Friday. The junior struck out a career-high nine batters in the outing, also the most strikeouts by a Rebel pitcher this season.

Jacob Gonzalez and Tim Elko are tied for the third most home runs in SEC play this season with 10 apiece. Elko also ranks third in the conference with 17 homers overall. Elko ranks second in the SEC with 54 runs batted in this season. 27 of those runs have been driven home during conference games, ranking third in the league.

As a club, Ole Miss has tallied 72 home runs this season, ranking fifth in the conference and 17th in the nation. The Rebels have hit multiple home runs in 21 games this season.

Missouri rolls into Oxford with a 25-17 overall record and a 7-14 mark in conference play. The Tigers took the backend of the series over Mississippi State last weekend.

The Tigers are led at the plate by Josh Day with a .340 batting average. Missouri is led by Luke Mann in Home runs with 13 on the season.

This weekend fans will see left-handed pitcher Tony Neubeck (Friday), right-hander Spencer Miles (Saturday) for the Tigers with Sunday still TBA. Coach Mike Bianco will send DeLucia (Friday), southpaw Hunter Elliott (Saturday) and Derek Diamond (Sunday) to the hill for the Rebels.

This series carries significant weight in the league standings, with Ole Miss and Missouri, along with Kentucky, currently tied for the final spot in the SEC Tournament. Missouri is making their first trip to Swayze since 2017, a 2-1 series victory for the Rebels. These two programs have not faced off in any capacity since splitting four games in 2019. Missouri took a 2-1 series win in Columbia that year but the Rebels avenged with a 2-1 win in the SEC Tournament in Hoover.

Game times for this series are set for Friday (6:30 p.m.), Saturday (6 p.m.) and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. and can all be streamed on SEC Network+.