No. 4 Ole Miss Baseball Plays Host to Purdue

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

The No. 4 Ole Miss baseball team returns to Swayze Field to play host to the Big Ten Purdue Boilermakers this weekend for a three-game set. The first pitch is set for tonight at 6:30 p.m. and can be streamed on the SEC Network+.

Ole Miss comes into their final non-conference weekend with an 11-2 overall record. The Rebels are coming off a midweek 11-5 victory over in-state foe No. 22 Southern Miss.

This season, Ole Miss is 5-1 against Big Ten opponents and have won five-straight including claiming the Cambria College Classic Championship after defeating Nebraska 14-5 on Sunday.

Senior Ethan Groff hit .500 (7-for-14) with eight RBI, five runs scored, and two stolen bases at the Classic and was named MVP of the tournament last weekend.

The Rebels offense are one of only two teams (New Mexico) in the NCAA that has four everyday starters hitting .400 or better Jacob Gonzalez (.420), Groff (.408), Calvin Harris (.400) and Peyton Chatagnier.

Purdue rolls into Oxford with an 8-4 mark on the season after taking three-of-four games from Akron.

The Boilermakers are led at the plate by Evan Albrecht who hits .474 on the season with a triple, four doubles, and 13 runs.

As a club, Purdue has hit 18 home runs and allowed 11 to opponents.

Fans will see on the mound this weekend, right-hander Khal Stephen (Friday), left-hander Johnathan Blackwell (Saturday) and Sunday’s starter is TBA for the Boilermakers. Coach Mike Bianco will go with RHP Jack Dougherty (Friday), RHP Grayson Saunier (Saturday) and southpaw Xavier Rivas (Sunday) for the Rebels.

The pitching matchup this evening, Stephen comes in with a 1-0 record and a 3.52 ERA with seven strikeouts to five walks. Dougherty is 1-1 on the season with a 2.92 ERA with 15 strikeouts and five walks.

Game times for this series is Friday (6:30 p.m. CT) and Saturday and Sunday are slatted for 1:30 p.m. CT with each game being streamed on the SEC Network+.