No. 10 Ole Miss Welcomes North Alabama to Swayze

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

No. 10 Ole Miss returns to the diamond of Swayze Field on Tuesday night, playing host to the North Alabama Lions. The first pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. and can be streamed on the SEC Network+.

Ole Miss (16-7, 2-4 SEC) looks to bounce back after being swept by then-No. 5 Tennessee over the weekend. All the Rebels’ runs in the series came via home runs from Tim Elko (2), Kemp Alderman and Hayden Dunhurst.

The Rebels dropped nine spots in the latest D1Baseball Top 25 Poll.

North Alabama rolls into Oxford with a 6-16 overall record on the season and riding a four-game losing streak. The Lions lost a midweek contest to Tennessee Tech and got swept by Jacksonville State University over the weekend.

The Lions are led at the plate by junior Austin Thrasher with a .338 average with a triple, five doubles and 10 RBIs.

North Alabama is hitting at a .246 average as a team.

The probable pitching matchup will showcase the arms of RHP Austin Nichols for the Lions. Nichols is 0-3 on the season with a 10.55 ERA. He has retired 18 batters by strikeout and allowed nine walks. Coach Mike Bianco will turn to right-hander Josh Washburn for the red and blue. Washburn is taking the mound with a 2-1 record with a 3.54 ERA to go along with 23 strike outs to 13 walks.

Last season, Ole Miss welcomed UNA into Swayze and defeated them 20-6 in seven innings.

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