Rebs Host Weekend Series at Swayze against Georgia State

Ole Miss baseball returns to Swayze Field this evening to host the Georgia State Panthers in the first weekend series at home of the season.
Ole Miss (4-0) enters the weekend after a 6-0 shutout over the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks on Wednesday night. The Rebels broke the game open in the eighth inning by putting up four runs on the Skyhawks.
Including the shutout against Tennessee-Martin, the Rebels pitching staff has posted two shutouts in the last four outings and a team .075 ERA heading into tonight’s game against the Panthers.
Ole Miss is hitting a .340 average with six homeruns and 26 RBI’s on the year. The Rebels averages eight runs a game.
Georgia State (3-1) comes to Oxford after defeating Illinois last weekend and picking up a road victory over Savannah State on Tuesday night. The Panthers look to Chris Tripplett for run production as he holds a .471 average, one homerun, and seven RBI’s in four games.
Nine batters are hitting with a .300 average are better this season with 33 RBI’s for Georgia State.
The probable pitching match up for this weekend is shaping up this way:
Coach Mike Bianco will send junior RHP Chris Ellis to the mound Friday, sophomore LHP Christian Trent on Saturday, and junior RHP Sam Smith on Sunday. The Rebels will face the Georgia State pitching staff of RHP Nathan Bates on Friday, LHP Andrew Fessler on Saturday and Matt Ross on Sunday.
Ole Miss and Georgia State’s series this weekend will be the first time these teams have faced each other on the diamond. However, the Panters are no strangers to facing an SEC opponent. Last season, Georgia State defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 10-7.
First pitch of this series is slated for 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday both games are set for 1:30 p.m.
 
–Adam Brown, Sports Editor of HottyToddy.com adam.brown@hottytoddy.com