The rest of the country may not already know this, but the best college baseball out there is in the Magnolia State this season.
Southern Miss (14-2) is the No. 1 RPI team in the nation currently while Ole Miss (15-2) sits at No. 8 and Miss. St. coming in at No. 17. These three teams combine for a 43-6 record with State and Southern having played each other already this season with the Mustard Buzzards winning 7-6 in Hattiesburg.
USM also has a win over common opponent Baylor earlier this season, which
the Rebels fell in extra innings at the Bruce Bolt Classic. Tuesday’s showdown at Pete Taylor Park is a massive opportunity for a huge road win and another chapter in this in-state rivalry.
The last time these two programs met on the baseball diamond the Rebels lost 6-2, but Ole Miss still dominates the overall series with a record of 85-55. The Rebels have fallen to Baylor and Coastal Carolina while USM opened its season with a loss to UC-Santa Barbara and a midweek loss to Nicholls the night after conquering MSU.
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUP
- Ole Miss: RHP Taylor Rabe (2-0, 2.53 ERA)
- Southern Miss. RHP Thomas Crabtree (0-1, 4.32 ERA)
Ole Miss will send Taylor Rabe to the mound for his first start of the season. He has been a strong force out of the bullpen this year with every appearance topping three innings and was only really touched up during his outing against Missouri State. It’d be great to see him go 3+ and push the pitch count past 50 to get the Rebels off on the right foot on the road.
Thomas Crabtree will be the starter for Southern Miss when first pitch is fired off around 6 p.m. CT. He is a native of Collierville, Tenn. and most likely no stranger to this series as a junior right hander from the Memphis metro area. His college career started at Pearl River CC where he struck out 105 hitters in his freshman season. Last year for the Tennessee Volunteers, he posted a 3,00 ERA in 12 appearances and is now on his third college in as many seasons.
The Rebels will be in their red jerseys for this game, and posts on social media showed the team getting in some hacks in Hattiesburg late on Monday prepping for Tuesday’s game.
Tuesday’s game can be streamed live on ESPN+ on the ESPN app or via WatchESPN. David Kellum will be live on the radio if you want to do what cranky people like me do and mute the TV and listen to our Ole Miss broadcast.
There is going to be a packed house in Hattiesburg for this one, the Roost in right field will be full of pick-up trucks, charcoal grills and a few ice cold domestics for this one. This is a match between two teams hurtling full speed toward 40-win seasons and what hopes to be a memorable postseason. It will absolute must see baseball on display.
