Boy, boy, boy, the Ole Miss Rebels have started a season hot once again sitting at 8-0 and now the No. 1 ranked RPI program in the country.
It’s not the first time and certainly won’t be the last time fans
will enjoy this kind of start, but the national media has not yet become believers in this team yet. While Baseball America ranks the Rebels (8-0) at No. 11 in its top 25, other outlets like On3 (No. 25) and D1Baseball (No. 25) barely recognize the team and Perfect Game still has Ole Miss outside the top 25.
So all that’s left to do is keep winning especially with a massive non-conference slate this weekend at Bruce Bolt College Classic in Houston, Tex. The Rebels still have several games before it opens SEC play against the Texas Longhorns in Austin, which will be a massive road series for obvious reasons.
Before Mike Bianco and the boys get to those games, it first faces Southeast Missouri State on Tuesday with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. CT at Swayze Field. The Rebels are coming off a sweep of nearby (idk maybe?) Missouri State over the weekend including a nail biting 3-2 win on Sunday.
Judd Utermark is on an absolute heater to start the year with six home runs in the first eight games good enough to be tied for first nationally with two guys from UCLA (yes two guys on the same damn team with six dingers already). Collin Reuter also had a hell of a week as the Rebels went 5-0 he compiled a .471 batting average with a home run, seven RBI and leads the team in batting average for the season.
PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
- Ole Miss: RHP Terry Hayes Jr. (0-0 3.00 ERA)
- SEMO: RHP Caden Kickhaefer (0-0, 9.82 ERA)
Terry Hayes Jr. will take the mound Tuesday for the Rebels after transferring in from Bellevue College in the NAIA. His only action this season was last week against Jackson St. when he went 3 IP with only one ER and four strikeouts. The SEMO lineup should be more of a challenge, so it will be interesting to watch in his second start of the year.
The Redhawks are countering with a senior righty who started his college career at Butler CC and last season compiled a 2-2 record with a 4.25 ERA for SEMO. Kickhaefer is 6’5” 225 lbs. with the ability to go four or five innings deep into this game if he is doing well. His numbers all point to his ability to throw strikes and make hitters beat him, so Ole Miss needs to jump on his pitches early to get him chased as soon as possible.
Ole Miss and SEMO first pitch is set for 4 p.m. CT and will be streamed on SEC Network+ on the ESPN app.
