Kentucky baseball (17-9, 4-5 SEC) is set to host No. 9 Ole Miss (22-6, 6-3 SEC) in a three-game series as the team looks to pick up steam in the SEC.
What to watch
Kentucky enters the series coming off a series win on the road against Texas A&M, where it took games two and three. In the other two series in conference play the Bat Cats have dropped two out of three to both Georgia and Auburn.
Ole Miss is coming into Lexington after taking two out of three at home against Florida. The Rebels dropped two out of three to Arkansas before sweeping Missouri.
There will be a familiar face in the opposing dugout as former Kentucky catcher Austin Fawley is likely to be behind the dish for the Rebels.
When the two teams met last season, the Wildcats were on the upswing while the Rebels were freefalling thus resulting in a Kentucky sweep by scores of 5-3, 17-9 and 15-1.
Offense
Starting with an overall look for both teams, the home Wildcats are 13th in the SEC with a .290 team batting average. The Bat Cats are 12th in the conference with a .472 slugging percentage. When it comes to on-base percentage the Wildcats are seventh in the SEC with a .419 mark.
The Rebels enter the weekend 11th in the SEC with a .298 team batting average. Ole Miss is slugging at a .558 clip, which is fifth in the conference. The visiting offense is rounded off with a .439 on-base percentage which is fourth in the SEC.
Moving over to induvial performers, Cole Hage leads Wildcat starters in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage with marks at .363, .508 and .692 respectively.
Tyler Bell has been on a tear at the plate in recent weeks which has shot him up to second on the team amongst starters with a .347 batting average and a .594 slugging percentage. The freshman is getting on-base at a .412 clip.
Patrick Herrera rounds out the main Kentucky offensive threats as he’s been consistent all year and has hit to a .321 batting average, .423 on-base percentage and a .423 slugging percentage.
The home Wildcats will rely on Hage’s complete slash line, Bell SEC hot streak and Herrera’s consistent average to guide their approach.
For the visiting Rebels, Mitchell Sanford leads the team in both batting average and slugging percentage with marks of .358 and .745.
Luke Hill leads Ole Miss with a .489 on-base percentage while also hitting to a .347 batting average and a .545 slugging percentage.
The final Rebel to watch out for is Judd Utermark who is hitting to a .315 batting average, .417 on-base percentage and a .639 slugging percentage.
Overall Pitching
The Wildcats enter the series 10th in the SEC with a team ERA of 4.36 and come in at blank in the conference with a .221 batting average against.
The visiting Rebels pitching staff is 14th in the conference with a 5.44 team ERA. When it comes to batting average against, Ole Miss comes in a blank in the SEC at .257.
Pitching Matchups
With the series beginning on a Thursday instead of Friday, it’s unknown who the Wildcats will send to the hill. Nic McCay could be an option for the Wildcats as he comes into the series with a 3.58 ERA in 32.2 innings of work as he’s allowed 13 earned runs. The right-hander has struck out 28 and walked 11. Batters are hitting .168 off the righty.
If McCay is unavailable, the Wildcats could go for a full bullpen effort or hand the ball to Ethan Walker, who was recently moved to the bullpen.
Ole Miss is expected to send Hunter Elliot to the mound for game one and he has allowed 12 earned runs in 34.2 innings which equates to a 3.12 ERA. The left-hander has walked 14 batters and struck out 47 hitters. Opposing hitters are batting .217 off Elliot.
In game two, Kentucky is expected to send Scott Rouse to the mound for his second start of the season. The righty has tossed 25 innings on the season and has a 4.68 ERA. Rouse has allowed 13 runs and struck out 28. He has walked eight batters and opposing hitters are hitting to a .253 off Rouse.
The visiting Rebels are set to send Riley Maddux to the mound. The righty has given up 21 earned runs in 26 innings of work which equates to a 7.27 ERA. Maddux has struck out 25 hitters and walked 14. Opposing hitters are batting .290 off of Maddux.
In the series finale, Ben Cleaver is expected to get the ball for Kentucky. On the year, Cleaver has pitched to a 2.50 ERA as he’s allowed 10 earned runs in 36 innings of work. The lefty leads the team in strikeouts with 42 and has also walked 13 hitters. Opposing hitters are batting .164 off the left-hander.
The visiting Rebels are expected to send Mason Nichols to the hill. The right-hander has pitched to a 4.82 ERA as he’s allowed 15 earned runs in 28 innings. Nichols has struck out 35 hitters and walked seven batters. Opposing hitters are batting .245 off of Nichols.
Weather is expected to play a huge factor as Lexington is expecting torrential rain numbers through Saturday.
With the stage now set, Kentucky will look to keep gaining momentum while Ole Miss looks to keep its hot start rolling with first pitch of game one set for Thursday, April 3, at 7 p.m. ET.
