Ole Miss baseball followed up their recent series loss to Mississippi State with a close win over Little Rock on Tuesday night. This win puts Ole Miss at 27-10 overall, and 9-1 in midweek games.
The midweek game had a number of lineup changes. Sophomore Peyton Chatagnier started at third base for the first time this season, and freshman TJ McCants returned to the second base along with hitting in the leadoff position for the first time this season. Freshman Kemp Alderman had his first plate appearance and career start, while freshman Jack Dougherty also had his first start as a Rebel pitcher.
Dougherty pitched 1.2 innings, giving up two hits, two runs, and three strikeouts. He finished the night with a 2.45 ERA. Following Dougherty, six more pitchers came into the game, with none pitching more than an inning.
Offensively, there were a lot of players who impacted in this high-scoring game. Sophomore John Rhys Plumlee went two-for-two at the plate with a double. Senior Cael Baker, junior Kevin Graham, freshman Jacob Gonzalez, and Chatagnier all had a pair of RBI’s in the game. Ole Miss finished out the night with 11 runs on 13 hits.
The Rebels have struggled the past few weeks in SEC play, losing their last three series. While midweek games aren’t typically considered the most important games, these games can play a factor in confidence-building. The season is now halfway through, making this weekend’s match-up all the more important. Tuesday’s game versus Little Rock begins an eight-game homestand with back-to-back SEC series.
Going into this weekend’s series, Ole Miss is third in the SEC West and 9-6 in conference play. The Rebels came off a rough few weeks and only won the second game of each of their last three series. The season started off with such a hot start in the SEC going 6-0 to start things off, that the Rebels are desperate to get back on the winning side of things.
The LSU Tigers have struggled to find any type of rhythm this season and are sitting at fifth in the SEC West and have a 4-11 SEC record coming into this week. This matchup will be a competitive opportunity for both teams who desperately need a series win.
Ole Miss takes on LSU this weekend starting on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. The two teams are scheduled to play a game on Friday and Saturday before the football team’s Grove Bowl.
