Ole Miss Baseball vs. Evansville Aces Starting Lineup and How to Watch in Friday Clash

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss Baseball (12-2) hosts Evansville (3-8) for their final non-conference series of the season at Swayze Field. The teams will play a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 3 p.m.

Scheduling plans for the series finale continue to be evaluated as we monitor the weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday. An update will be announced as soon as it is finalized.

LEADING OFF
- Ole Miss swept their midweeks this week, picking up wins over Memphis and North Alabama.
- The pitching staff racked up 48 strikeouts last weekend in Houston, punching out 20 of those in 10 innings against Baylor on Friday.
- Hunter Elliott, Cade Townsend, and Taylor Rabe all set new career highs for strikeouts in a game with their outings.
- Dom Decker hit three home runs over the weekend in Houston, bringing his season total to four. He had not hit a home run in his career prior to this season.
- Decker now leads the SEC and is ranked fifth in the nation in walks with 18 free passes. He is averaging 1.29 walks per game.
- Ole Miss pitchers are now up to 176 total strikeouts on the season, the second most in the SEC and the third-highest total in the NCAA.
- The Rebel pitching staff owns the second-lowest ERA in the SEC at 2.75 and the third-highest K/9 at 13.1.
- Cade Townsend has struck out eight or more batters in each of his outings so far. His 25 punchouts are top-25 in the NCAA and his K/9 of 16.46 is top-10 in the NCAA.

PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1: LHP Hunter Elliott (1-0, 3.68 ERA) vs. LHP Kenton Deverman (0-2, 11.12 ERA)
Game 2: RHP Cade Townsend (1-0, 0.66 ERA) vs. RHP Max Hansmann (1-0, 2.12 ERA)

Lineup for Game 1️⃣ pic.twitter.com/pe3cbfK7Zd
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 6, 2026

BROADCAST INFORMATION
All three games can be streamed live on SEC Network+ with Jake Hromada (PxP) and Keith Kessinger (analyst) on the call for Friday's doubleheader. Hromada will be joined by former Rebel pitcher Jamey Price for the series finale.

Fans can listen to all Ole Miss Baseball games, home and away, on the Ole Miss Radio Network with David Kellum (PxP) and Brad Henderson (analyst) on the call.

SCOUTING REPORT
Head coach Wes Carroll has entered his 18th campaign as the Aces' skipper. He's accumulated nearly 450 wins for the program, which is good for second all-time in program history.

The Purple Aces are just two years removed from their second MVC Tournament title in 2024, the same year in which they made their first-ever NCAA Regional Championship appearance, winning the Greenville (N.C.) Regional. Carroll won the ABCA/ATEC Midwest Regional Coach of the Year for his efforts.

Last season saw the Aces take a step back, recording a 17-37 record with 10-17 mark against conference opponents. This season has seen a similar start, as Evansville is 3-8 entering this weekend's series.

Evansville started this season 0-5, before a slim 1-0 victory over No. 18 Kentucky ended the drought and prevented a sweep. Despite its record, Evansville has yet to be swept this season and is coming off a series win over Milwaukee last weekend.

Ole Miss Baseball. — Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Baseball.

The Aces have struggled at the dish thus far this season, as no players are hitting above .300. Spike Magil leads the way with a .286 batting average, but he's only appeared in nine games. Wyatt Pennington is the most consistent everyday starter as a utility player and pitcher, batting .244. Outfielder Reid Haire has a pair of home runs so far this season, which leads the team.

Evansville's weekend rotation this season has consisted of lefty's Kenton Deverman on Friday and Kevin Reed on Sunday, with right-hander Max Hansmann sandwiched between on Saturday. Hansmann leads the team with 19 strikeouts with a 2.12 ERA, the best of any starter on the team.

As a trio, they combine for a 3-3 overall record, with Deverman being the weak link at 0-2 and an 11.12 ERA. Owen Byberg has been a solid relief pitcher for the Aces, making four mound appearances with a 1.32 ERA. He's earned one save, and batters are hitting .208 against him.

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