LOOK: Ole Miss Pitchers Put Together Impressive Weekend vs. Eastern Kentucky

The Ole Miss Rebels gained a sweep of the Eastern Kentucky Colonels over the weekend, and solid pitching was a big reason why.

Ole Miss Rebels RHP Riley Maddox prepares to throw a pitch against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels at Swayze Field in Oxford, Miss., on Feb. 22, 2025. The Rebels won the game 9-4. | Ole Miss Athletics

The Ole Miss Rebels gained a sweep of the Eastern Kentucky Colonels over the weekend, and solid pitching was a big reason why.

The Rebels (6-1) gained wins over the Colonels by final scores of 8-0, 9-4 and 9-3, and even though Eastern Kentucky is currently winless on the season, Ole Miss' pitching staff still showed some promise throughout the three games.

Ole Miss baseball shared a post on social media on Monday that highlighted some of the key stats that helped the Rebels gain those three wins, and you can view the post below.

𝗢𝗹𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗣𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘃𝘀. 𝗘𝗞𝗨
🔴 Fewest runs allowed in a series (7) since 2023
🔴 42 strikeouts
🔴 .177 Opponent Batting Average
🔴 2.33 ERA#HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/KI20MiHwLQ

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 24, 2025

As you can see in the post, this was the fewest runs allowed by Ole Miss in a series (7) since the 2023 season. EKU's seven runs were spread across the final two days of action at Swayze Field, and the Rebels' starting rotation was only responsible for one of those seven runs, one that came on the docket of Mason Nichols on Sunday.

The Ole Miss staff also accumulated 42 strikeouts across the three wins, held the Colonels to a batting average of .177, and posted an overall 2.33 ERA.

As noted above, Eastern Kentucky is probably not the best litmus test to determine exactly how good Ole Miss will be in 2025, but these numbers are impressive from the Rebel arms nonetheless. It's especially noteworthy that Friday night starter Hunter Elliott has looked incredibly reliable in his first two outings (vs. Arizona and EKU) after missing most of 2023 and all of 2024 following Tommy John surgery.

Saturday arm Riley Maddox also had a bounce back performance this week after his outing against Texas in the opening weekend of the season fell apart in the fourth inning as the Rebels went on to be run-ruled by the Longhorns in Arlington. He spoke after Saturday's win over EKU about how badly he needed a strong showing against the Colonels.

"This was definitely a huge confidence booster," Maddox said. "I definitely needed that. I try not to look at the stats, but you see a 16 ERA up there, it's kind of tough to look at. So we're backing it down, slowly but surely."

Ole Miss will take the field at Swayze again in midweek action on Tuesday as it plays host to Southern Miss at 4 p.m. CT, and it will be at home again this weekend as it hosts Wright State.