The Preview: Ole Miss Baseball vs. Austin Peay Governors in Major Midweek Matchup

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss Baseball (16-5, 1-2 SEC) will host Austin Peay (11-9, 2-1 ASUN) Tuesday at Swayze Field. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. after being moved up to avoid winter weather Tuesday night.

Leading Off:

- Ole Miss went 1-3 last week on the road, losing to No. 7 Southern Miss and taking just one of three against No. 2 Texas.

- Their one win came in dramatic fashion as Tristan Bissetta hit a two-out grand slam in the ninth inning to give the Rebels a lead.

- They would end up winning 9-8 in 11 innings for their third-consecutive conference opening win.

- Bissetta hit .412 (7-for-17) with two home runs, six RBI, and two doubles last week. He has four home runs and 11 RBI over his last nine games.

- His season batting average of .407 is the seventh best in the SEC and he is also ranked seventh in slugging percentage (.802) and RBI per game (1.43)

- Judd Utermark is hitting .424 (14-for-33) with four home runs, 12 RBI, 10 runs scored, seven walks, and three doubles over his last nine games.

- Utermark is third in the SEC in runs scored (30), fourth in runs per game (1.43), fifth in home runs (10), and sixth in slugging percentage (.805).

- Utermark is currently riding a nine-game hitting streak and Bissetta is riding an eight-game hitting streak.

- The Ole Miss pitching staff is ranked fourth in the SEC and seventh in the NCAA in strikeouts per nine innings at 12.1.

Ole Miss Rebels Baseball: Decker. — Courtesy of Dom Decker's Instagram.

Projected Pitching Matchup:

RHP Owen Kelly (1-0, 4.26 ERA) vs. LHP Chance Cox (0-1, 11.40 ERA)

Broadcast Information:

Tuesday's game will be streamed live on SEC Network+ with Jake Hromada (PxP) and Keith Kessinger (analyst) on the call.

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: Austin Peay Edition

Roland Fanning is the 12th head baseball coach in Austin Peay history and is in his fourth season leading the Governors. He's the reigning two-time ASUN Conference Coach of the Year, after guiding Austin Peay to back-to-back 35-win seasons, which included 45 wins last year. He's accumulated a 117-76 overall record entering Tuesday's game.

Despite the success of the past two seasons, the Governors begin week six of the 2026 baseball season at 11-9. Austin Peay began the season with a four-game series against UNLV, splitting it 2-2. It then won a series with Eastern Michigan with a pair of wins but lost the next series against Cincinnati with a loss to Mississippi State in between.

Most recently, Austin Peay is coming off its conference-opening series against Bellarmine. The Governors won two games and scored at least eight runs in all three games.

Outfielders Zion Taylor and Paris Pridgen have had almost identical batting averages at .385 and .382, respectively, but each offer something unique to Austin Peay's offense. Taylor has excelled at getting multi-base hits, collecting 11 including three home runs.

Pridgen is one of the most effective baserunners in the country having already secured 16 stolen bases, which is tops for the ASUN and 10th in the country. Andres Matias and Ty Wisdom are also hitting above .300 for the year. Matias leads the team with 24 RBI, and they both have four homers.

Austin Peay's midweek starters this season have been Chance Cox primarily, and Elijah Underhill on one occasion. Cox is 0-1 in his four starts this season. He's collected 15 innings of work entering Tuesday's game, where he's recorded 11 strikeouts.

The other potential starter, Underhill, has a 5.11 ERA in 12.1 innings pitched. He's recorded 12 strikeouts and earned the win in Austin Peay's 15-6 blowout of Ohio.

More Ole Miss News:

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The SEC Tournament Bracket: Ole Miss Basketball Eyeing Upset Win Over Texas Longhorns

Ole Miss Football Recruiting Buzz: Rebels Poised for Massive Run of Commitments

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Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and Ole Miss Rebels On SI: @OleMissOnSI for all coverage surrounding the Ole Miss program.