The Preview: Ole Miss Baseball vs. Florida Gators in Pivotal Game 1 SEC Showdown

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss Baseball (20-10, 3-6 SEC) heads to Gainesville, Florida this weekend for the first time since 2021 for a three-game series against No. 21 Florida (23-7, 6-3 SEC).

First pitch on Thursday and Friday is set for 5:30 p.m. while Saturday's finale is set for 6:30 p.m.

LEADING OFF
- Judd Utermark hit his 41st career home run in the win, moving into a tie for third all-time in Ole Miss history.
- Austin Fawley is currently riding an eight-game hitting streak hitting .308 (8-for-26) with two home runs, three doubles, and four RBI during that stretch. He is also on a 14-game on base streak.
- Tristan Bissetta became the fastest Rebel to hit 13 home runs in a season, hitting his 13th home run on March 19, just 23 games into the year.
- Bissetta comes into the week ranked second in the SEC in home runs (14), fourth in total bases (85), fifth in RBI (38), sixth in slugging percentage (.746), and seventh in RBI per game (1.27).
- Judd Utermark is ranked fourth in the SEC in runs scored (36), fifth in home runs (12), and seventh in runs per game (1.20).
- Dom Decker is ranked third in the SEC and 10th in the NCAA in walks with 32. He is averaging 1.07 walks per game.
- Hunter Elliott is ranked ninth in the SEC in strikeouts with 51 punchouts on the season. His K/9 sits at 12.63 which is also ninth in the SEC.
- The Ole Miss pitching staff has struck out 337 batters, second-most in the SEC and fifth in the NCAA.

PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1: RHP Taylor Rabe (3-1, 2.61 ERA) vs. RHP Liam Peterson (1-1, 3.67 ERA)
Game 2: LHP Hunter Elliott (3-0, 3.72 ERA) vs. RHP Aidan King (3-2, 1.97 ERA)
Game 3: RHP Cade Townsend (2-1, 1.90 ERA) vs. RHP Russell Sandefer (2-1, 4.24 ERA)

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Thursday and Friday's games will be streamed live on SEC Network+ with Sean Kelly (PxP) and Nick Belmonte (analyst) on the call.

Saturday's finale will be broadcast live on SEC Network with Dave Neal (PxP) and Lance Cormier (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
Kevin O'Sullivan is in his 19th season of being an NCAA head coach, spending all 19 years with Florida.

Last season, the Gators went 39-22 and secured its 17th consecutive NCAA Regional berth. Florida reached the second round of the SEC Tournament before falling to Ole Miss, 3-1.

The Gators are off to another strong start this season, tallying a 23-7 overall record with a 6-3 mark in SEC play. Florida has either swept or been swept in SEC series' so far this season.

Florida opened its SEC play by sweeping South Carolina in a combined 17-3 score, which included two shutouts. It would then get swept by Alabama but rebounded to sweep No. 4 Arkansas in Fayetteville.

At the dish, sophomore shortstop Brendan Lawson has been the most effective so far this season. He's hitting .372 and leads the team with 11 home runs. His batting average is sixth the SEC and his on base percentage of .587 leads the conference. Blake Cyr and Kyle Jones are also strong contributors, each tallying at least 30 hits entering this weekend's series.

Florida's projected weekend starters are right-handers Liam Peterson, Aidan King and Russell Sandefer. King has been the most productive of the trio, garnering a 1.97 ERA (fifth in the SEC) and only seven earned runs.

Peterson has given up more runs, but he's reached 55 strikeouts on the year so far in his 120 at-bats. In the bullpen, Jackson Barberi is one of the best relievers in the country, appearing in four of Florida's six shutouts this season while fanning 37 batters, the second most on the team.

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