The Weekend Preview: Ole Miss Baseball Set to Host Arkansas Razorbacks in SEC Play

The No. 13 ranked Ole Miss Rebels are ready to move into conference play as they are set to host the No. 3 Arkansas Razorbacks in their first SEC weekend series of the season.

Heading into the series, The Rebels are fresh off of a 14-5 blowout loss to South Alabama with the chance to bounce back at home on Friday night.

Prior to the loss, Ole Miss was riding a 13-game winning streak spanning from February 16 - March 12.

Now, Mika Bianco's squad is ready for their Top-25 showdown in the opening weekend of Southeastern Conference play.

The Razorbacks are 16-1 on the season with their only loss coming at a neutral site environment against a 9-7 Kansas State squad.

However, Arkansas' next test was No. 22 TCU and they took away a hard fought 2-1 win to begin their current 12-game winning streak that they hold going into this weekend.

Despite the Razorbacks on their red-hot streak, there is higher chance than some fans may think for the Rebels to pull off the upset.

First off, Ole Miss' Hunter Elliot is the projected Friday starter and is coming off of National Pitcher of the Month honors in February.

Elliot's last start was less than ideal as he allowed 4 runs but those are the only runs he's allowed in his 4 starts; keeping his ERA at 1.86. He's also recorded 25 strikeouts in just 19.1 innings pitched.

The Rebels' ace has also kept guys off the bases only issuing 11 free passes and holding hitters to just a .177 batting average against him.

Another key factor for Ole Miss this weekend has to be the bounce back of the lineup, specifically Hayden Federico.

The freshman standout enters the the weekend reaching base in all 13 of his first collegiate games, however, his hit streak was squandered in the final game against Jacksonville State and did not record a hit on Tuesday against South Alabama.

The Rebels need Federico to find some grass again as he is also a valuable asset on the base paths after already swiping four bags this year with three coming in one game.

Federico is not the only important key this week offensively but the entire team needs to continue what they have done at the plate.

Recently, it feels as if everyone is hot right now and Ole Miss is putting up a lot of runs. That is momentum that they need to keep heading into this weekend.

Both teams are very talented offensively as well, but Arkansas holds the advantage in runs scored, and hits. For Ole Miss, the Rebels have still found a way on base as they hold a slight advantage in walks and hit by pitches.

These two sides have faced off 76 times in history with Arkansas holding a 40-36 series record most recently Arkansas swept Ole Miss last year and are currently on a four-game winning streak in this head-to-head matchup.

Ole Miss has a tall hill to climb in their first conference series, but are certainly no slouches as this series is shaping up to be a decisive one into the season.

Follow Billy Kuhl on X for the latest news and updates on Ole Miss Rebels Baseball with SEC play set to begin on Friday night.

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