OXFORD, Miss. – No. 23 Ole Miss baseball and in-state rival Mississippi State will face off in the Governor's Cup game Tuesday night at Trustmark Park. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. in Pearl.
LEADING OFF
- Ole Miss took one of three games against South Carolina over the weekend, dropping their second-straight conference series.
- The Rebels have now surpassed their win total from 2024 with 28 wins on the season, their most since 2022.
- Their three SEC series wins also matches their total from 2024 and they are one series win away from matching their combined total from the past two seasons.
- Ole Miss is ranked in all five polls this week coming in at No. 23 in the D1Baseball poll, No. 18 in both the USA Today and Perfect Game polls, No. 19 in the NCBWA poll, and No. 22 in the Baseball America poll.
- Luke Hill is currently riding a 24-game on base streak, reaching base in every game since the beginning of conference play.
- Austin Fawley has hit a home run in five of his last six games, including a grand slam on Saturday against the Gamecocks.
- The Rebels now lead the SEC in total walks drawn as a team with 254 free passes so far this season.
- The Rebels have stolen 58 bases in 2025, their highest total since 2019
- Ole Miss has hit 78 home runs this season, eighth-most in the NCAA and fourth-most in the SEC. They are ninth in the nation in home runs per game, averaging 1.95 home runs per game.
- They are top 10 in the SEC in batting average, hits, on base percentage, runs scored, slugging percentage, and stolen bases.
- Ole Miss leads the SEC in strikeouts during conference play, punching out 166 batters over their first five series
- Ole Miss' pitching staff is ranked seventh in the NCAA in K/9 (11.4) and 10th in K:BB at 2.83.
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUP
RHP Cade Townsend (1-0, 7.13 ERA) vs. RHP Noah Sullivan (0-0, 1.50 ERA)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Tuesday's game will be streamed live on SEC Network+ with Bryan Eubank (PxP) and Seth Smith (analyst) on the call.
Fans can listen to all games, home and away, on the Ole Miss Radio Network with David Kellum (PxP) and Brad Henderson (analyst) on the call.
SCOUTING REPORT
Chris Lemonis is in his seventh season at the helm of the Mississippi State baseball program.
The Bulldogs are currently 24-16 overall and 6-12 in SEC play. Mississippi State is coming off a 14-8 win over Florida.
MSU leads the overall series over Ole Miss, 258-216-5. The last meeting between the in-state foes was May 1, 2024 where MSU beat Ole Miss 5-1 in Pearl. Tuesday's game will be the 480th all time meeting between the two programs.
SWIPE!
Ole Miss has stolen 58 bases so far in 2025, already reaching their highest season total since 2019 when they stole 93 bases. The Rebels have only reached the 50 steals mark once in the previous five seasons (2024, 50).
The Rebels stole eight bases in their win over Tennessee, three shy of the single-game record of 11 set in 1966. Hayden Federico stole four bases in the game, one shy of the individual single-game record. Luke Hill leads the team with 13 swipes while Federico and Mitchell Sanford each have 11.
SO HOT RIGHT NOW
Luke Hill is currently riding a 24-game on base streak, reaching base in every game since the beginning of conference play. He has reached base in all but two of his 39 games played this season.
Austin Fawley has hit five home runs in his last six games played, including a first-inning grand slam on Saturday against South Carolina. Over his last seven games, Fawley has racked up 13 RBI and scored seven runs to go with his five home runs.
WE'LL TAKE IT
The Rebels currently lead the SEC in walks drawn with 254 total walks on the season. That number is the seventh highest in the NCAA.
Luke Hill leads the team with 34 walks, Will Furniss has 29, and Hayden Federico has 28. All three have more walks than strikeouts at the plate.
Ole Miss drew 18 walks on April 1 against Jackson State, one shy of the program record set last season against High Point.
WASTE NO TIME
The Rebels are outscoring opponents 59-19 in the first inning and 91-40 over the first two innings of games this season, jumping on opponents early. They are 18-4 when scoring in the first inning and 23-3 when they score the first run of a game.
NEVER SAFE
The Rebel pitching staff has picked off 14 runners this season, their highest total since 2002. They lead the SEC in total pickoffs by a wide margin with the next highest total being nine. Hunter Elliott leads the team with seven pickoffs, the most by a Rebel pitcher in the Bianco Era.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
The Rebels set new program records for runs scored and RBI in a single game in their 29-1 win over Alcorn State on April 9. Their 29 runs scored took down a program record that had stood since 1989 when Ole Miss defeated Illinois College 28-0.
The previous single-game RBI record was 25 which had been accomplished three times and as recently as last season against High Point. The Rebels collected 27 RBI in the win over Alcorn to set a new record.
The Ole Miss offense also had 44 total bases which was just two shy of the single-game program record and 23 hits which was four short of the program record.
NOT JUST YOUR SUNDAY STARTER
Mason Nichols has been recognized by the NCAA, the SEC, and the University of Mississippi recently for his achievements in the classroom. He was one of 90 Ole Miss students to be awarded the 2025 Taylor Medal, the highest academic honor awarded by the university.
The senior was also named one of the two recipients of the NCAA's Walter Byers Graduate Scholarship, one of the highest academic honors awarded by the NCAA, and is one of Ole Miss' two nominees for the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Postgraduate Scholarship.
Nichols has been a mainstay in the Rebels' starting rotation this season, making a start in every weekend series so far. In nine starts, he has posted an ERA of 4.54 while striking out 41 batters over 35.2 innings of work. On March 2, in a start against Wright State Nichols struck out a career-high 10 hitters and is one of only two Rebel pitchers to reach double-digit strikeouts in a game this season.
Nichols will graduate with a degree in biological sciences in May. A three-year team representative on Ole Miss's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Nichols' community involvement has included volunteering at events for individuals with special needs, church activities for the elderly and team projects to give back to low-income families.
STAY CONNECTED
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Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Rebels by following Ole Miss baseball on X at@OleMissBSB, on Facebook atFacebook.com/OleMissBaseball, on Instagram atInstagram.com/officialolemissbsband on TikTok at@olemissbsb. Also, follow head coachMike Biancoon X at@CoachMikeBianco.
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Media Contact
Kyle Birnbrauer
kyleb@olemiss.edu
662-816-3671
