Ole Miss Baseball Faces No. 21 Florida in Easter Weekend Series

Ole Miss Baseball (20-10, 3-6 SEC) heads to Gainesville, Florida, this weekend to face No. 21 Florida (23-7, 6-3 SEC) in a three-game series. The series marks the Rebels’ first trip to Florida since 2021.

Games are scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, with Saturday’s matchup beginning at 6:30 p.m., according to the Ole Miss athletic department.

Ole Miss enters the series after defeating Little Rock 7-4 on Tuesday during their annual Kid’s Day game. Freshman Noah Allen earned his first career win, working two innings and striking out three. Judd Utermark hit his 41st career home run, tying him for third all-time at Ole Miss. Austin Fawley, on an eight-game hitting streak, is batting .308 during that span and has reached base in 14 consecutive games.

The Rebels opened their home schedule with a 16-0 start, the best in program history, before losing a game to Kentucky. Tristan Bissetta leads Ole Miss with 14 home runs, ranking second in the SEC. Utermark and Bissetta have combined for 26 of the team’s 50 home runs this season.

Ole Miss’s pitching staff has struck out 337 batters this season, second in the SEC and fifth nationally. The projected starters for the series include Taylor Rabe, Hunter Elliott, and Cade Townsend. The games will be streamed on SEC Network+ and SEC Network, with radio coverage available on the Ole Miss Radio Network.

Florida, coached by Kevin O’Sullivan in his 19th season, boasts a 23-7 record and is 6-3 in SEC play. The Gators swept South Carolina but were swept by Alabama and then swept Arkansas. Key contributors include shortstop Brendan Lawson, who is batting .372 with 11 home runs, and reliever Jackson Barberi, who has appeared in four of Florida’s six shutouts this season.

Ole Miss also had two players, Dylan DeLucia and Josh Mallitz, participate in the World Baseball Classic. DeLucia pitched for Team Italy, working 7.2 innings with an 8-strikeout, 2.35 ERA. Mallitz made two appearances for Team Israel.

Hunter Elliott moved to fifth all-time in Ole Miss career strikeouts with seven against Mississippi State, passing Doug Nikhazy and Scott Bittle. Utermark now has 41 career home runs, tying him for third on the school’s all-time list, just behind Kyle Gordon and Tim Elko.

Ole Miss leads in early scoring, outscoring opponents 107-60 over the first four innings and holding a 15-1 record when scoring in the first inning.

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