Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco walks off the field during a game against Evansville. | Dylan Cohron, HottyToddy.com Images
Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco walks off the field during a game against Evansville. | Dylan Cohron, HottyToddy.com Images

Midweek Pitching Duel: Ole Miss and Southern Miss Set Starting Pitchers

BY Taylor Hodges

Ole Miss will have plenty of big matchups this baseball season. That’s just life in the SEC.

But the Rebels are getting an early taste of it with a midweek trip to No. 7 Southern Miss three days before opening conference play at No. 2 Texas.

Southern Miss has planted itself in the upper tier of college baseball over the last few years, and this season looks no different. At 14-2, the Golden Eagles already own wins over No. 3 Mississippi State, Alabama and Oregon State.

This isn’t the football version of Southern Miss. This baseball team is good enough to start thinking about hotel reservations in Omaha.

Ole Miss has that kind of potential, too, and a road win Tuesday night would be a good start at convincing others it can too.

And speaking of starts, we know who’s getting the ball first for both teams. Here’s a quick breakdown.

Southern Miss: RHP Thomas Crabtree (0-1, 4.32 ERA)

Crabtree will make his second start of the season on Tuesday. His first one, last week against Nicholls, was a mixed bag. He went 4.1 innings and allowed three runs on three hits and two walks. The eight strikeouts were impressive, but the three runs were enough for Southern Miss to fall 3-2.

Before that start, Crabtree made two‑inning relief appearances against UC Santa Barbara and Baylor. Against UCSB, he gave up a solo home run, two other hits, walked one and struck out two. The Baylor outing went better — one hit, two walks and five strikeouts.

For the season, Crabtree carries a 4.32 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and a .233 opponent batting average.

Ole Miss: RHP Taylor Rabe (2-0, 2.53 ERA)

Rabe has pitched his way into a starting opportunity after three strong relief outings behind Cade Townsend. In 10.2 innings, he has allowed only three runs )all of them coming in one appearance against Missouri State) on eight hits. He’s issued just one walk and struck out 13.

His most recent outing against Ohio State was his best yet. He threw four innings, allowed only three hits and struck out seven.

Ole Miss needs someone who can quiet a Southern Miss lineup that’s been swinging it well. The Golden Eagles have four hitters above .300, run‑ruled Alabama, and out‑slugged Mississippi State 7-6 last week.

If Ole Miss wants to show it can hang with teams already operating at a postseason level, Tuesday is a good place to start. It’s only a midweek game on paper, but the challenge is real, and the Rebels will get a clear sense of where they stand before SEC play arrives.

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