Ole Miss closes out its five-game homestand Wednesday night with UAB coming to town, a midweek matchup that lands right in the middle of one of the toughest stretches of the season. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. on SECN+, giving the Rebels a chance to settle in at home before the road grind picks back up.
It has been a busy couple of weeks in Oxford, and the Rebels sit at 20-14 overall while still searching for their first SEC win.
Even so, there have been bright spots all over the lineup. Cassie Reasner is coming off a strong week, hitting .500 across four games and leaving the yard against No. 4 Oklahoma. Freshman standout Madi George continues to look like one of the most reliable hitters in the league, carrying a .402 average with nine home runs, 19 walks and 28 RBI through 34 games. Persy Llamas has been just as steady, hitting .378 with five home runs and a team-high 42 hits.
Power has been a real part of the identity again this season. Ole Miss has already hit 40 home runs, a slight uptick from last year’s record-setting pace.
The formula has been pretty simple. When the Rebels defend well, they win. They are 13-3 in games without an error and 7-11 when one shows up on the box score. Taylor Roman has also been a boost in SEC play, hitting .304 with two home runs and six RBI against Alabama, Texas and Oklahoma.
This midweek sits between two demanding stretches. Ole Miss heads to Knoxville this weekend to face No. 4 Tennessee, marking the fourth straight top-five SEC opponent on the schedule.
The Rebels currently own the toughest overall schedule in the country, and the non-conference slate hasn’t offered much breathing room either. Six midweeks remain, and all of them matter with at least one more top-10 series still ahead.
Road games have been a big part of the early season, too, with Ole Miss going 11-5 away from Oxford in non-conference play. Fifteen games remain against the current RPI top-25, including three against the top-ranked team in the nation.
Before all that, though, UAB arrives looking to snap a seven-game skid.
The Blazers opened the season with some promise and have played a number of close games, including a win at Georgia Tech and a narrow loss to No. 19 South Carolina. They don’t rely much on the long ball, hitting only 10 home runs as a team, but they do put the ball in play.
Four starters are hitting over .300, led by junior Hannah Dorsett at .321. Senior Ashlyn Shirah has been the biggest run producer with three home runs and 20 RBI, while freshman Charlee Bennett has chipped in a .306 average and a team-high six doubles.
In the circle, UAB doesn’t rack up strikeouts but has gotten solid work from its top two arms. Junior lefty Olivia Cummings has thrown the most innings with a 3.46 ERA, and senior Caitlin Russell has been even better with a 2.83 ERA across 54.1 innings.
For Ole Miss, this game is about taking care of business at home before the schedule ramps up again. The Rebels have been tested by top-five opponents for weeks, and Wednesday offers a chance to reset, get clean innings on defense and let the lineup keep doing what it has done well.
A long road stretch is coming. First, the Rebels get one more night in Oxford.
