Every weekend series for every SEC team is important, but the importance is about to grow.
After this weekend we’ll be halfway through the SEC baseball season. We’ll have a good idea of who the championship contenders are. We’ll see a mess of teams within two games of each other and who is at the bottom of the conference’s hierarchy.
No. 25 Ole Miss will probably find itself in that mess of teams in the middle, but how this weekend goes will determine how close the Rebels are to being title contenders.
No. 24 LSU is coming with a whole different set of issues, including a three-run loss to Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday.
Here’s everything to know about Friday night’s series-opening game.
The Opponent: LSU
This year’s LSU team hasn’t been quite as dominant as it has been in past seasons, but it’s still dangerous.
They opened the season on an eight‑game heater, scoring double‑digit runs in six of those contests, before hitting a rough patch in early March. Losses to Northeastern, UL‑Lafayette, and a pair to Sacramento State slowed the momentum, and LSU dropped its first two SEC series to Oklahoma and Vanderbilt.
Since then, though, the Tigers have steadied themselves with back‑to‑back 2‑1 series wins over Kentucky and Tennessee.
At the plate, LSU has three hitters carrying averages north of .300: Derek Curiel, Jake Brown, and Cade Arrambide. Curiel has been the steady one, piling up 50 hits, which puts him near the top of the SEC leaderboard. Brown and Arrambide bring the thump. Brown has 13 home runs and leads the team with 43 RBI, while Arrambide has eight homers and is fresh off a four‑homer game against Tennessee that helped LSU take the series.
On the mound, LSU will go with Casan Evans, William Schmidt, and Grant Fontenot as its weekend rotation. Schmidt has been the most consistent starter, posting a 2.63 ERA that sits inside the SEC’s top ten.
Both he and Evans are power arms with strikeout stuff, each already past the 55‑strikeout mark. Fontenot is the wildcard. He’s primarily a bullpen arm but is getting another SEC start after giving LSU 2.2 scoreless innings in the finale against Tennessee.
It’s not the same LSU team that steamrolled its way to Omaha last year, but the pieces are still there.
Weather Forecast
Wind has played a huge role in some recent games at Swayze Field, but that shouldn’t be the case Friday night against LSU. The National Weather Service’s forecast for Oxford on Friday is “mostly sunny, with a high near 82. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the afternoon,” and “mostly clear, with a low around 56. Calm wind,” at night.
Starting Pitchers
LSU: Casan Evans, RHP
- Season stats: 2-1, 4.97 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 41.2 IP, 32 H, 25 R, 23 ER, 21 BB, 59 SO, .205 Opp. BA
- Last time out, vs. Tenn. (7-5 win): 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 6 SO, 2 WP, 90 TP
Ole Miss: Hunter Elliott, LHP
- Season stats: 3-1, 3.79 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 40.1 IP, 29 H, 18 R, 17 ER, 26 BB, 60 SO, .201 Opp. BA
- Last time out, at Florida (2-0 loss): 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 9 SO, 1 WP, 102 TP
Ole Miss Batting Lineup
- TBA
LSU Batting Lineup
- TBA
How to Watch: No. 24 LSU at No. 25 Ole Miss
- Who: No. 24 LSU Tigers (22-12, 6-6 SEC) at No. 25 Ole Miss Rebels (23-11, 5-7 SEC)
- When: 6:30 p.m., Friday
- Where: Swayze Field, Oxford, Miss.
- TV: SECN+
- Radio: Live Radio
- Stats: Live Stats
- Series History: LSU leads the all-time series 185-160
- Last Meeting: Ole Miss 2, LSU 0 (2025 SEC Tournament Semifinal)
- Last time out, Rebels: def. Alcorn State, 11-1 (7 innings)
- Last time out, Tigers: lost to Bethune-Cookman, 10-7
Student-Athlete Availability Report
LSU
Out
- P #22 Cooper Moore
- IF #44 Trent Caraway
Questionable
- IF #24 Seth Dardar
- C #25 Omar Serna Jr.
Probable
- OF #1 Chris Stanfield
Ole Miss
Out
- P #17 Marko Sipila
