Cade Townsend
Cade Townsend winds up for a pitch in a game against LSU. | Dylan Cohron-HottyToddy.com Images

Ole Miss Rotation Set for Important SEC Road Series at Arkansas

BY Taylor Hodges

April has been a good month for Ole Miss even if the last week hasn’t gone the way the Rebels wanted. Three SEC series wins have put them in a solid spot heading into the final month of the regular season.

But if they want to play postseason baseball at Swayze Field, there’s still work to do. That work continues this weekend as Ole Miss heads to No. 22 Arkansas for a three‑game series starting Friday.

A couple of wins in Fayetteville would give the Rebels a real RPI boost and push them farther from the hosting bubble. And it’s not unrealistic.

This isn’t the Arkansas we’re used to seeing. The Razorbacks have struggled by their standards. They have one fewer win than Ole Miss and share the same 11-10 SEC record. Most of the issues have come on the mound.

What’s usually a strength for Arkansas has been anything but. The Razorbacks are still searching for a rotation they trust. They used the same group for the first four SEC weekends, but the last three have been a shuffle. Gabe Gaeckle moved to the bullpen, Hunter Dietz slid into the Friday role, Cole Gibler joined the rotation, and the third starter has changed each of the last three weekends.

In other words, predicting who Arkansas will throw this weekend is a guess at best.

Ole Miss, meanwhile, has no mystery at all. Even without an official announcement, everyone knows the rotation will be Hunter Elliott, Cade Townsend and Taylor Rabe.

Here’s a breakdown of the weekend starting pitchers for Ole Miss and a projection of who Arkansas is likely to run out there.

Ole Miss Starting Pitchers

Hunter Elliott, LHP

  • Season stats: 4-1, 4.82 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 56 IP, 52 H, 31 R, 30 ER, 28 BB, 75 SO, .248 Opp. BA

Cade Townsend, RHP

  • Season stats: 4-1, 2.33 ERA, .97 WHIP, 46.1 IP, 33 H, 15 R, 12 ER, 12 BB, 68 SO, .192 Opp. BA

Taylor Rabe, RHP

  • Season stats: 3-3, 4.24 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 40.1 IP, 39 H, 19 R, 19 ER, 5 BB, 47 SO, .250 Opp. BA

Arkansas (Projected) Starting Pitchers

Hunter Dietz, LHP

  • Season stats: 5-2, 3.62 ERA, 59.2 IP, 49 H, 28 R, 24 ER, 19 BB, 92 SO, .218 Opp. BA

Cole Gibler, LHP

  • Season stats: 4-1, 2.91 ERA, 43.1 IP, 32 H, 16 R, 14 ER, 18 BB, 37 SO, .203 Opp. BA

Colin Fisher, LHP

  • Season stats: 4-6, 4.56 ERA, 51.1 IP, 47 H, 31 R, 26 ER, 14 BB, 52 SO, .240 Opp. BA

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