Hunter Elliott against Mississippi State.
Hunter Elliott against Mississippi State. | Dylan Cohron-HottyToddy.com Images

Ole Miss Names Starters for Games 2 and 3 vs. Mississippi State

BY Taylor Hodges

No. 18 Ole Miss got the type of starting pitching performance from Hunter Elliott it needed to have a real shot at upsetting No. 6 Mississippi State.

Elliott went 5.1 innings and allowed three runs on four hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. At one point he retired 13 straight batters. He left with the score tied and runners on base, but both scored after Taylor Rabe entered, giving Mississippi State a 3-1 lead.

The Rebels will take that kind of outing from Elliott every time. And if the wind cooperated a little more, maybe they carry more than a 1-0 lead into the sixth.

They will need something similar from their Saturday starter, who wasn’t announced until after Friday night’s game.

“(Hudson) Calhoun will go tomorrow, and (Cade) Townsend will start on Sunday,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said.

It is a notable shift. Townsend had started every game two before missing last weekend against Kentucky. Calhoun filled in and pitched well enough to earn another start. Townsend is back this weekend, just in a different spot.

“He’s looking good. He threw a bullpen that turned into more of a live bullpen and faced a couple hitters,” Bianco said. “The biggest thing for us was making sure he felt good the next day after throwing. He hasn’t felt anything for about a week now. After missing a start, we just wanted to make sure he got some work in and didn’t feel any rust from having the weekend off.”

Bianco, indirectly, also confirmed that Wil Libbert has moved to the bullpen. Libbert had been the Sunday starter all season, but he gave up nine runs over his last two outings and nearly got pulled in the first inning against Kentucky.

Here’s an updated look at the starting pitchers for both Ole Miss and Mississippi State in the final two games of the weekend series.

Ole Miss Starting Pitchers

Saturday: Hudson Calhoun, RHP

  • Season Stats: 1-1, 3.60 ERA, .96 WHIP, 2 SV, 20 IP, 16 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 9 BB, 33 K, 3 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, .225 Opp. BA

Sunday: Cade Townsend, RHP

  • Season Stats: 2-0, 0.92 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 19.2 IP, 12 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 7 BB, 32 SO, 3 2B, 1 HR, .169 Opp. BA, 1 HBP

Mississippi State Starting Pitchers

Saturday: Tomas Valincius, LHP

  • Season Stats: 5-0, 1.04 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 34.2 IP, 21 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 9 BB, 47 SO, 1 3B, 1 HR, .174 Opp. BA, 1 WP, 3 HBP

Sunday: Duke Stone, RHP

  • Season Stats: 4-0, 4.10 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 26.1 IP, 21 H, 15 R, 12 ER, 5 BB, 37 SO, 3 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, .216 Opp. BA, 1 WP, 6 HBP

HOTTYTODDY.COM HEADLINES