Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco
Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco. | Dylan Cohron

No. 25 Ole Miss Reveals Rotation Ahead of Key Series vs. No. 24 LSU

BY Taylor Hodges

This weekend’s top 25 showdown at Swayze Field lost some of its luster this week, but the matchup between No. 25 Ole Miss and No. 24 LSU still figures to be an exciting one.

The Tigers suffered an embarrassing 10-7 loss to Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday, including a no-out, bases loaded situation late in the game that resulted in no runs scored.

That’s now what you expect to see from the defending national champions, but does fit with how LSU’s season has gone. LSU is 22-12 overall, but has losses to McNeese, Louisiana-Lafayette, and a series loss to Sacramento State. So, a loss to Bethune-Cookman isn’t totally abnormal.

Ole Miss, meanwhile, did what it was supposed to do against Alcorn State: win by 10 runs and send everyone home early to get ready for the weekend.

The Rebels are ready. Coach Mike Bianco announced his weekend pitching rotation on Wednesday. There’s no secrecy needed when it’s easy to predict who the starting pitchers will be.

Ole Miss is going with the same trio of pitchers as last weekend at Florida.

Hunter Elliott and Cade Townsend will start their normal Friday-Saturday games. Taylor Rabe will move to end of the rotation and handle Sunday’s series finale.

LSU, however, has not announced its rotation for the weekend (as of noon Thursday). The Tigers have two regular weekend starters, but the third starting pitcher changes on a weekly basis. It’s likely a bullpen game and who starts is determined by the bullpen usage in the first two games.

Here’s a breakdown of the Rebels’ starting pitcher and a breakdown of the projected starters for LSU this weekend.

Ole Miss Starting Pitchers

Friday: Hunter Elliott

  • 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

Saturday: Cade Townsend

  • Season stats: 2-1, 1.82 ERA, .94 WHIP, 29.2 IP, 21 H, 9 R, 6 ER, 7 BB, 46 SO, .189 Opp. BA
  • Last time out, at Florida (5-2 win): 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 6 SO, 1 WP, 83 TP

Sunday: Taylor Rabe

  • Season stats: 3-1, 3.20 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 25.1 IP, 22 H, 9 ER, 4 BB, 32 SO, .229 Opp. BA
  • Last time out, at Florida (6-4 win): 4.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 6 SO, 1 HR, 73 TP

LSU Projected Starting Pitchers

Casan Evans

  • 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

William Schmidt

  • Season stats: 4-2, 2.63 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 41 IP, 32 H, 15 R, 12 ER, 14 BB, 56 SO, .208 Opp. BA
  • Last time out, vs. Tenn. (4-1 loss): 5.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 SOO, 1 HBP, 99 TP

TBA

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