No. 17 Ole Miss is headed north to Fayetteville, Ark. where No. 22 Arkansas awaits.
The three‑game series starts Friday night and marks the beginning of the home stretch for the college baseball regular season. Only three weekends remain before the SEC Tournament, and with 10 teams packed within three games of each other, there’s still plenty left to sort out.
There’s also the looming NCAA Tournament and the question of who will host a regional. The magic number for Ole Miss has always hovered around 15‑16 SEC wins. With nine league games left, getting there is still possible, but it won’t be simple.
Arkansas might be the most beatable of the Rebels’ final three opponents, which sounds strange but reflects the kind of season the Razorbacks are having. This is a down year by their standards. Two or three wins would go a long way for Ole Miss, and the first chance comes tonight.
Here are three questions that’ll shape the outcome of Friday’s series opener at Baum‑Walker Stadium.
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 1, 2026
Will the offense show up?
This Ole Miss offense is frustrating for fans. The Rebels strike out a lot. They swing more for home runs than anything, but also lead the SEC in walks drawn (262).
When the bats are making contact, it’s fun to watch. April was a great month for the Rebels’ offense, batting .268 and hitting 28 home runs. But when they’re not, like Tuesday night against No. 10 Mississippi State, it can be hard to watch at times.
And it’s not just the lack of hits. It’s the missed opportunities, like striking out twice to end two innings with the bases loaded.
The strikeouts we know are going to happen. What we don’t know is if the home runs will happen.
How will Elliott respond after rough start?
It happens almost every time the Rebels’ ace takes to the mound. Elliott gives up some base hits and home runs or hits a few batters with pitches that puts him in a jam.
Usually, once something bad happens, Elliott starts pitching like an ace, striking out batters left and right while not giving up any free bases. That’s what’s always happened except for last weekend against Georgia.
The Bulldogs followed the normal script, scoring two runs on a left field single and then Elliott shut them down for two innings. It looked like the normal script we’ve seen all season until the fourth inning and the Bulldogs ran Elliott out of the game.
It was the shortest outing all season for Elliott. He lasted 3.2 innings and gave up eight runs on nine hits, two hit-by-pitches and a season-low two strikeouts.
That was exactly what Georgia wanted to do. Get Elliott out of the game and into a deep, talented Ole Miss bullpen. It ended up not working because of the bullpen and a late Ole Miss rally.
So, how will Elliott respond Friday night if Arkansas follows the normal script and makes some noise early? Will he pitch like an ace? Or will a repeat of last weekend happen?
The starters pic.twitter.com/7qbO4W8g6f
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) April 29, 2026
Will Hayden Federico and/or Austin Fawley play?
Neither Federico nor Fawley started Tuesday’s Governor’s Cup game in Pearl. Federico came in late as a pinch hitter, but didn’t produce anything from it.
Both had suffered various injuries in last weekend’s series against Georgia, but neither are listed in the Student-Athlete Availability Report for Friday’s series opener against Arkansas.
Taking that at face value, it’s a 100 percent chance they’ll play. But we know they’re banged up at least which would make one think they’d be on the report.
In baseball, though, available to play could mean available to be a pinch-hitter. So, basically, don’t expect the game day report to be much more helpful.
