No. 20 Ole Miss will stay at home for the penultimate weekend series of the regular season against No. 9 Texas A&M.
The Rebels need four more conference wins to have a realistic chance to host a NCAA Regional and with only six SEC games left, every game is important.
So, yes, expect a lot of strategic deployment of pinch-hitters, runners and relief pitchers this weekend at Swayze Field. What won’t likely have any drama is both Ole Miss and Texas A&M’s starting pitcher rotations.
The Rebels have trotted out the same three starting pitchers for more than a month now and the Aggies have done the same for a longer stretch of time. That’s why, despite neither school making any official announcements, it’s a safe bet to post this breakdown.
These are only projections, but it would be a shock if anything is changed by either side.
Ole Miss fans may want to see Hunter Elliott and Cade Townsend trade spots in the rotation after Elliott has had back-to-back rough outings.
This isn’t the weekend to try it though.
Texas A&M’s best starting pitcher this season, Aiden Sims, is the regular Saturday starter. That’d put him up against the Rebels’ best starter in Townsend. Also, coaches aren’t going to change a pitcher’s routine this late in the season unless they have to.
Here’s who is most likely to start this weekend’s three-game series, plus each team’s notable relief pitchers.
Ole Miss Projected Starting Pitchers
Hunter Elliott, LHP
- Season stats: 4-2, 5.49 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 59 IP, 57 H, 37 R, 36 ER, 31 BB, 77 SO, .256 Opp. BA
Cade Townsend, RHP
- Season stats: 5-1, 2.42 ERA, .96 WHIP, 52 IP, 37 H, 17 R, 14 ER, 13 BB, 73 SO, .193 Opp. BA
Taylor Rabe, RHP
- Season stats: 3-3, 4.17 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 45.1 IP, 44 H, 21 R, 21 ER, 7 BB, 54 SO, .251 Opp. BA
Notable Relief Pitchers
- Walker Hooks, LHP: 3-1, 2.45 ERA, .82 WHIP, 5 SV, 40.1 IP, 24 H, 14 R, 11 ER, 9 BB, 46 SO, .176 Opp. BA
- Landon Waters, RHP: 0-1, 0.90 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 2 SV, 20 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 10 BB, 21 SO, .159 Opp. BA
- Hudson Calhoun, RHP: 3-3, 4.33 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 2 SV, 35.1 IP, 29 H, 19 R, 17 ER, 20 BB, 55 SO, .221 Opp. BA
- Landon Koenig, RHP: 3-0, 5.12 ERA, 1.76 WHIP, 2 SV, 19.1 IP, 29 H, 15 R, 11 ER, 5 BB, 29 SO, .341 Opp. BA
Texas A&M Projected Starting Pitchers
Shane Sdao, LHP
- Season stats: 3-4, 6.55 ERA, 57.2 IP, 75 H, 44 R, 42 ER, 15 BB, 67 SO, .307 Opp. BA
Aiden Sims, RHP
- Season stats: 8-1, 3.60 ERA, 65 IP, 50 H, 30 R, 26 ER, 18 BB, 68 SO, .208 Opp. BA
Weston Moss, RHP
- Season stats: 4-2, 5.12 ERA, 51 IP, 50 H, 30 R, 29 ER, 17 BB, 48 SO, .258 Opp. BA
Notable Relief Pitchers
- Clayton Freshcorn, RHP: 2-1, 2.34 ERA, 11 SV, 34.2 IP, 35 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 4 BB, 39 SO, .261 Opp. BA
- Ethan Darden, LHP: 4-0, 2.88 ERA, 25 IP, 21 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 10 BB, 19 SO, .231 Opp. BA
- Juan Vargas, RHP: 2-1, 3.91 ERA, 23 IP, 16 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 8 BB, 16 SO, .193 Opp. BA
- Grant Cunningham, RHP: 3-1, 6.00 ERA, 1 SV, 30 IP, 42 H, 21 R, 20 ER, 9 BB, 26 SO, .333 Opp. BA
