What to know: Southern Miss, Ole Miss meet Tuesday in top-15 tussle
No. 4 Ole Miss and 14th-ranked Southern Miss meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Oxford, the first of two matchups this season. The two teams will play in Pearl April 10 at 6:30 p.m.
Both teams are coming off series wins, as the Rebels (22-3, 4-2) took two of three at then-No. 12 Texas A&M, and the Golden Eagles did the same at RPI No. 13 Florida Atlantic. Ole Miss is the only school nationally with 22 or more wins, and USM has won nine of its last 10 dating back to a midweek loss to Alabama March 7.
Here's what you need to know for Tuesday.
IT'S A QUALITY GAME FOR BOTH TEAMS
Midweek games rarely shape seasons, but this series will do nothing but help both teams.
The Rebels (RPI No. 3) and Golden Eagles (RPI No. 24) both have quality metrics and should be group one resume games for both teams. Southern Miss swept Mississippi State to start the season and is 4-1 in Conference USA games.
"I would go further than quality club, really good club, top-15 club," Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said. "They return a lot of players and looking at them statistically they are similar to last year and do all three phases well. It's a huge challenge here."
The Golden Eagles are 3-2 in midweek games this season. Last year, USM won 50 games and hosted a regional, losing to Mississippi State twice in the regional final.
USM has five regulars hitting more than .300, and Luke Reynolds leads the team with six home runs, 58 total bases and a 1.190 OPS.
FRESHMAN JORDAN FOWLER ON THE MOUND FOR OLE MISS
Jordan Fowler makes his third career start Tuesday, and he's yet to allow a run in that capacity. The freshman debuted with five shutout innings against Little Rock and did the same a week later at Georgia State.
As a starter, the left-hander has 10 strikeouts, two walks and has allowed five total hits in the 10 innings. Fowler has a 1.93 ERA and .188 batting average against on the season with 14 strikeouts and four walks in 14 innings.
The Union City, Tennessee, native pitched in the series finale against Texas A&M, getting a double play ball as soon as he entered to escape a bases loaded jam in relief of starter James McArthur. Fowler allowed three straight base runners to begin the third before exiting the game. The Rebels eventually won, 7-6.
Southern Miss announced right-hander JC Keys (1-2, 6.95 ERA, 13.2 IP). Keys has two starts this season. He gave up two runs in 2.2 innings against Mississippi State and seven runs (five earned) in 3.1 innings against UT Martin.
REBELS TRY TO KEEP MOMENTUM IN SERIES
Ole Miss swept the series last season, winning 6-2 in Hattiesburg and 6-2 in Pearl. It was the first time the Rebels had won both games in a season against the Golden Eagles since 2010. USM is 10-4 in the series the past seven seasons and has won three straight in Oxford. The last Ole Miss victory in Oxford was 2010.
The Rebels haven't won three in a row in the series since 2006.
Bianco is 16-20 in his Ole Miss tenure versus Southern Miss. South Carolina and LSU are the only other 2018 opponents Bianco has a losing record against.
USM coach Scott Berry is 10-6 against the Rebels, and Ole Miss leads the all-time series, 79-54.