Tigers face tough tests at Ole Miss and Baylor

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Fresh off of a three-game sweep of Grambling State, the Memphis Tigers begin a stretch of six straight games against Power Five opponents on Tuesday night. The Tigers travel to Oxford, Miss. for a 4 p.m. battle with Ole Miss. After the mid-week matchup, Memphis will follow with four games this weekend in Waco, Texas against Baylor.

Series Information
Memphis (4-0) at No. 4 Ole Mis (5-2)
Tuesday, March 2 – 4 p.m.
Pitching Matchup:
Memphis: RHP Carson Stinnett (2-0, 1.38)
Ole Miss: RHP Drew McDaniel (1-0, 1.69)
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Venue: Oxford-University Stadium
Twitter Updates: @MemphisBaseball
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The Tigers face No. 4 Ole Miss for the seventh consecutive season, with two games between the teams in each of those seasons except 2020. Ole Miss has won five consecutive games in the series, as Memphis hasn't defeated the Rebels since a 2-1 extra innings win at home on March 21, 2017. The Tigers swept both 2017 matchups against Ole Miss but are just 3-8 overall against the Rebels since the start of the 2015 season.

Ole Miss is off to a strong start this season, with three victories over top-10 opponents on the opening weekend at the State Farm College Baseball Showdown. The Rebels defeated No. 10 TCU, No. 3 Texas Tech, and No. 9 Texas on three straight days, which propelled them to the No. 1 ranking among multiple media outlets. The Rebels didn't hold that top spot for long, as they lost their next series at home to unranked UCF with a loss last Friday and a doubleheader split on Saturday.

The Rebels have shown a balanced offense over their first seven games, with six starters hitting at least .273. Five starters have tallied at least four RBIs, while six have notched at least one home run. Hayden Dunhurst has started every game for Ole Miss and is hitting .346 (9-26) with a home run and 5 RBIs. Justin Bench has also started all seven games and has a home run and six RBIs along with a .296 batting average. Drew McDaniel (1-0, 1.69) will start against the Tigers. The righty struck out eight and allowed just one run on two hits over 4.1 innings in a win over Arkansas State last time out.

Series Information
Memphis (4-0) vs. Baylor (2-4)
Friday, March 5 – 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 6 – 2 p.m. (doubleheader)
Sunday, March 7 – 12 p.m.
Location: Waco, Texas
Venue: Baylor Ballpark at Ferrell Field
Twitter Updates: @MemphisBaseball
Stats | Listen

The Tigers will match up with Baylor for just the sixth time since the beginning of the 2012 season. The Bears have won five of the previous six matchups, with Memphis' lone win over that stretch coming at home on April 14, 2018. Memphis is 0-2 on the road against Baylor, but the Bears haven't hosted Memphis since 2012.

Baylor has struggled over the first two weeks of the season, with an opening weekend series loss on the road to UT Rio Grande Valley and a 1-2 record at the Round Rock Classic, with a win against No. 17 Auburn and losses against Texas A&M and No. 25 Oklahoma. Baylor will play Sam Houston State on Tuesday before the Bears welcome the Tigers to Texas.

Jared McKenzie has been Baylor's best hitter thus far, one of four Bears' hitting over .320 through the first six games of the season. McKenzie has four home runs and 9 RBIs in just 30 at-bats with a slugging percentage of .800 and an OPS of 1.219. Jack Pineda enters the week hitting .393 in six starts, while Chase Wehsener has started every game thus far and has hit .346.

Baylor has been done in by its pitching over the first two weeks of the season. The staff has posted a 6.75 ERA through six games, as three of the four starting pitchers thus far for the Bears have an ERA north of 5.00. Tyler Thomas has been the lone bright spot among starters, as the lefty is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA in two starts. He's the only starter to earn a win so far and one of only two Baylor pitchers with an ERA under 3.00.

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Players Mentioned

Carson Stinnett

University of Memphis Athletics