One of four SEC teams that will be hosting a regional this year, Ole Miss will welcome Saint Louis, Missouri State and Tennessee Tech into Oxford, Miss. this weekend.
We will give a quick breakdown of each team in this regional and then give you our prediction at the end.
- Ole Miss 46-15 (18-12)
Ole Miss fought back from an early loss in the SEC Tournament to win four straight and the championship. Right fielder Ryan Olenek leads the team with a .359 average and is a steady force in the lineup. Catcher Nick Fortes had a monster tournament and is hitting .320 on the year with 53 runs scored, 11 home runs and 49 RBI. Thomas Dillard delivers some pop as well with 13 home runs and 56 RBI. They have a solid 1-2 punch in the starting rotation with Ryan Rolison (3.79 ERA, 90.1 IP, and 107 Ks) and Brady Feigl (3.83 ERA, 87 IP, and 85 Ks). Parker Caracci has been great out of the bullpen with a 1.85 ERA in 43.2 innings pitched with 68 strikeouts and 10 saves. Ole Miss is hitting .303 as a team and averaging nearly 7 runs a game. The pitching staff has a 3.71 ERA in 541.2 innings pitched with 582 strikeouts.
- Tennessee Tech 48-9 (27-3)
The Golden Eagles were quite the storing during the regular season winning 28 games in a row. And despite losing the OVC championship game, they were given an at-large because of their high win total. They have two players in their lineup hitting over .400 in Kevin Strohschein (.406) and Chase Chambers (.400). They also delivered the power with 18 and 15 home runs respectively, as well as 65 and 76 RBI. Those numbers are just unreal. As a team they are hitting .342 and averaging over 10 runs a game. Travis Moths leads the starting rotation with a 3.74 ERA in 89 innings pitched with 93 strikeouts. Ethan Roberts is a weapon out of the bullpen with a 2.25 ERA in 60 innings pitched with 85 strikeouts. The pitching staff has a 4.98 ERA in 513.2 innings pitched with 499 strikeouts.
- Missouri State 39-15 (18-3)
The Bears breezed through the Missouri Valley Conference on their way to a tournament and regular season title. Shortstop Jeremy Eierman is the player to watch as he’s a top draft prospect. This season he’s hitting .292 with 10 home runs, 49 RBI and 20 stolen bases. It’s catcher Drew Millas leading the team with a .333 average and 59 RBI. This offense hit .261 as a team this year, while averaging 6.4 runs per game. Dylan Coleman struck out 122 batters this year over 96.2 innings pitched with a 3.63 ERA. Connor Sechler is the guy to watch out of the bullpen with a 2.98 ERA in 51.1 innings pitched with 57 strikeouts. The Missouri State pitching staff posted a 4.23 ERA this year with 444 strikeouts in 476.1 innings pitched.
- Saint Louis 38-18 (19-4)
The Billikens ran through the Atlantic 10 this year and won the conference tournament to punch their ticket into the NCAA Tournament. This team is not a typical four-seed with 38 wins, including a sweep over a very good Purdue team. This lineup is very deep as they hit .285 as a team and scored 6.75 runs per game. Outfielder Jake Garella led the team with a .362 average to go along with 45 runs scored and 47 RBI. They have seven players that started at least 55 of their 56 games this year. Their pitching staff was really good this year with a 3.32 ERA in 499 innings pitched with 496 strikeouts. Drew Reveno led the team with a 1.84 ERA in 63.2 innings pitched with 47 strikeouts. But Miller Hogan was dominate all season with a 2.19 ERA in 102.2 innings pitched with 129 strikeouts. There are several teams in that bullpen they can rely on as well.
Prediction:
This really is a pretty loaded field with some teams that won a lot of games this year. Saint Louis is a very dangerous four seed with a starting pitcher in Miller Hogan that can shut down any lineup. Tennessee Tech has the offense to blast their way through this regional, especially if they stay in this long enough for some of the top teams to run out of pitching. And Missouri State is a very balanced team.
But Ole Miss is on fire right now having come back to win the SEC Tournament to earn the fourth overall seed in the tournament. This should be a pretty fun tournament to watch with four very good baseball teams, but Ole Miss stays hot to advance.
Winner: Ole Miss
