Ole Miss and Arkansas are a pair of desperate teams heading into this weekend's series in Oxford, with both clubs in serious need of wins to keep pace in the SEC West. Whoever loses this series might find themselves in a hole they can't climb out of.
The Razorbacks are coming off a head scratching series loss to a bad Mizzou team (in Fayetteville, no less). Arkansas' pitching staff, which has the third worst ERA in the conference, got hammered for a combined 18 runs in the two losses, this against a Missouri lineup that ranks dead last in batting average. The Hogs have been swept by South Carolina and in turn did their own sweeping of Auburn, bringing their SEC record to 4-5.
The Rebs sit one spot down at 3-6 following a series loss in Starkville last weekend. The problem has been more on the hitting side (four from the bottom in SEC batting average), but Mike Bianco can certainly relate to Dave van Horn's pitching woes. After a particularly rough couple of series, Mike will shake up his rotation against Arkansas: he'll start Brady Bramlett, David Parkinson and TBA, in that order.
Given comments from both Bianco and hitting coach Carl Lafferty, it seems as though that Sunday TBA could be Wyatt Short, assuming (and its a big assumption) he's not needed for closing duties on Friday or Saturday. If he is, Bianco could turn to Chad Smith, who's been bumped from Saturday, or usual Game 3 starter Sean Johnson. Johnson has had some fatigue issues as he continues to work back from Tommy John, but you don't necessarily need long innings from your Sunday guy. Don't be surprised if Johnson goes two or three innings and is followed by a kitchen-sink approach from the Rebs' deep bullpen. Speaking of that deep bullpen, young relievers Andy Pagnozzi and Brady Feigl are also options for the Game 3 starter.
The numbers
Complete Ole Miss stats | Complete Arkansas stats
Team pitching
Ole Miss | Arkansas | |
ERA | 2.86 | 4.19 |
Strikeouts | 231 | 238 |
Walks | 82 | 111 |
Opponent average | .243 | .257 |
Team batting
Ole Miss | Arkansas | |
Runs per game | 6.3 | 7.2 |
Batting average | .269 | .289 |
On-base % | .364 | .381 |
Slugging % | .394 | .450 |
Dingers | 21 | 31 |
Steals-Attempts | 21-34 | 24-30 |
How to watch
Friday
First pitch: 6:30 p.m. CT
TV: none
Online streaming: WatchESPN.com
Projected pitchers
Ole Miss: RHP Brady Bramlett (4-2, 2.97 ERA)
Arkansas: RHP James Teague (2-2, 3.12 ERA)
Saturday
First pitch: 7 p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network
Online streaming: WatchESPN.com
Projected pitchers
Ole Miss: LHP David Parkinson (0-0, 1.40 ERA)
Arkansas: RHP Zach Jackson (2-2, 3.68 ERA)
Sunday
First pitch: noon p.m. CT
TV: SEC Network
Online streaming: WatchESPN.com
Projected pitchers
Ole Miss: TBA
Arkansas: TBA