clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Arkansas vs. Ole Miss baseball 2016: Online streaming, TV info and weekend preview

Can a rotation shakeup turn the Rebs' fortunes around and get them back into the SEC West hunt?

Josh McCoy/Ole Miss Athletics

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 statsComplete 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