Florida takes on No. 7-seed Ole Miss Rebels on Wednesday night

Fresh off of its statement win against No.15-seed South Carolina, the No.10-seed Florida Gators take on the No.7-seed Ole Miss Rebels on Wednesday night.

The Rebels and Gators faced off in March, where Ole Miss took two out of three at home. But now they meet again with a spot in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals on the line.

“We played them early in the year, so it’s a totally different Ole Miss team and we’re a totally different Florida team,” said coach Kevin O’Sullivan.

It was a series Florida nearly won but let game two slip away. So getting some payback will be on the Gators’ mind Wednesday. If Florida is able to beat Ole Miss, then it will likely be enough for them to host a regional in next week’s NCAA Tournament.

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Gators Get Another Crack at Hunter Elliot

The projected starting pitcher for Ole Miss is lefty Hunter Elliot (8-3, 3.31 ERA), who kept Florida at bay the last time they faced him. Elliot went 5.2 innings, gave up three runs on six hits, and struck out seven. The redshirt junior from Tupelo, MS, has been a workhorse for the Rebels’ pitching staff all year and will look for another quality start on Wednesday.

Florida has hit well against lefties this year – posting a solid .284 batting average. A big part of that is the number of right-handed hitters in the lineup, giving the Gators a major advantage against southpaws.

The Gators will roll out five righties in their lineup, led by Bobby Boser, Ty Evans, and Brody Donay. The trio combined to go 7-for-13 with two home runs and seven RBIs on Tuesday.

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Gators’ Pitching Reloaded and Ready to Go

Thanks to how well the pitching performed in Tuesday’s 11-3 win over South Carolina, Florida enters this one locked and loaded, with all their big guns in the bullpen ready to go. Hopefully, they can count on starting pitcher Liam Peterson to give the Gators a good start so they do not have to use too many arms.

It was not the best outing for Peterson the last time he faced Ole Miss – he only went 4.1 innings, gave up five runs on seven hits and struck out six. So, in the event that Peterson does not go as far as they hope again, O’Sullivan is confident in the guys he has that can come in after.

“Now we haven’t used Jake [Clemente] since last Thursday when he threw 29 pitches. We got our No. 1 going tomorrow, in Liam.  We can extend Jacob if need be. We’re in as good a shape as can be pitching-wise going into tomorrow’s game,” O’Sullivan said. 

Some of the notable pitchers that will be ready to go for Florida are Alex Philpott, Luke McNeillie, and Clemente.

Up Next

Get your coffee ready because due to Tuesday’s inclement weather, the first pitch between No.7-seed Ole Miss and No.10-seed Florida is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET. The game will air live on SEC Network and can be heard on ESPN 98.1FM/850AM WRUF + WJXL 1010AM.