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Schedule Update: Ole Miss Baseball vs. Kentucky Wildcats Start Time in Thursday Clash

Originally posted on Ole Miss Rebels on SI | By Zack Nagy | Last updated Mar 19, 2026 3:13 PM ET

Mike Bianco and the Ole Miss Rebels will return to Swayze Field on Thursday night for an SEC showdown against the Kentucky Wildcats to open a three-game series in the Magnolia State.

In what will be the a significant stretch for Bianco and the Rebels, Ole Miss will look to get the program's first SEC series win after falling to Texas last weekend in the Lone Star State.

"We’ve just got to play better and play more consistently. We didn’t play well this weekend [at Texas]. Surely the last two days on both sides of the ball, we’ve got to play better," Bianco said on Tuesday.

"In our league, if you don’t play well, you lose, especially when you’re playing a team that was 17-0 or 18-0 [and] the No. 2 team in the country. We beat them on Friday. Even last Tuesday against a very good Southern Miss team.

"There’s no doubt it’s in us — offensively and on the mound. We just didn’t do it."

Now, all eyes are on this weekend's series against Kentucky with first pitch in Game 1 set for 7 p.m. CT.

LEADING OFF
- Tristan Bissetta is on a nine-game hitting streak, hitting .417 (15-for-36) with six home runs, 15 RBI, and 10 runs scored during that stretch.
- His biggest home run of the season came last Friday with two outs in the ninth inning against Texas. The senior launched a 464-foot grand slam to keep the Rebels alive and ultimately set up the win in the 11th inning.
- The win on Friday against the Longhorns was the third-consecutive conference opener win for the Rebels, winning the series openers against Arkansas in 2025 and South Carolina in 2024.
- Bissetta comes into the weekend ranked second in the SEC in home runs (11), third in hits (35), third in total bases (73), fourth in RBI (34), and fifth in batting average (.412) and slugging percentage (.859).
- Judd Utermark is on a 10-game hitting streak, hitting .417 (15-for-36) with four home runs, 13 RBI, 11 runs scored, and nine walks during that stretch.
- Utermark is third in the SEC in runs scored (31), fourth in runs per game (1.41), seventh in home runs (10), and eighth in slugging percentage (.788).
- Dom Decker is third in the SEC and 11th in the NCAA in walks with 24. He is averaging 1.09 walks per game.
- Hunter Elliott is ranked 10th in the SEC in strikeouts with 38 punchouts on the season. His K/9 sits at 13.86 which is fifth in the SEC.
- Taylor Rabe has issued just one walk over 15.1 innings of work this season, coming in his first outing of the year against Nevada on February 14.
- The Ole Miss pitching staff has struck out 256 batters, second-most in the SEC and fourth in the NCAA.

PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1: LHP Hunter Elliott (2-0, 4.38 ERA) vs. LHP Ben Cleaver (1-0, 1.84 ERA)

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Thursday's game will be broadcast live on SEC Network with Clay Matvick (PxP) and Lance Cormier (analyst) on the call. Friday and Saturday's games will be streamed on SEC Network+ with Richard Cross (PxP) and Keith Kessinger (analyst) on the call.

Fans can listen to all Ole Miss Baseball games, home and away, on the Ole Miss Radio Network with David Kellum (PxP) and Brad Henderson (analyst) on the call.

This article first appeared on Ole Miss Rebels on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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