For many years, Memphis Baseball has taken trips to and from Oxford, Mississippi to play against Ole Miss in a rivalry series that has been dominated by the Rebels for a long time.
As of now, however, the Tigers are starting to fight back under Coach Matt Riser. Memphis has taken two out of the last three games and longtime fans of either team are well aware that these two squads almost always go down to the wire.
With the Rebels off to a hot start and the Tigers set to visit, The Daily Helmsman spoke to Russ Eddins, assistant sports editor for The Daily Mississippian, the student newspaper for Ole Miss, to break down the rivalry and tell the story of their team.
"Coming off the championship in 2022, the past two years have been pretty disappointing." Eddins said. "Last year was advertised that what happened in '23 wasn't acceptable...they didn't make the NCAA tournament, which is not okay for them, so this year expectations were kind of low."
These low expectations preseason were compounded by the fact that Ole Miss was picked to finish next to last in the SEC
Despite all of this, the Rebels have exploded out of the gates to start the season 18-5 with wins over several top 25 teams including Texas, Arizona, Clemson and No. 3 Arkansas. This stretch of games has earned them a No. 15 ranking.
While the deck seems to be stacked against Memphis as they travel to Oxford, the Tigers and the Rebels always play each other very well, which isn't a fact that many people who aren't entrenched in either team knows. Eddins said that "[the series record] is pretty one sided, but it's really felt like Memphis has always been a threat...it always seemed to be like 'Oh it's Memphis, this is going to be a close game coming.'"
Breaking down the matchup, it'll all come down to how well Memphis is able to limit the offense of Ole Miss. As of the time of writing, four different players are batting above an average of .300 and the team has tallied almost 50 home runs.
One name that stood out as an impact player is senior outfielder Ryan Moerman. He leads the team with an exceptional slugging percentage of .723 and has 27 RBIs on 26 hits.
Even though the numbers suggest that the Rebels are a team that runs its offense through the long ball, Eddins says that Ole Miss is at their best when they play small ball and rack up sacrifice bunts and flyouts.
"When Ole Miss plays with that selfless mindset...so far this year, they're a really good program." He specifically mentioned two games that amplify this point: The Rebels' 10-6 win over Arkansas on March 14 and their 6-2 loss against Southern Miss on March 18.
In the game against the Razorbacks, Ole Miss used sacrifice plays to move runners along the base path which brought in more runs and decided the game. When they faced the Golden Eagles, they struggled to replicate that style of play which resulted in the loss.
When the Tigers play a regional rival, there is always a big game feel to it and this game, along with the Rebels' return trip to FedEx Park on April 8 will be no different.
While it may not have the pomp and circumstance that rivalries like Ohio State/Michigan or Army/Navy bring to the table, Memphis and Ole Miss will always be great rivals, who are set to write a new chapter of their story on the diamond.
