What to watch for — and who to watch — in the Oxford Regional at Ole Miss
The Oxford Regional is generally believed to be one of the toughest in this year’s NCAA tournament, and a close look shows it might be one of the more wide-open fields of the 16 four-team regionals taking place this weekend.
Ole Miss (41-19) is the No. 1 seed and the No. 12 overall seed after picking up three wins in the SEC Tournament, including a victory over No. 4 national seed Vanderbilt.
Southern Miss, which is 37-19 and the No. 2 seed, came up just shy of hosting its own regional and has four solid starting pitchers ready to take the mound this weekend at Swayze Field.
The No. 3 seed, Florida State, is accustomed to hosting its own regional to open the postseason, but the Seminoles (30-22) can’t be counted out in Oxford with the ACC Pitcher of the Year and Player of the Year.
Southeast Missouri State (30-20) could be one of the tournament’s toughest No. 4 seeds on Day 1 of the regional with MLB prospect Dylan Dodd, a gifted lefty, taking the mound against Ole Miss.
Oxford Regional schedule
Friday
Game 1 — Florida State vs. Southern Miss, 2 p.m.
Game 2 — Southeast Missouri vs. Ole Miss, 7 p.m.
Saturday
Game 3 — G1 Loser vs. G2 Loser, 11 a.m.
Game 4 — G1 Winner vs. G2 Winner, 5 p.m.
Sunday
Game 5 — G3 Winner vs. G4 Loser, 1 p.m.
Game 6 — G4 Winner vs. G5 Winner, 5 p.m.
Monday
Game 7 — G6 Winner vs. G6 Loser, 6 p.m. (if necessary)
TV information at Ole Miss
All games in the NCAA tournament will be shown on the ESPN family of networks. Friday’s FSU-USM game will be on ESPNU and the Southeast Missouri State-Ole Miss game will be on ESPN3. The TV schedule for the rest of the regional will be determined as the games are played.
Oxford Regional players to watch
Dylan Dodd, Southeast Missouri State LHP — The Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year can present problems for Ole Miss on Friday. The senior is 9-1 with a 2.78 ERA in 90 2/3 innings with 113 strikeouts and 14 walks. The pro prospect held No. 1 Arkansas to two runs on three hits in six innings earlier this season.
Parker Messick, Florida State LHP — The ACC Pitcher and Freshman of the Year finished 7-2 with a 3.32 ERA in 15 starts this season. He struck out 121 and walked 23 in 84 innings. Messick, who has a fastball that stays in the low 90s, is coming off two of his shorter outings of the season and has allowed 13 earned runs over his last 15 2/3 innings.
Matheu Nelson, Florida State catcher — The ACC Player of the Year is tied for the national lead in home runs with 22. He’s also hitting a team-leading .332 with 64 RBI. He has committed three errors in the field and has a fielding percentage of .995.
Doug Nikhazy, Ole Miss LHP — The First-Team All-SEC Pitcher would have been the Pitcher of the Year in any other conference if not for Vanderbilt’s loaded rotation leading the way. He’s 9-2 with a 2.18 ERA in 78 1/3 innings with 114 strikeouts and 27 walks. Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said in a radio interview with Matt Wyatt Wednesday that he plans to hold Nikhazy until Saturday and throw Derek Diamond (3-4, 5.43) on Friday.
Hunter Stanley, Southern Miss RHP — While his teammate, Walker Powell, was named the Conference USA Pitcher of the Year, no USM hurler was more dominant this season than Stanley. He is 6-3 with a 2.42 ERA in 14 starts, striking out 119 and walking 16.
Hayden Dunhurst, Ole Miss catcher — A Second-Team All-SEC selection, Dunhurst is a game-changer on defense. The Pearl River Central product has made plenty of highlight reels lately due to his play behind the plate. He is also hitting .283 with seven homers and 39 RBI.
Reed Trimble, Southern Miss center fielder — The freshman is due to break out at the plate after a mediocre C-USA tournament. He is hitting .319 with 14 homers and 58 RBI.
Southeast Missouri State analysis
The Redhawks don’t have much to offer on the pitcher’s mound behind Dodd, but they can’t be counted out this weekend in Oxford. If Dodd delivers in an upset of Ole Miss and the bats come out hot, they have a chance to win a couple of games. SEMO hits .272 as a team and it has put up enough runs to compete throughout the season.
Florida State analysis
The Seminoles haven’t hit well as a team with a .245 batting average, but they’re more than talented enough to win the Oxford Regional. It has to be rare for a major conference squad to feature both the conference Pitcher of the Year and the Player of the Year and not be hosting. FSU has plenty of pop and enough pitching to advance to a Super Regional.
Southern Miss analysis
It feels like the Southern Miss baseball team has yet to have its best weekend of the season, and now would be a good time for the Golden Eagles to have their bats match their stellar starting pitching. One area of concern for USM has to be its bullpen, which put in a poor showing in the C-USA tournament outside of sophomore LHP Ryan Och. If USM’s starting pitching can get late into games, the Golden Eagles could win their first regional since they made a trip to the 2009 College World Series.
Ole Miss analysis
The Rebels appear to be a complete team with a .291 batting average and solid starting pitching, but Ole Miss isn’t unhittable as a staff with a team ERA of 4.48. Taylor Broadway may be the best closer in the regional with a 2.85 ERA and 13 saves. If Ole Miss wins the regional, it will be because it outscored the competition on Saturday and Sunday after getting past SEMO’s Dodd.
This story was originally published June 2, 2021 at 5:01 PM.
