CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University's baseball team travels south to face Ole Miss in midweek action starting Tuesday, March 17, at 4 p.m., after being moved up to avoid weather, at Swayze Field in Oxford, Mississippi.

LEADING OFF

Ole Miss is the Governors' second Southeastern Conference opponent this season, with Alabama (March 24) and Tennessee (March 31) coming later this month.

Following its first week of SEC play, the Rebels come into Tuesday afternoon with a 16-5 overall record and 1-2 in SEC games after taking just one game against No. 2 Texas last weekend. They would win their SEC opener in dramatic fashion after Tristan Bissetta hit a two-out grand slam in the ninth, giving the Rebels a lead and later winning in the 11th.

The team is led by head coach Mike Bianco, who is in his 26th season with the Rebels, and 29th overall. In 25 seasons leading the program, he has guided the program to 19 postseason appearances, including eight Super Regional berths and two trips to the College World Series. He became the all-time winningest coach in Ole Miss history, picking up his 486th win on March 9, 2013, against Atlantic Sun Conference foe Lipscomb in nonconference action.

The Rebels were picked to finish 10th in the SEC preseason coaches poll, with LSU at the top with nine first-place votes. They are undefeated at home this season, winning all 14 of their contests at Swayze Field.

Austin Peay, which was below .500 heading into its midweek doubleheader against Ohio last week, is now 11-9 heading into Tuesday's game with Ole Miss, following its two-win weekend at Bellarmine to open ASUN play.

Graduate Andres Matias was named the ASUN Player of the Week after batting .400 and going 8-for-20 at the plate. He collected a pair of doubles, three home runs, 12 RBI, while also swiping one bag. His five extra-base hits and team-leading 19 total bases last week helped him to a .950 slugging percentage. Not only was he superb at the plate, but also in the field, as he fielded a perfect 1.000 with six putouts and 11 assists.

Senior Zion Taylor's 10-game hit streak came to an end last weekend, which is the longest streak of any Governor this season. He continued to get on base, however, as he has now reached base safely in 12-straight games, which is the second-longest streak on the roster this season, behind junior Kyler Proctor, who comes into Tuesday with a 13-game streak.

PITCHING PROBABLES

Redshirt senior Chance Cox is set to take the hill on Tuesday. He comes into the midweek contest with a 0-1 record and an 11.40 ERA through four starts this season. He has started two weekend series games and two midweeks. His only decision this season came at Mississippi State (Feb. 24), where he threw three innings and struck out four. In week one of the 2026 campaign, he threw 4.1 innings at UNLV (Feb. 15) and struck out six batters, matching his career single-game high.

Cox is matched up against junior Owen Kelly for the Rebels, who comes into the game with a 1-0 record and a 4.26 ERA with 10 punchouts across seven appearances and 12.2 innings of work. He picked up his lone win of the season against Southeast Missouri (Feb. 24) after coming into the game in relief and tossing 2.2 innings, while striking out one batter and not allowing a hit.

SERIES HISTORY

Ole Miss leads the all-time series, 21-2. The Rebels have won the last 17 meetings, dating back to February 17, 1998, when the Governors won 15-4 in Oxford.

The all-time series dates back to 1993, when Ole Miss won 2-0 in Oxford. The two teams would face each other every year after that up until 2002, when the Rebels won 3-1 at home. The programs would not meet again until 2007, when Ole Miss won its two-game series in Oxford on March 6 and 7 that season.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Fans unable to attend can listen to the weekend series on ESPN Clarksville 104.1 FM in the Clarksville area or through the TuneIn app on their mobile device. Van Stokes, who is in his 25th season as the Govs play-by-play voice, will have the call all weekend.

The midweek contest will be streamed on SEC Network+.

FOLLOW ALONG

Keep up to date with all Governors baseball on the official website of Austin Peay Athletics - www.LetsGoPeay.com. Follow @GovsBSB on X and Instagram for all Governors Baseball updates and ticket information as they happen.