Ole Miss will open the NCAA Tournament against Arizona State on May 29 in the Lincoln Regional in Nebraska, a matchup that will be televised on ESPN2 with Karl Ravech and Kyle Peterson calling the game.
Arizona State arrives at the regional with a 37-19 record and 19 conference wins; the Sun Devils are listed among the stronger 3-seeds in the field. Ole Miss comes in at 36-21. The winner of the May 29 game advances into the 1-0 game on May 30; the loser drops into an elimination game earlier that same day.
Fans tracking the ASU baseball score will get live coverage on ESPN2, but the matchup still leaves a key information gap: neither team has announced starting pitchers for the game. The broadcast crew is set—Ravech and Peterson will handle play-by-play and analysis—but previews of how the pitching matchups might tilt the contest remain unavailable.
That omission is notable because Ole Miss is arriving in the NCAA field after an unexpectedly early exit from the SEC Tournament. Last week the Rebels lost a one-and-done outing to 16-seed Missouri, and they now turn immediately to a regional opener against a 3-seed that won 19 conference games in the regular season. Arizona State’s résumé and Ole Miss’s late stumble set the game up as a test of whether the Rebels can reset after the SEC loss.
The schedule is straightforward: May 29 settles the regional opener between these two programs in Lincoln; May 30 carries both the winner’s 1-0 game and an earlier elimination game for the loser. Those outcomes mean the pitching choices announced before first pitch will shape the immediate path in the regional—either a clearer path into the winner’s bracket or an early survival test in the double-elimination format.
Practical viewing details are confirmed: the May 29 game will be on ESPN2 with Ravech and Peterson on the call. What remains the single most consequential unanswered item is the starting rotation for each side. Lineup and starter announcements, expected in advance of the game, will determine not only tactical matchups but which team faces the tougher schedule on May 30.
