The Ole Miss baseball team has found itself in a bit of a pickle here at the midway point of the season.
Heading into the 2023 campaign, no one really expected the Rebels to win the National Championship again this year. But most would have expected Ole Miss to have a solid season with some returning faces and good offseason acquisitions. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for the defending champs.
The Rebels sit with an overall record of 17-11 and are just 1-8 against SEC opponents. Before winning last Saturday’s game against the Texas A&M Aggies, Ole Miss started 0-7 in conference play for the first time since 1935.
Those seven consecutive losses also constituted the longest conference losing streak for Ole Miss since 1997.
Some might say the Rebels faced very good teams to start SEC play. Yes, Ole Miss played the No. 3 and No. 4 ranked teams in the country in Florida and Vanderbilt, respectively. But you’re telling me they couldn’t rally to get just one win in those two three-game series?
Conversely, the Rebels faced a Texas A&M squad that had an overall record of 15-10 and just 1-5 in SEC play heading into last weekend’s series. Ole Miss had plenty of chances to come out with a couple of victories. Instead, the Rebels came out of the weekend losing the series two games to one.
Yes, the SEC is arguably the best conference in college baseball, and head coach Mike Bianco is fully aware of that.
“This league is just so unforgiving and if you don’t play well, you don’t win,” Bianco said after last Sunday’s loss against Texas A&M. “This league, the teams are too good.”
So who’s to blame? The hitters? The pitchers? Or is it the coaching? I think it’s a little bit of everything.
First, let’s state the obvious: Ole Miss has had bad luck with injuries this season.
Relief pitcher Josh Mallitz had a stellar 2022 season, holding an ERA of just 1.45, and he was expected to play a big role in the Rebels’ bullpen. But Mallitz underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery back in November. So it was evident that the bullpen needed to really step up this season to compensate for a major loss.
Hunter Elliott, Ole Miss’ No. 1 starting pitcher, sprained his UCL after his season-opening start on the mound and has been out ever since. Bianco said that he expects Elliott to return to game action in mid-April.
Then in March, Bianco said right-handed reliever Matt Parenteau was dealing with discomfort after suffering a slight tear in his UCL last summer. While visiting with surgeons, Parenteau has been out for Ole Miss.
Injuries are a part of the game, and that’s why it is important to have a lot of depth on your team.
The remaining Ole Miss pitchers have struggled this season. The team has an ERA of 7.73in SEC play, and opponents are batting a staggering .314 against Rebel pitchers.
In nine games against SEC teams, the Rebels have been outscored 75-47. Ole Miss’ pitchers have just been pushed around against these teams, plain and simple.
One reason for that: The Rebels have a lot of young pitchers. Grayson Saunier, Sam Tookoian, Cole Ketchum, Brayden Jones and JT Quinn are all freshmen, and these are guys Bianco regularly uses on the mound. So there are going to be some growing pains.
However, even ace pitcher Elliott’s return to game action isn’t likely to magically fix the Rebels’ problems. But it will help. Once Elliott is back in the starting rotation, Jack Dougherty will most likely move back to the bullpen and add some much-needed depth in that area. (Dougherty had been taking Elliott’s place in the starting rotation.)
In the end, it all comes down to consistency, and that hasn’t been the MO for the Rebels this season. Granted, there’s still a fairly long way to go in the season — the SEC Tournament begins May 23 — and we all remember what happened last year following a relatively inauspicious start. But the Rebels have to pick it up if they hope to reach the big stage again.
