The Rebels are 4-0 for the season. On Wednesday night, the team took down Arkansas State at home 12-1 after opening up the season at the State Farm College Baseball Tournament in Arlington, Texas, last weekend. It couldn’t have gone better. The Rebels proved to be one of the nation’s top baseball contenders, winning every single game they have played thus far.
The opening game of the season was against No. 10 Texas Christian University. Things started to look a little rough after star pitcher Doug Nikhazy walked in three runs. Ole Miss was able to respond after a big second inning and led 4-3. Ultimately, the Rebels finished the first match 7-3, and even with a shaky start in the beginning, the Rebels were able to hold the Horned Frogs off to seven scoreless innings.
If you want to be a great baseball team, you have to have a lot of pitching depth. Series are long, pitchers make mistakes, and it’s important that young guys are ready when you need them. Head coach Mike Bianco has shown that he knows how to put together a virtually flawless group. After Nikhazy looked a little shaken up, he was able to pull from his bullpen and finish out the game without another run.
While Ole Miss was clearly dominant in the first game, closing out the second game was a bit more difficult. The Rebels took on Texas Tech on the second day of the tournament and finished with a 5-4 win. The Red Raiders scored first, making it 2-0 in the second inning. Ole Miss rallied back to score five with freshman Jacob Gonzalez leading the way with a two-run homer. After the win, the Rebels extended the current win streak to 19. It is now the longest streak in team history.
Baseball America then announced that Ole Miss was ranked No. 1 in the polls, further projecting the Ole Miss baseball program as the top program in the nation.
Other organizations were quick to select Ole Miss for the No.1 spot after the performance in Texas, including D1 Baseball, Perfect Game, Baseball America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). Ole Miss may very well be named the best college baseball team in the country.
Although some may argue that it’s too early on in this season, we’ve seen Ole Miss prove themselves to the world of college baseball time and time again. Even with two players missing from the MLB Draft, Ole Miss is doing a fine job at filling in those spots and declining any objections that Ole Miss baseball isn’t exciting to watch.
More importantly, with the momentum the Rebels have carried into the first set of games, we can see the precedents being set for the road to Omaha at the end of regular-season matches. At this point, it’s Ole Miss versus everybody else.
In addition to the ranking No.1 in the polls, The SEC chose second baseman Peyton Chatagnier as Co-SEC Player of the Week. This award comes after Chatagnier had five hits (four doubles) in 11 at-bats, as well as three RBIs and three runs scored all in only three games.
Another Mississippi team also showed out during the opening tournament. The Mississippi State baseball program was also in the State Farm Baseball Tournament, and after the snowstorm delayed the tournament and travel, Mississippi State and Ole Miss flew on the same plane to Texas.
While Ole Miss had the better record of 3-0, State finished 2-1 in the tournament. It is often difficult to be able to celebrate any success of a rival, but it’s hard to ignore that baseball in Mississippi just means more.
Statistics are not the only thing that makes a team successful. This Ole Miss team has fun, and they like to win.
“I feel like we’re finally getting the respect we deserve,” sophomore pitcher Derek Diamond said in the press conference after the Texas game. “It feels right. I think we’re going to be there for a while. I’ve never been on a team like this. It’s so much fun to play. We’re number one. We’re number one for a reason.”
