The Ole Miss Baseball team lost its Sunday matchup against Alabama by a score of 7-3 in what felt like a must-win game for the team. The Rebels have now been swept at home twice in the same season for the first time since 1997 and have fallen to 19-12 and 4-8 in SEC play.
I don’t know
This may be the beginning of the end for a team that had sky-high expectations coming into the season. The Ole Miss offense was supposed to be one of the best in the country, and as they enter the latter half of the season, it is starting to become clear that is not going to be the case. At some point, struggling at the plate is no longer considered slumping and it’s just who you are. It feels like the Rebel offense is very close to that point this season and I’ll be honest, I have no idea why. Some of the players seem like they are pressing at the plate a bit, but it feels like there’s something else going on with the team.
Ole Miss brought back the majority of the lineup that led the SEC in hitting last season and hitting coach Mike Clement has proven himself to be a solid coach over the years, but for some reason it’s just not clicking this season. The offense isn’t terrible by any means, but in order for Ole Miss to make a deep postseason run, the hitting has to be elite, and right now I don’t know if I would even consider them above average. It’s mind-boggling that these veteran hitters aren’t performing to the best of their ability, and I’d be lying if I said I had any idea why that is.
This feels like the end for Bianco
With a 4-8 conference record at this point in the season, it’s more than fair to say a national seed is out of the question for this team, and hosting a regional is on life support. In 22 years as the Ole Miss manager, Mike Bianco has made it to Omaha only once, and some of his teams have caused some real heartbreak for Rebel fans over the years.
I’m not Keith Carter, so I can’t say this for certain, but it feels like Bianco has been in the hot seat ever since the 2018 season ended, and with the way this season is going, it seems like year 22 will be Bianco’s last. Baseball is a strange sport, and the Rebels going on a miracle run to make it to Omaha isn’t 100% out of the question, but it’s pretty close. With fan frustration at an all-time high, I would be very surprised to see Bianco in Ole Miss’s dugout next season if this doesn’t get turned around ASAP.
What needs to happen now
Like I said above, hosting a regional is on life support for the Rebels, and a series loss to South Carolina next weekend will put the Rebels in a spot where they will be fighting to even make the NCAA tournament. Since they have zero Top 25 wins and have been swept twice at home, in order to host a regional Ole Miss will probably need to finish the season with a 17-13 conference record. If they wish to make the NCAA tournament they will probably need to go 14-16 to do so. (This is based on how SEC teams have been seeded based on their conference records in previous seasons along with the fact that Ole Miss’s RPI is really bad right now). Their record in conference play is 4-8 right now, so they would need to finish the season on a 13-5 run to host and 10-8 to make the NCAA tournament. It’s certainly not impossible for Ole Miss to go on a late run, but turning the season around has to happen right now, or this thing is going to end very badly.
