The Rebels are poised for a postseason run starting on Friday, May 29 against Arizona State. They have spent the last week practicing and resting for the road to Omaha, Neb. The pieces for a second national championship are there, but the fate of the Rebels’ season relies on execution.
Ole Miss will begin the postseason in the Lincoln Regional, alongside host Nebraska, Arizona State and South Dakota State.
Fatigue should not be an issue this weekend. The Rebels last played a game on Tuesday, May 19, in a loss to Missouri to open the SEC Tournament. Head coach Mike Bianco is hopeful not playing deep into the conference tournament will benefit the team.
“It’s one of those things that you’ll look back on and hope that it was kind of that blessing in disguise if you will,” Bianco said in a press conference on May 25. “We talked about it. You go there to win. You go there to play well and perform. When that doesn’t go well, you hope that it’s gonna have the reverse effect where you kind of get your legs back underneath you.”
The Rebels had a good week of practice, with most of the pitchers getting time on the mound and batters seeing the ball well.
“We intersquaded on Wednesday (May 20). (A) couple more practices and then another intersquad yesterday (May 24), so the guys that didn’t throw (at the SEC Tournament) all threw,” Bianco said. “Some of those guys threw Wednesday and Sunday. I think we got enough at-bats, enough live ABs. We looked really good yesterday swinging the bat against basically all the arms except for the starters and (Hudson) Calhoun.”
Third baseman Judd Utermark spoke about preparing for the regional between the selection show on Monday and first game on Friday.
“It’s a plethora of things. One is getting your mind right, and sometimes that means not thinking about it as much and just playing your game,” Utermark said in a press conference. “Obviously, we have a couple days to improve and get better as a unit with practice, and lifting, and hydration and everything that comes with this sport.”
Hunter Elliott and Taylor Rabe have not pitched since May 14 and 15, respectively. Elliott, the likeliest option to open the regional against Arizona State, returned to form in his last two starts. He pitched six innings and gave the Rebels a chance to win in both outings.
Rabe is coming off the best start of his career. He gave up one hit and one walk in six innings with 13 strikeouts against the Tide. The righty carried a perfect game into the fifth and a no-hitter into the sixth.
Cade Townsend last pitched on May 16. He failed to pitch into the fifth inning for the second consecutive start. Hopefully, this time between starts will allow him to make proper adjustments and find himself again.
Catcher Austin Fawley is riding an eight-game hit streak into Lincoln, Neb., and center fielder Hayden Federico is coming off a four-RBI performance in the SEC Tournament. Despite losing to Missouri, the offense put up eight runs on nine hits, so they were able to take away a positive heading into the regional.
With the players rested and well-prepared, the task now will be putting together a complete weekend and executing throughout the regional.
Winning in the postseason requires execution. Mental mistakes like getting thrown out trying to advance 90 feet off a sacrifice fly on a delayed attempt, miscommunicating on a squeeze bunt attempt and making careless errors — all of which contributed to Rebel losses in May — cannot continue in the postseason.
They had the opportunity to take important series in rubber matches against Arkansas and Alabama, but the Razorbacks walked it off and the Tide stifled the Rebel bats. Poor execution from the lineup and coaching staff cost Ole Miss wins in both of those crucial series.
Against Arkansas, Hooks was brought out for a nine-out save, which, as a potential starter next season, is reasonable; however, he pitched 1 ⅔ innings on 23 pitches in the prior game.
Had he not pitched on Saturday in an 11-4 win, he would have been able to complete the game. Instead, the Rebels took a heartbreaking loss.
In the third inning of game three against Alabama, Tristan Bissetta tied the game with a sacrifice fly, but Dom Decker turned it into a double play after getting thrown out trying to move up to second. The out completely changed the probability of scoring more runs. The Rebels did not score any runs after that.
As long as Bianco and the Rebels avoid similar issues in the postseason, those game-altering mental mistakes, along with mismanagement of the bullpen, can be put in the past.
The quality of the squad allowed them to out-play their mistakes over the course of a long season and get them a No. 2 seed, but making those same mistakes in late May and into June will give Ole Miss a ticket back to Oxford.
The Rebels have what it takes to win the Lincoln Regional. They will look to benefit from their time between games starting on Friday, May 29.
