South Carolina walked off Ole Miss, 9-8, in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday to clinch the series and send the Rebels to the bottom of the SEC West halfway through conference play. The Gamecocks have now won series over Texas, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss after losing game one of each series.
Ole Miss is 21-14 overall and 5-10 in the SEC following the loss. The Rebels have lost five of their last six SEC games. It’s the worst record of the Mike Bianco era at this point of the season.
Let’s be real: Ole Miss simply isn’t good enough in any phase. The Rebels aren’t hitting well enough or pitching well enough or defending well enough. We can get in the minutiae and that’s my job, but the fact is they aren’t good enough and consistent enough to have good weekends in this league.
The math is a daunting situation when it comes to making the NCAA Tournament, and that’s the goal right now.
To have any shot at postseason play, the Rebels have to be 13-17 in league play which means 8-7 the rest of the way. It will take 9-6 to feel decent about at-large chances, though an under .500 record won’t be a calming scenario on selection Monday. Also, Tuesday against MSU in Pearl is an important game. Remember that the selection committee counts the Governor’s Cup in a team’s conference record even though it’s not a game that counts in the league standings.
I know it’s been talked about a lot on the board. Knox Loposer, per Bianco, wasn’t on the travel roster this weekend. Bianco said after the game that Calvin Harris and Kemp Alderman were the only two catchers available. Loposer isn’t a bad bat, and with Harris already having an injury this season, it would make sense to carry three catchers instead of a pitcher who isn’t getting in the game barring some crazy scenario.
Starter Jack Washburn pulled his hamstring. It’s the same injury he suffered in the fall. Catcher Hayden Dunhurst didn’t play on Saturday after jamming his shoulder on Friday night.
“He’s kind of day-to-day,” Bianco said of Dunhurst. “Still really sore today, unable to play. Encouraging with some of the movement and ability that he had in the shoulder. He just dove into second and banged it up a little bit. We’ll do some treatment on him tomorrow. Our trainer said he’ll go see the doctor on Monday. I think he’ll be OK. Just one of those where he’ll need some rest and rehab.”
Ole Miss had 13 hits on Saturday but again it didn’t work counts or move the baseball when necessary prior to the ninth inning. The Rebels struck out nine times and only walked twice in 42 plate appearances.
The four-run ninth inning for Ole Miss showed a lot of fight, and it hasn’t quit. So there’s that, and that’s important, but the Rebels are inconsistent and unable to get at above average — not even elite — starting pitching.
The Rebels are more talented than what’s happening right now. The pitching staff hasn’t developed. The returners, for the most part, are the same or worse than previous seasons, and the overeagerness at the plate is causing so many empty innings and at-bats that aren’t competitive.
Jack Dougherty was good on Saturday, but every other pitcher gave up a run. Drew McDaniel got the loss despite the one run being unearned. The concerning issue for Ole Miss moving forward is Brandon Johnson. He struck out six but got hit around a little bit. Johnson, who was the most reliable bullpen arm until recently, only allowed one earned run in his first 12.1 innings this season but has given up 10 earned runs in his last 6.1 innings spread out over 10 appearances.
If the season ended today, Ole Miss would miss the SEC Tournament. The Rebels are tied with Missouri and Kentucky for the worst record in the SEC. Missouri would go to Hoover currently, winning the tiebreaker between the three teams.
"Look, we've got all the faith in the world we're going to turn this thing around," Kevin Graham said Saturday. "We're way too talented of a team. Too tough. We've got to stick together. Y'all just need to stick with us. We're going to turn this thing around.”
And maybe they do, but Ole Miss has to be better everywhere for that to be the case. The Rebels have a 6.58 ERA and .287 batting average against in league play. Offensively is no better. The Rebels are hitting .241 in league play with 165 strikeouts and 48 walks.
The coaching has also been subpar. The moves aren’t working for a variety of reasons. Some of it is player execution, but Dylan DeLucia’s quality starts against Kentucky and South Carolina highlight the fact he didn’t start against Alabama because he is right-handed.
Ole Miss pinch hit Peyton Chatagnier on Saturday for Hayden Leatherwood, who had two hits on the day. Chatagnier grounded into a double play.
In the ninth inning, Ben Van Cleve pitch hit for Harris and doubled, but it sent Alderman behind the plate the next half inning. An Alderman passed ball led to a sacrifice fly to win the game for Carolina.
It’s a combination of everything. Ole Miss isn’t getting quality play out of too many roster spots. The roster is a mess in some ways. The Rebel coaches aren’t pushing buttons that are leading to wins. And now a team that has a tendency to press has to sit at 5-10 before a highly-attended home series against Mississippi State in Oxford. Blinders have never been needed more.
The situation around the program is obvious, and there’s no more margin. Ole Miss is scrambling for its season, for its postseason life and likely for his coaches’ jobs. And all of those things are very evident.
Ole Miss is 21-14 overall and 5-10 in the SEC following the loss. The Rebels have lost five of their last six SEC games. It’s the worst record of the Mike Bianco era at this point of the season.
Let’s be real: Ole Miss simply isn’t good enough in any phase. The Rebels aren’t hitting well enough or pitching well enough or defending well enough. We can get in the minutiae and that’s my job, but the fact is they aren’t good enough and consistent enough to have good weekends in this league.
The math is a daunting situation when it comes to making the NCAA Tournament, and that’s the goal right now.
To have any shot at postseason play, the Rebels have to be 13-17 in league play which means 8-7 the rest of the way. It will take 9-6 to feel decent about at-large chances, though an under .500 record won’t be a calming scenario on selection Monday. Also, Tuesday against MSU in Pearl is an important game. Remember that the selection committee counts the Governor’s Cup in a team’s conference record even though it’s not a game that counts in the league standings.
I know it’s been talked about a lot on the board. Knox Loposer, per Bianco, wasn’t on the travel roster this weekend. Bianco said after the game that Calvin Harris and Kemp Alderman were the only two catchers available. Loposer isn’t a bad bat, and with Harris already having an injury this season, it would make sense to carry three catchers instead of a pitcher who isn’t getting in the game barring some crazy scenario.
Starter Jack Washburn pulled his hamstring. It’s the same injury he suffered in the fall. Catcher Hayden Dunhurst didn’t play on Saturday after jamming his shoulder on Friday night.
“He’s kind of day-to-day,” Bianco said of Dunhurst. “Still really sore today, unable to play. Encouraging with some of the movement and ability that he had in the shoulder. He just dove into second and banged it up a little bit. We’ll do some treatment on him tomorrow. Our trainer said he’ll go see the doctor on Monday. I think he’ll be OK. Just one of those where he’ll need some rest and rehab.”
Ole Miss had 13 hits on Saturday but again it didn’t work counts or move the baseball when necessary prior to the ninth inning. The Rebels struck out nine times and only walked twice in 42 plate appearances.
The four-run ninth inning for Ole Miss showed a lot of fight, and it hasn’t quit. So there’s that, and that’s important, but the Rebels are inconsistent and unable to get at above average — not even elite — starting pitching.
The Rebels are more talented than what’s happening right now. The pitching staff hasn’t developed. The returners, for the most part, are the same or worse than previous seasons, and the overeagerness at the plate is causing so many empty innings and at-bats that aren’t competitive.
Jack Dougherty was good on Saturday, but every other pitcher gave up a run. Drew McDaniel got the loss despite the one run being unearned. The concerning issue for Ole Miss moving forward is Brandon Johnson. He struck out six but got hit around a little bit. Johnson, who was the most reliable bullpen arm until recently, only allowed one earned run in his first 12.1 innings this season but has given up 10 earned runs in his last 6.1 innings spread out over 10 appearances.
If the season ended today, Ole Miss would miss the SEC Tournament. The Rebels are tied with Missouri and Kentucky for the worst record in the SEC. Missouri would go to Hoover currently, winning the tiebreaker between the three teams.
"Look, we've got all the faith in the world we're going to turn this thing around," Kevin Graham said Saturday. "We're way too talented of a team. Too tough. We've got to stick together. Y'all just need to stick with us. We're going to turn this thing around.”
And maybe they do, but Ole Miss has to be better everywhere for that to be the case. The Rebels have a 6.58 ERA and .287 batting average against in league play. Offensively is no better. The Rebels are hitting .241 in league play with 165 strikeouts and 48 walks.
The coaching has also been subpar. The moves aren’t working for a variety of reasons. Some of it is player execution, but Dylan DeLucia’s quality starts against Kentucky and South Carolina highlight the fact he didn’t start against Alabama because he is right-handed.
Ole Miss pinch hit Peyton Chatagnier on Saturday for Hayden Leatherwood, who had two hits on the day. Chatagnier grounded into a double play.
In the ninth inning, Ben Van Cleve pitch hit for Harris and doubled, but it sent Alderman behind the plate the next half inning. An Alderman passed ball led to a sacrifice fly to win the game for Carolina.
It’s a combination of everything. Ole Miss isn’t getting quality play out of too many roster spots. The roster is a mess in some ways. The Rebel coaches aren’t pushing buttons that are leading to wins. And now a team that has a tendency to press has to sit at 5-10 before a highly-attended home series against Mississippi State in Oxford. Blinders have never been needed more.
The situation around the program is obvious, and there’s no more margin. Ole Miss is scrambling for its season, for its postseason life and likely for his coaches’ jobs. And all of those things are very evident.
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