Did you all wake up completely confident or aware that you've been here before, a few times, actually? Yesterday felt different for whatever reason. Ole Miss got the break (but it really wasn't a break; it was a foul ball) and then pounced after that. Ole Miss ran the pitch count up early on a really damn good pitcher and found a way to score early despite leaving them loaded that inning before.
That effort by Dylan DeLucia was really special and will grow in memories if the Rebels take care of one of the next two games. He's shown a ton of composure and he really freaking cares. Obviously a lot of players do, but he's become that emotional leader that was somewhat lacking in the middle of the season. That sequence when he pointed Ewing back to the plate and then struck him out with the slider on the next pitch after the foul ball was the image of the day.
And it was the right move to go to Jack Dougherty for relief. Someone who could go the distance and not force you to use multiple relievers and also a quality arm. We've seen a lot of comebacks in regionals -- look at Stanford last night -- and there was still more than a third of the game left. You couldn't completely pack it in, even at 10-0.
Tanner Hall is a challenge today. He throws so many strikes and lives down in the zone. Sinker, sinker, sinker. Punish the pitches that are up and Ole Miss can't roll over everything and try to pull stuff. And don't be stupid, but you may as well be aggressive on pitches in the zone because he's not going to walk many. However, don't just assume everything is a strike and help him. That's where he gets people. Make him pitch and don't give the benefit of the doubt but swing at the fastball over the plate. Waldrep has better raw stuff, but Hall is the better pitcher. He's throwing for the third time in nine days. It's possible he's a little less sharp but no way to know that.
I asked Mike about TJ McCants and he said he doesn't think TJ is healthy enough to give competitive at-bats. And obviously he's been scuffling anyway, hitting .140 since May 1st. And Garrett Wood reached base four times yesterday and 7 of his last 9 plate appearances overall. It's cool to see a guy emerge like that. Kevin Graham nodded yesterday when Mike said Wood was maybe the team's favorite teammate.
Someone asked Mike how he keeps his team from looking ahead. Mike said "Really?" and he could have been more forceful with the answer. They get it. They know the last two postseasons. Very clearly. But there's a lightness to this group. They are well suited for this mentally. Now that doesn't guarantee victory at all, but losses won't be because of crowds or the moment being too big or tightness. They love playing on the road and feeding off the road crowd, too. It's interesting, and you can see it. I expect the place to be loud but almost manufactured loud early today. Ole Miss needs an early lead to make it just nervous in the stadium. This is USM's Super Bowl. I give them credit. They stayed engaged and in the park all nine innings yesterday. But the early innings today will set a mood. Either a raucous environment that lifts USM to some extent or a nervous ballpark worried about what's to come. Hunter Elliott faces one more test today. He's certainly been composed every time prior to this. The attendance was 5,400 yesterday. It's loud, but it's small. If you don't let them just get off the rails excited, it's not a noticeable thing really.
There's half a day to kill, so I'm going to play golf this morning. I'll check back in periodically and give some other thoughts prior to first pitch.
That effort by Dylan DeLucia was really special and will grow in memories if the Rebels take care of one of the next two games. He's shown a ton of composure and he really freaking cares. Obviously a lot of players do, but he's become that emotional leader that was somewhat lacking in the middle of the season. That sequence when he pointed Ewing back to the plate and then struck him out with the slider on the next pitch after the foul ball was the image of the day.
And it was the right move to go to Jack Dougherty for relief. Someone who could go the distance and not force you to use multiple relievers and also a quality arm. We've seen a lot of comebacks in regionals -- look at Stanford last night -- and there was still more than a third of the game left. You couldn't completely pack it in, even at 10-0.
Tanner Hall is a challenge today. He throws so many strikes and lives down in the zone. Sinker, sinker, sinker. Punish the pitches that are up and Ole Miss can't roll over everything and try to pull stuff. And don't be stupid, but you may as well be aggressive on pitches in the zone because he's not going to walk many. However, don't just assume everything is a strike and help him. That's where he gets people. Make him pitch and don't give the benefit of the doubt but swing at the fastball over the plate. Waldrep has better raw stuff, but Hall is the better pitcher. He's throwing for the third time in nine days. It's possible he's a little less sharp but no way to know that.
I asked Mike about TJ McCants and he said he doesn't think TJ is healthy enough to give competitive at-bats. And obviously he's been scuffling anyway, hitting .140 since May 1st. And Garrett Wood reached base four times yesterday and 7 of his last 9 plate appearances overall. It's cool to see a guy emerge like that. Kevin Graham nodded yesterday when Mike said Wood was maybe the team's favorite teammate.
Someone asked Mike how he keeps his team from looking ahead. Mike said "Really?" and he could have been more forceful with the answer. They get it. They know the last two postseasons. Very clearly. But there's a lightness to this group. They are well suited for this mentally. Now that doesn't guarantee victory at all, but losses won't be because of crowds or the moment being too big or tightness. They love playing on the road and feeding off the road crowd, too. It's interesting, and you can see it. I expect the place to be loud but almost manufactured loud early today. Ole Miss needs an early lead to make it just nervous in the stadium. This is USM's Super Bowl. I give them credit. They stayed engaged and in the park all nine innings yesterday. But the early innings today will set a mood. Either a raucous environment that lifts USM to some extent or a nervous ballpark worried about what's to come. Hunter Elliott faces one more test today. He's certainly been composed every time prior to this. The attendance was 5,400 yesterday. It's loud, but it's small. If you don't let them just get off the rails excited, it's not a noticeable thing really.
There's half a day to kill, so I'm going to play golf this morning. I'll check back in periodically and give some other thoughts prior to first pitch.
