Here's the game recap if you're interested but in a lot of ways it looked like most of the losses this season. https://olemiss.rivals.com/news/rebels-fall-5-3-to-arkanas-to-start-series-in-fayetteville
Arkansas is a good baseball team playing at home, and Isaiah Campbell has been one of the best pitchers in the country so far this season. And for all the talk about left-handed pitching overall, Ole Miss hasn't hit any pitching in league play -- including a .205 average entering last night against right-handers that is now lower because the Rebels hit .182 on Friday.
In a vacuum losing the opener at Arkansas to Campbell isn't a big deal or time to freak out, but the losses are coming more often than the wins and if Ole Miss is one of the better (top 20) teams in the country then it's time to start acting like it. The same mistakes happen over and over again, and the Rebels simply aren't consistent right now in any phase.
Ole Miss had two more errors last night, and you could argue there should have been a third one. The Rebels were 1-for-11 with runners on and 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Also 1-for-10 with two outs. Situational hitting has become problem No. 1 for a team with several problems.
Will Ethridge wasn't bad last night. Arkansas torched him with two outs and capitalized on mistakes. The Razorbacks had three two-out RBIs and and Ole Miss had zero. But, in general, the Rebels are dealing with two issues on the mound: no margin for error and way too many runners.
Ole Miss has mostly minimized big opposing innings, but it takes Houdini acts because the Rebels aren't throwing up many clean innings. When you pitch with runners everywhere often, some are going to score. And when the offense doesn't capitalize on opportunities, every opposing run feels like five because of the inability to come back.
Ole Miss held Martin and Kjerstad to 1-for-9 combined last night.
Houston Roth was the best he's been this season last night, striking out five and throwing three scoreless innings. That's three straight good outings for him. Time to find him a role and see what happens.
Grae Kessinger had 2 of Ole Miss' six hits last night and is hitting .321 in league play.
Chase Cockrell went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. He saw a diet of breaking balls unlike his good night in Memphis Wednesday. Cockrell isn't a viable option if he doesn't lay off breaking balls. And with other options who aren't seniors, it's tough to not hand it off to Elko -- in my opinion.
The bar is set fairly low for Fayetteville. Don't get swept. Win on and then come home for the majority of the next month and see what happens. And losing a road game to Campbell and Cronin isn't a big deal. But... if this is a nationally competitive baseball team, then it's time to start acting like it. That's the issue with a night like Friday. The bar was low, but Ole Miss had numerous opportunities. It was a winnable game, but the Rebels aren't doing the little things to make those things happen.
The next eight games will say a lot of about Ole Miss. It simply has to play better for what's said to not be pretty bad. It's not the 3-4 in the SEC that's the problem. It's the way it's gotten there and the way the Rebels have looked doing it.
Arkansas is a good baseball team playing at home, and Isaiah Campbell has been one of the best pitchers in the country so far this season. And for all the talk about left-handed pitching overall, Ole Miss hasn't hit any pitching in league play -- including a .205 average entering last night against right-handers that is now lower because the Rebels hit .182 on Friday.
In a vacuum losing the opener at Arkansas to Campbell isn't a big deal or time to freak out, but the losses are coming more often than the wins and if Ole Miss is one of the better (top 20) teams in the country then it's time to start acting like it. The same mistakes happen over and over again, and the Rebels simply aren't consistent right now in any phase.
Ole Miss had two more errors last night, and you could argue there should have been a third one. The Rebels were 1-for-11 with runners on and 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Also 1-for-10 with two outs. Situational hitting has become problem No. 1 for a team with several problems.
Will Ethridge wasn't bad last night. Arkansas torched him with two outs and capitalized on mistakes. The Razorbacks had three two-out RBIs and and Ole Miss had zero. But, in general, the Rebels are dealing with two issues on the mound: no margin for error and way too many runners.
Ole Miss has mostly minimized big opposing innings, but it takes Houdini acts because the Rebels aren't throwing up many clean innings. When you pitch with runners everywhere often, some are going to score. And when the offense doesn't capitalize on opportunities, every opposing run feels like five because of the inability to come back.
Ole Miss held Martin and Kjerstad to 1-for-9 combined last night.
Houston Roth was the best he's been this season last night, striking out five and throwing three scoreless innings. That's three straight good outings for him. Time to find him a role and see what happens.
Grae Kessinger had 2 of Ole Miss' six hits last night and is hitting .321 in league play.
Chase Cockrell went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. He saw a diet of breaking balls unlike his good night in Memphis Wednesday. Cockrell isn't a viable option if he doesn't lay off breaking balls. And with other options who aren't seniors, it's tough to not hand it off to Elko -- in my opinion.
The bar is set fairly low for Fayetteville. Don't get swept. Win on and then come home for the majority of the next month and see what happens. And losing a road game to Campbell and Cronin isn't a big deal. But... if this is a nationally competitive baseball team, then it's time to start acting like it. That's the issue with a night like Friday. The bar was low, but Ole Miss had numerous opportunities. It was a winnable game, but the Rebels aren't doing the little things to make those things happen.
The next eight games will say a lot of about Ole Miss. It simply has to play better for what's said to not be pretty bad. It's not the 3-4 in the SEC that's the problem. It's the way it's gotten there and the way the Rebels have looked doing it.
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