I pointed this out yesterday during the video, but I'll reiterate here that I thought the best at-bat by Grae Kessinger yesterday was't the home run or the double but the full-count walk in the first game. So much has been made about his aggression at the plate, and it's paid off with four extra base hits and only two strikeouts in 24 at-bats. He's also hitting .500 with runners in scoring position.
And Kessinger walked three times yesterday -- the first walks he's had this season -- but the last two were mostly because Tulane had major pitching issues. But, in the first game, there were two men on base, and the Wave reliever started the at-bat with a breaking ball for a strike. With a reckless aggressive approach there would be some panic on the next pitch or two, but Kessinger handled some nibbling at the zone and eventually walked to load the bases and extend the inning. There was a maturity there that's a good sign moving forward. He's not going to hit .400 for the season, but he's having better at-bats than just flailing away and getting a hit here or there.
As I reported after the game, Mike Bianco said Long Beach at earliest for Tim Rowe's return from a hamstring injury, though his body language indicated it could be longer than that. I didn't sense a lot of certainty, and he pointed out he didn't truly know how long it would take to completely heal. The good thing for Ole Miss is it's suddenly a spot they can weather without considerable issue.
Anywhere else on the field there would be a problem, but Cole Zabowski and Chase Cockrell have been very good in the early on. There are at least glimpses of second-year maturity at the plate with both, and Zabowski may be as big of a hindrance as the hamstring when it comes to Rowe getting his at-bats back since they both hit from the left side.
Zabowski is 4-of-10 with two home runs and has accounted for eight scored runs. This is just a guess so don't hold me to it, but I think his success is a true indicator, while I want to see some more against better pitching from Cockrell. Just a hunch, nothing more. He's 6-of-10 with four strikeouts, so there hasn't been a ball in play that's been recorded an out for him yet. Both have been exactly what Ole Miss needs in the first two weeks.
It seems like Feigl's outing yesterday is somewhat overlooked because of the offensive production and long half-inning that forced him to only pitch six innings. He was fantastic. The fastball velocity was in a good place in the low 90s with a few middle bumps up, and the slider was spotted effectively. He changed eye level throughout the day and sat down Tulane in order in four of his six innings. Even the run given up only had one hit in the inning. It was a strikeout-passed ball that reached base.
He went to the changeup the final time through the order to provide a different look, and it was a viable pitch, too. That could have easily been an eight-inning outing of dominance without the delay and maybe if the season were a few more weeks old. As good as Ryan Rolison has been this year, that was the cleanest outing for an Ole Miss starting pitcher.
Speaking of Rolison, he showed a lot of mental toughness on Friday night. Both teams are racing against the rain, and he allowed baserunners in most of his innings. Tulane barreled him a few times, and he gave up the early home run. But he remained dominant, and I'm searching for small bits of adversity more than anything.
If you want to be hypercritical, he's missing with some fastball command that you wonder might bite him a little bit in SEC play. But the slider is phenomenal, and his velocity is up more than one mile per hour on his fastball compared to last season. He has 21 strikeouts in 10 innings. Rolison entered the weekend leading the country in strikeouts per nine innings.
Thomas Dillard hasn't had the huge game, and the results are mediocre, but the at-bats are better than last season. He's still free-swinging and getting long through the zone early in the count, but I noticed multiple times yesterday he pulled it back in and shortened up as the plate appearance progressed. And he's still walking a lot after having the best walk percentage on the team last season. If he can keep from getting discouraged, there are at least positive signs with his approach in most at-bats.
Parker Caracci had two perfect innings yesterday, and I'm really happy for him. He's found a lot of consistency and can help this team after not being on the active roster -- and dealing with some personal tragedy -- the first two seasons. The stuff from yesterday will play, and he should get more comfortable as he gets on the mound.
I was surprised to see Max Cioffi in the ninth inning. I didn't think he would pitch this season, and that could mean a couple things for him. We'll see how it plays out. While he was on the mound, Connor Green was in the bullpen and still hasn't pitched this season. Since the coaches raved about him in the fall and dropped his arm slot, it's strange he hasn't seen action. I asked Mike about him after the game and got an evasive answer, so I have no idea what Green's potential role is -- if there is one.
Today is a big day for James McArthur. The scoresheet was pretty last week, but he wasn't sharp and had the command issues that will remove one from the Sunday role. It was just one week, and I don't expect some quick decision, but I think it's fair to say he's the most likely candidate to be in trouble should there be a rotation change. Ole Miss is at its best if he can handle Sunday and average 5.5 innings and 2-2.5 or fewer runs.
Dallas Woolfolk's velocity was back closer to last season yesterday. It's still not there, but it was better. I don't think it's an arm issue. I think it's some added weight. He'll be fine. He's already lost some since I saw him right after Christmas.
SEC SCORES
Kentucky 17, Oakland 6 (UK 2-0)
Vanderbilt 15, UMass-Lowell 2 (VU 2-0)
Georgia 10, Charlotte 7
Georgia 6, Charlotte 4 (UGA 2-0)
Missouri 20, Northeastern 1
Northeastern 10, Mizzou 8 (MU 2-1)
South Carolina 14, Charleston Southern 2 (USC 2-0)
Tennessee 11, UNCG 4 (UT 2-0)
Auburn 3, Bryant 1
Auburn 13, Bryant 4 (AU 3-0)
TAMU 8, Cornell 2 (TAMU 3-0)
MSU 14, Nicholls 4 (MSU 2-0)
Alabama 9, Washington State 3 (Bama 3-0)
Florida 8, Miami 2 (UF 2-0)
LSU 10, Texas 5 (LSU 2-0)
Arkansas 5, San Diego State 2 (ARK 2-0)
OTHER WEEKEND OPPONENTS
Long Beach 3, TCU 2
TCU 8, Long Beach 3
Winthrop 5, Maryland-Eastern Shore 1 (WU 2-0)
Eastern Illinois 10, Memphis 9 (EI 2-0)
And Kessinger walked three times yesterday -- the first walks he's had this season -- but the last two were mostly because Tulane had major pitching issues. But, in the first game, there were two men on base, and the Wave reliever started the at-bat with a breaking ball for a strike. With a reckless aggressive approach there would be some panic on the next pitch or two, but Kessinger handled some nibbling at the zone and eventually walked to load the bases and extend the inning. There was a maturity there that's a good sign moving forward. He's not going to hit .400 for the season, but he's having better at-bats than just flailing away and getting a hit here or there.
As I reported after the game, Mike Bianco said Long Beach at earliest for Tim Rowe's return from a hamstring injury, though his body language indicated it could be longer than that. I didn't sense a lot of certainty, and he pointed out he didn't truly know how long it would take to completely heal. The good thing for Ole Miss is it's suddenly a spot they can weather without considerable issue.
Anywhere else on the field there would be a problem, but Cole Zabowski and Chase Cockrell have been very good in the early on. There are at least glimpses of second-year maturity at the plate with both, and Zabowski may be as big of a hindrance as the hamstring when it comes to Rowe getting his at-bats back since they both hit from the left side.
Zabowski is 4-of-10 with two home runs and has accounted for eight scored runs. This is just a guess so don't hold me to it, but I think his success is a true indicator, while I want to see some more against better pitching from Cockrell. Just a hunch, nothing more. He's 6-of-10 with four strikeouts, so there hasn't been a ball in play that's been recorded an out for him yet. Both have been exactly what Ole Miss needs in the first two weeks.
It seems like Feigl's outing yesterday is somewhat overlooked because of the offensive production and long half-inning that forced him to only pitch six innings. He was fantastic. The fastball velocity was in a good place in the low 90s with a few middle bumps up, and the slider was spotted effectively. He changed eye level throughout the day and sat down Tulane in order in four of his six innings. Even the run given up only had one hit in the inning. It was a strikeout-passed ball that reached base.
He went to the changeup the final time through the order to provide a different look, and it was a viable pitch, too. That could have easily been an eight-inning outing of dominance without the delay and maybe if the season were a few more weeks old. As good as Ryan Rolison has been this year, that was the cleanest outing for an Ole Miss starting pitcher.
Speaking of Rolison, he showed a lot of mental toughness on Friday night. Both teams are racing against the rain, and he allowed baserunners in most of his innings. Tulane barreled him a few times, and he gave up the early home run. But he remained dominant, and I'm searching for small bits of adversity more than anything.
If you want to be hypercritical, he's missing with some fastball command that you wonder might bite him a little bit in SEC play. But the slider is phenomenal, and his velocity is up more than one mile per hour on his fastball compared to last season. He has 21 strikeouts in 10 innings. Rolison entered the weekend leading the country in strikeouts per nine innings.
Thomas Dillard hasn't had the huge game, and the results are mediocre, but the at-bats are better than last season. He's still free-swinging and getting long through the zone early in the count, but I noticed multiple times yesterday he pulled it back in and shortened up as the plate appearance progressed. And he's still walking a lot after having the best walk percentage on the team last season. If he can keep from getting discouraged, there are at least positive signs with his approach in most at-bats.
Parker Caracci had two perfect innings yesterday, and I'm really happy for him. He's found a lot of consistency and can help this team after not being on the active roster -- and dealing with some personal tragedy -- the first two seasons. The stuff from yesterday will play, and he should get more comfortable as he gets on the mound.
I was surprised to see Max Cioffi in the ninth inning. I didn't think he would pitch this season, and that could mean a couple things for him. We'll see how it plays out. While he was on the mound, Connor Green was in the bullpen and still hasn't pitched this season. Since the coaches raved about him in the fall and dropped his arm slot, it's strange he hasn't seen action. I asked Mike about him after the game and got an evasive answer, so I have no idea what Green's potential role is -- if there is one.
Today is a big day for James McArthur. The scoresheet was pretty last week, but he wasn't sharp and had the command issues that will remove one from the Sunday role. It was just one week, and I don't expect some quick decision, but I think it's fair to say he's the most likely candidate to be in trouble should there be a rotation change. Ole Miss is at its best if he can handle Sunday and average 5.5 innings and 2-2.5 or fewer runs.
Dallas Woolfolk's velocity was back closer to last season yesterday. It's still not there, but it was better. I don't think it's an arm issue. I think it's some added weight. He'll be fine. He's already lost some since I saw him right after Christmas.
SEC SCORES
Kentucky 17, Oakland 6 (UK 2-0)
Vanderbilt 15, UMass-Lowell 2 (VU 2-0)
Georgia 10, Charlotte 7
Georgia 6, Charlotte 4 (UGA 2-0)
Missouri 20, Northeastern 1
Northeastern 10, Mizzou 8 (MU 2-1)
South Carolina 14, Charleston Southern 2 (USC 2-0)
Tennessee 11, UNCG 4 (UT 2-0)
Auburn 3, Bryant 1
Auburn 13, Bryant 4 (AU 3-0)
TAMU 8, Cornell 2 (TAMU 3-0)
MSU 14, Nicholls 4 (MSU 2-0)
Alabama 9, Washington State 3 (Bama 3-0)
Florida 8, Miami 2 (UF 2-0)
LSU 10, Texas 5 (LSU 2-0)
Arkansas 5, San Diego State 2 (ARK 2-0)
OTHER WEEKEND OPPONENTS
Long Beach 3, TCU 2
TCU 8, Long Beach 3
Winthrop 5, Maryland-Eastern Shore 1 (WU 2-0)
Eastern Illinois 10, Memphis 9 (EI 2-0)
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