Saturday brought more of the same as Tennessee hammered Ole Miss, 10-3, to clinch the series and make it the second straight laughter in front of a sold-out Swayze Field.
Through two games, the Volunteers have outscored the Rebels, 22-4, and Ole Miss is 4-4 in its last eight games. The series finale is at 1:30 on Sunday.
Here are some observations from the Tennessee win.
These two days have been eye-opening in a number of ways, as Tennessee absolutely looks like the No. 1 team in the country, as the Volunteers haven’t trailed in more than 170 innings and dominated Ole Miss in every facet. Whatever Ole Miss faces the rest of the regular season, it’s hard to see it being a bigger challenge than these Volunteers.
At best it’s a signal of where Ole Miss is and what elite looks like — at least in these two games from the Volunteers. At worst, it’s a glowing neon sign of the inadequacies the Rebels currently possess. Ole Miss didn’t hit well enough or pitch well enough or run or play defense well enough, but beyond that the Rebels didn’t respond. Tennessee dictated the tempos and emotions and Ole Miss never punched back.
A college baseball coach sent me a text that said “Ole Miss doesn’t seem like it wants any of that right now,” and I saw what was meant. In front of a packed house, there was simply no response. Either the margins were that wide with ability that Ole Miss couldn’t muster a fight back or the proverbial towel was thrown or in baseball when you can’t hit or pitch you look lifeless. It’s the most listless I’ve seen an Ole Miss team in a long time through two games considering the opponent just throwing haymaker after haymaker and nothing coming from Ole Miss to counter it.
A fellow media member mentioned in the press box (I was chatty and had plenty of time to talk through text or in person) that this is the most sound Ole Miss has been beaten on back to back days that he could remember. And that’s true, and it’s a credit to UT and a relative indictment overall to the Rebels, but it’s also a sign of the pitching issues that are becoming a wart that may not have a solution relative to expectations — unless the schedule is somewhat of an ultimate bailout. Ole Miss doesn't have a traditional Friday starter. It may not have an upper-tier Saturday option. Brandon Johnson is intriguing as a maybe give it a look, but that doesn't seem to be the thought currently.
I have an asterisk comparing this weekend to former Ole Miss teams and losses because usually the Rebels have a top-tier ace or one-two punch in the rotation. I thought Jack Dougherty did a decent-to-good job, but his defense failed him, he made mistakes, Tennessee hits good pitches and it still snowballed somewhat. And while Dougherty wasn’t the overall problem, it was another short outing for an Ole Miss starter and not like UT is blasting a lot of the former aces that have headlined weekends for the Rebels — though this UT offense is definitely real.
Dougherty pitched into the fourth inning and gave up eight hits, six runs and a hit by pitch while striking out six without a walk. He threw 77 pitches and 56 strikes, giving up three extra base hits. Two runs came in after an infield pop up fell behind the mound.
Hunter Elliott had an outing to learn from, with the freshman giving up four runs — three earned — in four innings of relief. He danced around six hits and three walks with six strikeouts. Elliott has a lot to like and is gaining good experience. A weekend opportunity before this thing is over won’t surprise me.
Justin Bench broke up a Tennessee no-hitter for the second straight day, this time with a double in the fourth after a single in the fifth on Friday. Through two days, Ole Miss is 8-for-66 offensively. Tennessee starter Chase Dollander struck out 11, walked one and gave up two hits and a run in seven innings. Like Chase Burns on Friday, he threw in the mid to upper 90s with a hard breaking ball. He was damn good. There’s no doubt. But Ole Miss is supposed to have one of the best offenses in the country, and it hasn’t responded at all this weekend. I know Kevin Graham is a huge missing piece, but it doesn’t excuse bad at-bats up and down the lineup — mostly missing fastballs and swinging through a lot of pitches. Ole Miss was 2-for-13 with runners on base and 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
And it’s not just the lack of hits. Tennessee made back-to-back errors to start the third inning, and Ole Miss stranded both runners. The Rebels are struggling to move the baseball effectively or put up quality at-bats to generate anything when runners do get on base. It’s complete domination.
In the seventh, Reagan Burford reached on what was initially ruled an error but was changed to a hit. It seemed like a clear error, but Kemp Alderman singled two batters later to put two in scoring position with one out. A strikeout and a foul out ended the inning.
Tim Elko timed up a Ben Joyce 100 MPH fastball in the eighth, and Kemp Alderman hit a solo home run in the ninth for the Rebels’ runs.
It’s never been a better time to play Kentucky and Alabama the next two weeks (and the Memphis game is rescheduled for Wednesday on the Tigers’ campus) but tomorrow is important to show a pulse. I don’t know if Ole Miss will win or not, but the Rebels have to at least show some toughness. We’ll learn a little more about Derek Diamond tomorrow. It’s not an ideal spot at all, but he’s the most veteran presence Ole Miss has, and the Rebels desperately need a couple zeroes to try to find some footing.
I’m not going to analyze Ole Miss’ quotes tonight. Hayden Dunhurst spoke of lack of confidence and being laid back from most of the team. Mike said they have to play better. There’s no magic word that’s going to fix this. It’s execution, and it simply hasn’t happened in any facet.
Through two games, the Volunteers have outscored the Rebels, 22-4, and Ole Miss is 4-4 in its last eight games. The series finale is at 1:30 on Sunday.
Here are some observations from the Tennessee win.
These two days have been eye-opening in a number of ways, as Tennessee absolutely looks like the No. 1 team in the country, as the Volunteers haven’t trailed in more than 170 innings and dominated Ole Miss in every facet. Whatever Ole Miss faces the rest of the regular season, it’s hard to see it being a bigger challenge than these Volunteers.
At best it’s a signal of where Ole Miss is and what elite looks like — at least in these two games from the Volunteers. At worst, it’s a glowing neon sign of the inadequacies the Rebels currently possess. Ole Miss didn’t hit well enough or pitch well enough or run or play defense well enough, but beyond that the Rebels didn’t respond. Tennessee dictated the tempos and emotions and Ole Miss never punched back.
A college baseball coach sent me a text that said “Ole Miss doesn’t seem like it wants any of that right now,” and I saw what was meant. In front of a packed house, there was simply no response. Either the margins were that wide with ability that Ole Miss couldn’t muster a fight back or the proverbial towel was thrown or in baseball when you can’t hit or pitch you look lifeless. It’s the most listless I’ve seen an Ole Miss team in a long time through two games considering the opponent just throwing haymaker after haymaker and nothing coming from Ole Miss to counter it.
A fellow media member mentioned in the press box (I was chatty and had plenty of time to talk through text or in person) that this is the most sound Ole Miss has been beaten on back to back days that he could remember. And that’s true, and it’s a credit to UT and a relative indictment overall to the Rebels, but it’s also a sign of the pitching issues that are becoming a wart that may not have a solution relative to expectations — unless the schedule is somewhat of an ultimate bailout. Ole Miss doesn't have a traditional Friday starter. It may not have an upper-tier Saturday option. Brandon Johnson is intriguing as a maybe give it a look, but that doesn't seem to be the thought currently.
I have an asterisk comparing this weekend to former Ole Miss teams and losses because usually the Rebels have a top-tier ace or one-two punch in the rotation. I thought Jack Dougherty did a decent-to-good job, but his defense failed him, he made mistakes, Tennessee hits good pitches and it still snowballed somewhat. And while Dougherty wasn’t the overall problem, it was another short outing for an Ole Miss starter and not like UT is blasting a lot of the former aces that have headlined weekends for the Rebels — though this UT offense is definitely real.
Dougherty pitched into the fourth inning and gave up eight hits, six runs and a hit by pitch while striking out six without a walk. He threw 77 pitches and 56 strikes, giving up three extra base hits. Two runs came in after an infield pop up fell behind the mound.
Hunter Elliott had an outing to learn from, with the freshman giving up four runs — three earned — in four innings of relief. He danced around six hits and three walks with six strikeouts. Elliott has a lot to like and is gaining good experience. A weekend opportunity before this thing is over won’t surprise me.
Justin Bench broke up a Tennessee no-hitter for the second straight day, this time with a double in the fourth after a single in the fifth on Friday. Through two days, Ole Miss is 8-for-66 offensively. Tennessee starter Chase Dollander struck out 11, walked one and gave up two hits and a run in seven innings. Like Chase Burns on Friday, he threw in the mid to upper 90s with a hard breaking ball. He was damn good. There’s no doubt. But Ole Miss is supposed to have one of the best offenses in the country, and it hasn’t responded at all this weekend. I know Kevin Graham is a huge missing piece, but it doesn’t excuse bad at-bats up and down the lineup — mostly missing fastballs and swinging through a lot of pitches. Ole Miss was 2-for-13 with runners on base and 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
And it’s not just the lack of hits. Tennessee made back-to-back errors to start the third inning, and Ole Miss stranded both runners. The Rebels are struggling to move the baseball effectively or put up quality at-bats to generate anything when runners do get on base. It’s complete domination.
In the seventh, Reagan Burford reached on what was initially ruled an error but was changed to a hit. It seemed like a clear error, but Kemp Alderman singled two batters later to put two in scoring position with one out. A strikeout and a foul out ended the inning.
Tim Elko timed up a Ben Joyce 100 MPH fastball in the eighth, and Kemp Alderman hit a solo home run in the ninth for the Rebels’ runs.
It’s never been a better time to play Kentucky and Alabama the next two weeks (and the Memphis game is rescheduled for Wednesday on the Tigers’ campus) but tomorrow is important to show a pulse. I don’t know if Ole Miss will win or not, but the Rebels have to at least show some toughness. We’ll learn a little more about Derek Diamond tomorrow. It’s not an ideal spot at all, but he’s the most veteran presence Ole Miss has, and the Rebels desperately need a couple zeroes to try to find some footing.
I’m not going to analyze Ole Miss’ quotes tonight. Hayden Dunhurst spoke of lack of confidence and being laid back from most of the team. Mike said they have to play better. There’s no magic word that’s going to fix this. It’s execution, and it simply hasn’t happened in any facet.
Last edited:
