THE BAD
I talked all week about Jake Walters as the starter Ole Miss should fear the most, and that came true tonight. He threw a complete game four-hitter with seven strikeouts and two walks. He had previous success against the Rebels, as that's 16 straight scoreless innings across two starts. He also pitches with a style that matches up well in that park. He was never going to blow many away, but he typically throws strikes, and the outfield is cavernous if the wind isn't blowing out. It's a strange park from a jet stream standpoint. The wind blows out, and Thomas Dillard probably hits one of the more memorable shots in recent memory. But instead Walters navigated 10 fly balls and was very, very good. It set up that way as a possibility, and I had a hunch. I also picked Ole Miss to win yesterday and tomorrow so we'll see.
The 1-through-5 spots in the order went 1-for-15 with Grae Kessinger having the one hit. Nick Fortes had a couple good at-bats, but that strikeout in the inning with Ole MIss' best chance is going to linger as a pivotal moment of the season if the Rebels fall short of any regular season goals.
I talked last night about Ole Miss losing four times as many RPI points for a loss than it would gain with a win, and the Rebels fell to 10th before their game was even finished because of other results. Ole Miss could fall to 11th tomorrow it looks like with a loss while it's possible to creep back up a spot depending on other games if it wins. If nothing else, RPI is a perception thing for national seed positioning.
Ole Miss was 0-for-11 with runners on base.
THE GOOD
The pitching was excellent. Brady Feigl deserved much better than he received for five scoreless innings, and Houston Roth's emergence should be the biggest individual storyline from this game that actually matters moving forward. That or Feigl being good on the road. But with Roth he showed a great bullpen mentality and certainly didn't seem to favor that hamstring. Obviously the walks weren't helpful in the eighth, but his escape and overall demeanor was the bigger deal.
Georgia beat Arkansas. So Ole Miss can still win the West with a win and a Georgia win on Saturday. That's the path to the No. 2 seed. A win and an Arkansas win gives Ole Miss the No. 3 seed. Ole Miss also finishes second in a three-way tie with Georgia and South Carolina, so Ole Miss would be the four seed should Ole Miss lose and USC win and Georgia lose. The Rebels could still not get a bye with a loss, a Carolina win and a Georgia loss. So a lot is on the table still.
Today wasn't the end of the world. No time to panic. For now it's one of those days. But for a team that has been described as tough all season, that attribute is certainly needed on Saturday. It's a must win to keep the biggest regular season goals in play.
I talked all week about Jake Walters as the starter Ole Miss should fear the most, and that came true tonight. He threw a complete game four-hitter with seven strikeouts and two walks. He had previous success against the Rebels, as that's 16 straight scoreless innings across two starts. He also pitches with a style that matches up well in that park. He was never going to blow many away, but he typically throws strikes, and the outfield is cavernous if the wind isn't blowing out. It's a strange park from a jet stream standpoint. The wind blows out, and Thomas Dillard probably hits one of the more memorable shots in recent memory. But instead Walters navigated 10 fly balls and was very, very good. It set up that way as a possibility, and I had a hunch. I also picked Ole Miss to win yesterday and tomorrow so we'll see.
The 1-through-5 spots in the order went 1-for-15 with Grae Kessinger having the one hit. Nick Fortes had a couple good at-bats, but that strikeout in the inning with Ole MIss' best chance is going to linger as a pivotal moment of the season if the Rebels fall short of any regular season goals.
I talked last night about Ole Miss losing four times as many RPI points for a loss than it would gain with a win, and the Rebels fell to 10th before their game was even finished because of other results. Ole Miss could fall to 11th tomorrow it looks like with a loss while it's possible to creep back up a spot depending on other games if it wins. If nothing else, RPI is a perception thing for national seed positioning.
Ole Miss was 0-for-11 with runners on base.
THE GOOD
The pitching was excellent. Brady Feigl deserved much better than he received for five scoreless innings, and Houston Roth's emergence should be the biggest individual storyline from this game that actually matters moving forward. That or Feigl being good on the road. But with Roth he showed a great bullpen mentality and certainly didn't seem to favor that hamstring. Obviously the walks weren't helpful in the eighth, but his escape and overall demeanor was the bigger deal.
Georgia beat Arkansas. So Ole Miss can still win the West with a win and a Georgia win on Saturday. That's the path to the No. 2 seed. A win and an Arkansas win gives Ole Miss the No. 3 seed. Ole Miss also finishes second in a three-way tie with Georgia and South Carolina, so Ole Miss would be the four seed should Ole Miss lose and USC win and Georgia lose. The Rebels could still not get a bye with a loss, a Carolina win and a Georgia loss. So a lot is on the table still.
Today wasn't the end of the world. No time to panic. For now it's one of those days. But for a team that has been described as tough all season, that attribute is certainly needed on Saturday. It's a must win to keep the biggest regular season goals in play.
