OXFORD — Four SEC series into 2023, and Ole Miss still finds itself soul searching. Head coach Mike Bianco remains confident and steadfast, however, that the answer the Rebels seek is not self-pity.
Ole Miss dropped to 2-10 in conference play following a 6-4 loss to No. 5 Arkansas Saturday afternoon. The Rebels (18-13, 2-10 SEC) split a doubleheader with the Razorbacks on Friday, dropping the opener 11-2 before bouncing back for a much-needed 7-4 win in the second game.
The series finale was a tightly-contested affair, with the Rebels falling behind 3-1 before tying the game in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run home run from junior shortstop Jacob Gonzalez. Arkansas scored two runs in the next inning, and Ole Miss responded with one of its own. The Razorbacks sealed the result by scoring an additional run in the eighth.
Following the loss, senior second baseman Peyton Chatagnier was at a loss for words on what the next steps for the defending College World Series champions were. Bianco was disappointed as well.
The simple reasoning behind the loss to the Razorbacks? Ole Miss just didn’t play well enough, both Chatagnier and Bianco agreed.
“I think there’s a couple of ways of looking at it, and I challenged them to not fall into the ‘woe is me, (we had) bad luck. We hit some balls, even in the ninth inning where they made some nice plays, defensive alignment was terrific,’” Bianco said. “That’s what the losing team says a lot of times. It’s not about luck.”
Arkansas did not commit an error in the series — though there were some adventures in the outfield and in foul territory — and Razorbacks starters gave up six earned runs over the three games. Arkansas was also successful on all four stolen base attempts in the series.
Ole Miss stranded 18 runners against the Razorbacks and went 5 of 26 with runners in scoring position. Arkansas scored three unearned runs on Sunday; two came by way of errors and the other on a wild pitch.
The Rebels also have yet to find consistency from its designated hitters. Three different players manned the spot over the three games — freshman Judd Utermark, junior Reagan Burford and freshman Will Furniss — and went a combined 1 for 12. Junior right fielder T.J. McCants struggled over the weekend as well, going 0 for 10 with six strikeouts.
If there was good news to be found, it might be in the form of starting pitching. In addition to sophomore ace Hunter Elliott inching closer to returning, the Rebels received solid performances from junior Xavier Rivas and freshman J.T. Quinn in their respective games.
Rivas started Game 2 on Friday and shined, going six innings with two earned runs, seven strikeouts and four walks. Quinn was solid as well, giving up one earned run in five innings. He struck out eight Razorbacks and walked two. It was Quinn’s second weekend start.
“I thought (Quinn) was good. He was better than he was last week, and so he continues to get better and better,” Bianco said. “And, (as) we talked about last week, he gave us an opportunity to win. Today, he probably deserved to win the baseball game. I thought he pitched really well and competed hard. And again, we didn’t help him defensively, but a pretty good outing for him.”
Junior third baseman Ethan Lege also had a big series. He entered the three-game set hitting .222 on the season but went 7 of 10 against Arkansas, which included three extra-base hits. He drove in four runs in the Rebels’ victory Saturday night.
Ole Miss hosts Memphis Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. and Alcorn State on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. before starting its three-game series at Mississippi State on Friday. Both midweek games will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
Quotable
“It’s tough. I don’t know. Win, I guess.” — Peyton Chatagnier, on how to keep sprits up on the team
Rebel Ramblings
Ole Miss (18-13, 2-10) is currently in last-place in the SEC West, one spot behind next weekend’s opponent, Mississippi State … The Rebels have an ERA of 5.53; at this time last season, their team ERA was 4.87. Ole Miss was 19-12 and 4-8 in SEC play at this point in 2022 … The Rebels rank 11th of 14 SEC teams in runs scored per game and are tied for 12th in on-base percentage at .397.
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