Mississippi Tate Blackman looks at a pitch go by for a strike in a game earlier this season. (File Photo)
It has been a year of ups and downs thus far for the Ole Miss baseball team. As the Rebels get deeper into conference play, they currently sit at a 14-14 record and a 4-5 record in Southeastern Conference play.
Several areas of inconsistency have damaged the NCAA Tournament chances for the Rebels in 2015.
Ole Miss has struggled to find consistent, timely hitting. The latest example is leaving ten runners on base in the series finale against Arkansas that the Rebels lost. After Thursday night’s game against Arkansas, Ole Miss was 2-for-34 with the bases loaded this season. The Rebel offense is giving itself opportunities by getting runners on base, but the team is having trouble capitalizing on those opportunities. Stranding runners on the base paths has plagued the Rebels and cost them a couple of games this season.
Ole Miss has also been largely inconsistent on the field defensively. The Rebels have committed 33 errors through just 28 games so far this season, including 16 errors through nine conference games. Errors have cost the Rebels runs that have proved to be the difference in winning and losing a couple of tight games.
The most glaring question that needs to be answered is: who will fill the role of the third weekend starter?
After an injury to junior right-hander Sean Johnson and the success of sophomore right-hander Brady Bramlett, Senior right-hander Sam Smith began the year as the third weekend starter. Smith was the Rebels third starter in 2014 and filled the role perfectly for most of the year. In 2014, Smith did exactly what Sunday starters are supposed to do and pitched just well enough to give the team a chance to win late in the game.
It’s been a different story for Smith in 2015. He has struggled with his command and been inconsistent in each of his outings this season. Smith’s struggles have left the Rebels in a position of needing to find a consistent Sunday starter.
Freshman Will Stokes appears to be Mike Bianco’s choice, at least for the near future.
Stokes has started in the final game of the weekend series each of the last two weeks for Ole Miss. After a rough first outing against Florida, Stokes improved this past weekend against Arkansas. Stokes was cruising through four innings as he retired the first ten batters he faced. He ran into trouble in the fifth as the Razorbacks loaded the bases and ran Stokes out of the game.
Though most would have like to have seen Stokes go a little deeper into the game, it was a large improvement and a positive sign going forward for the young right-hander.
Junior relief pitcher Jacob Waguespack might also be another viable option for the Rebels as a game three starter. Waguespack has pitched well as a middle reliever this year, boasting a 1.82 ERA, and has shown the ability to pitch 3-to-5 innings in relief.
On the downside, sliding Waguespack into the starting role could put too much pressure on senior right-hander Scott Weathersby and sophomore left-hander Wyatt Short, both of whom have been great for Ole Miss on the back end of the bullpen.
Sam Smith is still a Sunday option despite his struggles this season. Smith is the only one of the three who has experience as a weekend starter in the SEC. Smith knows what it takes to win in the SEC, and it’s just a matter of getting his confidence back and returning to the level of performance that helped Ole Miss win games in 2014.
A positive sign going forward is that the Rebels have made it evident they can beat anyone in the country. Ole Miss took two of three from 5th ranked Florida and split a two-game series with 7th ranked Louisville. The Rebels also had a chance to win a series against 4th ranked LSU and 11th ranked UCF but fell short in a couple of close games in those series.
Ole Miss has a lot of talented young players who are trying to mesh well together as a team. Bianco has played a number of different lineups and batting orders to try to find the right combination, but the Rebels have appeared out of sync a lot this year.
There are questions that need to be answered and roles that need to be filled, but if this team puts all the pieces together, there is enough talent for the Rebels to become a dangerous team down the stretch. It just remains to be seen.
