Conference play has been an up and down ride for Ole Miss. As the offense hit another lull this weekend in Tuscaloosa, the Rebels lost another road series. Ole Miss was unable to capitalize on a 4-0 Friday night win behind six shutout innings from Brady Bramlett and dropped the final two games to Alabama.
Bramlett, for the second week in a row, provided Ole Miss with what they needed on the road as he preserved a 1-0 lead for six frames before turning it over to Will Stokes and Wyatt Short out of the bullpen. The two left-handed relievers kept Alabama from scoring in the final three innings and were the benefactors of three insurance runs in the top of the ninth before finishing off the 4-0 victory.
(Photo by: Cameron Brooks)
Tate Blackman throws the ball to first base on a double play against Arkansas earlier this season.
Offense was hard to find on Friday night, and it only became harder on Saturday as the Rebels were blanked by the Crimson Tide 2-0 in large part due to a seven-inning, four-hit shutout outing from Alabama’s Jake Walters, who earned his third win of the season while evening the series at one.
Walters, much like Bramlett the night before, pitched well on minimum run support as he left the game to a 1-0 lead after seven innings. He struck out four and issued just one walk in an efficient outing. Thomas Burrows kept Ole Miss off of the board in the final two frames and evened the series at one heading into Sunday.
Sean Johnson drew the start in the rubber game for Ole Miss. The junior right-hander was the Sunday starter until the South Carolina series and has been in and out of the rotation since. He pitched well, allowing just a run on three hits in four innings. The issue with Johnson is how his elbow reacts after he has pitches, stemming from Tommy John surgery that he had a year ago. Bianco has been hesitant to leave Johnson in the game when his pitch count gets up, and is likely the reason for his early departure on Sunday. He threw just 72 pitches before Bianco brought in Andy Pagnozzi.
The issue with Johnson’s quick hook is it puts a heavy burden on what has been a good bullpen this year. This Sunday, however, the bullpen allowed six runs, all of which came in the fifth inning following Johnson’s departure as Alabama blew the game open. Pagnozzi relieved Johnson initially, and three of the runs were charged to him. Will Stokes and Matt Denny followed Pagnozzi and each allowed a run.
The six-run fifth inning doomed Ole Miss as Alabama secured the series win with a 7-2 victory in the finale.
Analysis: This was a big series loss for Ole Miss because it delivered a pretty big blow to its chances to host a regional. Offense was hard to come by for both teams in the first two games, but good teams, ones that host and earn national seeds, find a way to take two games on the road in a series like this. The starting pitching the first two days was good, but the offense did not back it up. It is pretty simple. If you don’t score runs, you are not going to win games. This team is 26-1 this year when it scores three runs and 0-10 when it does not. For as much attention and criticism as the rotation has recieved, that stat is pretty telling of the offense.
With that being said, it is evident now that the Rebels’ issues on Sunday are not going anywhere and it’s going to be a problem for a team that has aspirations of playing a regional at home. Ole Miss is now 26-10 (7-8). They’re halfway through SEC play, and currently sitting on the outside looking in when it comes to the conversation of hosting any postseason games.
At least 16 SEC wins will be needed if they want to be in the hosting conversation at the end of the year, and that is no tall task with three series against ranked teams still left on the schedule. If they don’t hit more consistently and sure up the back end of the rotation, the Rebels could struggle down the home stretch of SEC play.
