Ole Miss baseball went from No. 1 in nation to last in SEC West: Could Rebels miss the postseason?

Ole Miss baseball is in last place in the SEC West.

Spin it any way you want. The facts are the facts. The Rebels (21-14, 5-10 SEC) have the worst conference record in their league halfway through league play.

After Saturday's 9-8 loss at South Carolina, the Rebels have dropped three of their first five SEC series heading into a back half of the schedule that includes road series against No. 5 Arkansas and No. 12 LSU as well as next weekend's home series against Mississippi State.

One month ago, Ole Miss was ranked No. 1 in the country. If the season ended today, this Ole Miss team that ranks outside the top 50 in the RPI and doesn't have a top-25 RPI win would be on the bubble of even making the NCAA Tournament.

"Look, we've got all the faith in the world we're going to turn this thing around," senior outfielder Kevin Graham said Saturday. "We're way too talented of a team. Too tough. We've got to stick together. Y'all just need to stick with us. We're going to turn this thing around."

Saturday's loss was a reminder of how far the Rebels have to climb. Through four innings, it looked as if Ole Miss' heavyweight lineup had let it down again. South Carolina led 3-0 and the Rebels had yet to register a hit. Thanks to a TJ McCants walk and caught stealing, Gamecocks starter Will Sanders had faced the minimum number of batters possible.

The offense woke up in the late innings. A run on an error and a triple in the fifth. A run on three hits in the sixth. Two runs on three hits in the seventh. Two more hits in a scoreless eighth. And then the icing on the cake, four runs on four hits in the top of the ninth inning. 

The only problem? After throwing well all weekend, Ole Miss' pitching started to crumble in the later innings. Rebels closer Brandon Johnson came in trailing 3-2 in the sixth inning. He gave up a two-run homer to make the score 5-2.

After Calvin Harris singled home two runs in the seventh, reliever Josh Mallitz lost his 0.00 season ERA by giving up back-to-back home runs to push South Carolina's lead to 8-4.

Then Justin Bench, Jacob Gonzalez and Kemp Alderman drove in the comeback and tying runs in the top of the ninth inning. Drew McDaniel walked the leadoff hitter and South Carolina got him home with a sacrifice, a passed ball and a sacrifice to win the game.

"It's been tough to be really consistent on the mound, in the field and at the plate," Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. "When we are, we can be pretty good. We just haven't been able to do that consistently."

At the plate, Ole Miss takes a nosedive against SEC pitching. The Rebels average 9.9 runs and bat .319 against non-conference arms but average 6.3 runs and hit .260 against SEC pitchers. 

On the mound, it's even more stark. In non-conference play, Ole Miss pitchers have a 3.22 ERA and 1.207 WHIP. Against SEC hitters, Rebels pitchers have a 6.58 ERA and 1.651 WHIP.

The frustrating thing about this in Bianco's eyes is it's not as if these issues always show up at the same time. There are games like Friday's loss to South Carolina or the Rebels' first win at Kentucky where the pitching is excellent but the offense can't score. There are games like the Game 2 loss against Alabama where the offense hits like it's facing a team of middle school pitchers but the Rebels' defense and pitching can't hold up.

Then there are games like Saturday where roles reverse midway through the game. 

The lack of consistency is startling. But compared to the series losses against Tennessee and Alabama where the Rebels didn't see any silver linings afterward, Ole Miss comes out of this South Carolina series with renewed purpose.

"Look, obviously we're not where we need to be," Graham said. "But we've played with a lot more fight in these last few games. I'm proud of the way we fought there in the ninth, but we have to be better from the start."

SOURCE: Suss, Nick. "Ole Miss baseball went from No. 1 in nation to last in SEC West: Could Rebels miss the postseason?" Mississippi Clarion Ledger, 16 April 2022, https://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/college/ole-miss/2022/04/16/ole-miss-baseball-sec-midpoint-inconsistent-mike-bianco-losses/9516607002/


Contact Nick Suss at 601-408-2674 or nsuss@gannett.com. Follow @nicksuss on Twitter.