Column: Ole Miss Baseball Opening Weekend

OXFORD, Miss. — I’ve always viewed opening day of baseball season as a special occasion—all the way back to my days playing as a kid at Larsen Center in Pensacola, Florida where we’d parade in and stand along the foul lines to be introduced over the PA system. 

Since then, my anticipation for opening day, whether it be my own, the major league season, my two boys’ as they were growing up, or Ole Miss’, has been a constant throughout the years. 

But I’ve never anticipated one quite like the 2023 Rebel baseball opener. Waking up on Friday felt like Christmas. 

I knew for over a week that it was going to be cold on opening day. I did not care. It was 90+ degrees for most of Ole Miss’ games in Omaha, so this would be a nice departure I convinced myself. 

My only frustration was that a work call was going to prevent me from being one of the first 1,000 fans in the ballpark and alas, I would not receive a mini replica of the national championship trophy. Perhaps I could commission someone to fashion one for me out of a fallen branch at Rowan Oak?

Rebels win game one

Fortunately, my call was short and to the point, and although I did not get my replica trophy, we made it in time to see Tim Elko throw out the opening pitch and the revealing of the national championship signage on the outfield fence. My wife Janna brought her scorebook to keep score as she’s done for many years. (Yes, I got the best one.) 

Janna Crockett (center) with her scorebook for the season opener. Author Clint Crockett (right) and friend Lew Palumbo (left) join Janna at Swayze. (Photo courtesy of Clint Crockett)

As you looked around the ballpark, everyone was happy. Winning a national championship will do that for a fanbase. It certainly feels like a weight has been lifted off the shoulders of everyone associated with the program. The players were loose. The coaches were loose. And the fans were loose. 

The game went about as expected with the Rebels cruising to an 11-2 victory over Delaware. Hunter Elliott was mostly on his game, the transfers Ethan Groff, Ethan Lege and Anthony Calarco all looked solid, and the freshman Will Furniss came off the bench and hit a home run in his first collegiate at bat. 

Perhaps what was most encouraging, though, were the performances of Peyton Chatagnier and TJ McCants. If those two have strong seasons at the plate, then Ole Miss baseball will be in very good position for the 2023 season.

Saturday series win

Saturday was more of the same with the Rebels run-ruling the fighting Blue Hens. I was particularly interested in seeing Grayson Saunier pitch, given the preseason comments from Bianco and Elliott about how advanced he was as a freshman. 

Saunier didn’t disappoint, coming out throwing his fastball between 94-96 in the first inning. Yes, he struggled with control every now and then, and yes it was Delaware, but the kid has serious talent. I can’t wait to see him pitch against SEC competition. 

In addition, another highly regarded freshman, Judd Utermark, destroyed a baseball to make it the second consecutive day for a Rebel to homer in his first collegiate at bat. 

I have to say I do not envy Bianco having to decide on who to DH throughout the season. I imagine it will come down to righty-lefty matchups in most instances, but he looks to have a lot of options and I’m sure he’ll do his best to shuffle the lineup and get all these guys at bats. It’s a nice problem to have. 

Sunday sweep

Ole Miss went for the sweep on Sunday. Based on what happened around college baseball over the weekend, the Rebels were likely to move up in the polls if they managed another victory. 

Now I no longer worry too much about the polls early in the season, especially after how things transpired last year, but it is nice to be highly ranked. And yes, there are way too many college baseball polls out there. A quick rule of thumb though is that whichever poll has Ole Miss ranked the highest, that is the one you recognize. D1 baseball had the Rebels ranked 4^th heading into opening weekend, behind LSU, Tennessee and Stanford. The Vols began with two losses and Stanford was beaten soundly by Fullerton in their opener, so one would imagine a win on Sunday would vault Ole Miss to No. 2.  

The Rebels got that win in another run-rule game, 14-4. Jacob Gonzalez hit a grand slam and had 7 RBIs on the day. Peyton Chatagnier hit another homer and Xavier Rivas pitched well to get his first Ole Miss victory. 

The Ole Miss defense didn’t make an error on the weekend and the Rebel hitters only struck out once on Sunday. It was a successful start all around for the defending national champions.

I will say that the rules changes meant to speed up the game may take some getting used to, but I like them, and they did what they intended to on this weekend. 

However, one thing that still needs to be addressed is the umpire review time. It remains entirely too long. Put a clock on that also. If you don’t see the evidence to overturn the call within a minute, let the call on the field stand. It’s not rocket surgery.

Additionally, I’ve been watching baseball for a long time and am convinced that no one in the history of the game hits the ball as hard as Kemp Alderman. If I were an opposing pitcher, I’d request my coach allow me to intentionally walk him every time. Or issue me a facemask. 

In summary, Ole Miss baseball’s opening weekend was a smashing success. Now please excuse me while I head to Rowan Oak to secure a fallen tree branch. 

(Feature image credit: Clint Crockett, The Rebel Walk)