Swayze Sound Bites: Head coach Mike Bianco, Ole Miss Stars Talk Opening-Day Win
OXFORD, Miss. – After an offseason of celebration following a magical national championship run in 2022, Ole Miss baseball has officially begun a title defense for the first time in school history.
On Friday night, the fanfare of adding the championship logo to the outfield wall and Tim Elko throwing out the first pitch was quickly followed by business, as the Delaware Blue Hens looked to spoil the party. Ole Miss would have none of it, putting up an impressive 11-2 win on opening day.
For the Rebels, they’re just glad to be back at Swayze Field.
“Well it’s been a long time and I think we’re all excited to get going. Last year was last year and we all have a lot of great memories, but I think everybody was ready to turn the page and get back out on the field. But you don’t know what’s going to happen ever, it’s baseball, just proud of the way we performed tonight.“
Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco on being back at Swayze
The Hunter Back On The Prowl
Hunter Elliott, the freshman sensation who was instrumental in the Rebels’ title run last season, wasted little time getting back to business in front of the Swayze faithful.
One batter faced, one K for @elliotthunter10. pic.twitter.com/OGtqGh6ECf
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 17, 2023
Elliott’s night ended after five innings in which he allowed just three hits, two runs, one walk, and struck out nine.
Right back at it! @elliotthunter10 strikes out the side for nine Ks on the day. pic.twitter.com/Y8Fu5PYKkZ
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 17, 2023
Mike Bianco had high praise for his starter following the outing.
“Well he was special. He’ll beat himself up a little bit probably about the two big ones. I’m not sure about the home run, the fastball that we tried to get in, if he left it a little bit over or not, but the guy made a good swing and it was one of those days where if you could hit it to center or right center you had a shot if you got it in the air… But besides that one inning, and really besides a couple pitches that inning, he was tremendous.“
Coach Bianco on Hunter Elliott
Elliott was indeed hard on himself, but was pleased with his outing for the most part. “I came out pretty hot in the first, fastball, changeup, slider all felt good, hit a little bump in the road in the fourth, and then just kept going,” he said.
Elliott is also happy with the progression he’s seen from his breaking ball.
“I had it last year. It wasn’t great; it got a little bit better towards the end of the season, a little better in postseason, but I think it’s going to be a real weapon this year to lefties and righties. I’m finally starting to throw it hard, not baby it, so I’m excited about it.“
Hunter Elliott
Bianco was also pleased with his relief pitchers, who allowed no runs over the final four innings of play.
“I was really happy with all of those guys… Murrell, Parenteau and Quinn walked leadoff guys, got guys on base and were able to pitch out of jams, where maybe last year I don’t know if they get out of that. It shows some maturity to handle it and get off the field, and for Quinn to walk the leadoff guy and then get three outs and get off the field, those are all building blocks that will help us down the road.“
Coach Bianco on his relief pitchers
Rebel Offense Is Still A Force To Be Reckoned With
Elliott wasn’t the only star of the show in the win, as the Rebels’ offense picked up right where it left off last season. Even with the loss of superstars like Tim Elko, Kevin Graham, Justin Bench and more, Ole Miss showed they aren’t going to go down easy at the plate.
Peyton Chatagnier got the crowd going early with a three-run shot in the second inning.
First Swayze Shower of 2023 ➡️ @peytonchat5 pic.twitter.com/FFwRA5tG8r
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 17, 2023
The highlight of the night, however, came in the eighth inning. Ole Miss would crank three bombs in the frame, two of them coming back-to-back from TJ McCants and Will Furniss, with the third coming two batters later from Ethan Groff.
Let There Be Light pic.twitter.com/0gCdB6TAHU
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 18, 2023
FIRST CAREER AB BOMB FOR @WillFurniss pic.twitter.com/bY3ZL63Clj
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 18, 2023
THIRD homer of the inning! @ethangroff12 with his first bomb as a Rebel. pic.twitter.com/Kqh4ETuVRv
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 18, 2023
Coach Bianco was very pleased with the offense he saw from his group.
“We’ve talked about we like this offense, we think this offense can go. We’ve talked about it so much, it’s easy to look and go man, you lost Elko, you lost Graham, you lost Bench, you lost Dunhurst and that’s a lot of holes and that’s true. But then you look at the five we returned, they’re pretty good and then you add in Calarco, Groff and Lege, we’ve watched it all fall and early spring and one through nine we’re pretty solid.”
Coach Bianco
Will Furniss, whose home run was not only the first homer of his career, but came in the first at-bat of his career, said he wasn’t necessarily looking for a bomb.
“I was just honestly looking for a base hit there. First at-bat as a college hitter you obviously don’t look to hit a home run or go up there thinking home run, but I got up there and got 0-2 and took a couple of good pitches, was honestly just looking to get a single out of it, widened my stance and ended up catching one good.“
Will Furniss
Furniss said that his family, including his College Baseball Hall of Famer father, Eddy Furniss, were at Swayze Field and got to witness his first career bomb.
Fan favorite Peyton Chatagnier, who collected the first beer showers of 2023, was shocked his even made it over the fence.
“I was sprinting all the way to second base because I thought it was just gonna be a sac fly, but then I saw the guy going further back and thought maybe he’d drop it, and all the sudden everyone starts screaming.“
Peyton Chatagnier on his home run
Chatagnier said there was a friendly wager amongst the team as to who would hit the first home run of the season, but added, “I tell you what…I didn’t put money on myself.”
Looking Ahead
Taking the mound for Ole Miss Saturday will be Grayson Saunier, a RHP out of Collierville, Tennessee. Saunier was drafted in the 19th round in the 2022 Major League Baseball draft by the Texas Rangers, but elected to forego the professional ranks for now and come to Oxford. As he prepares to make his debut as a Rebel tomorrow, Bianco spoke briefly about the highly-0touted freshman.
“He’s special. He’s super talented, you’ve watched him in the fall and the early spring. He’s a kid that will mix it up with four pitches, one of those kids that, if it wasn’t for a little bit of an arm injury, not a serious injury, but one that made him miss a little bit of time last year in high school, we may not get him, we may have had to battle in the draft for. But we’re excited he’s pitching Saturday.”
Coach Mike Bianco on Grayson Saunier
The Rebels will take the field at noon on Saturday, and Saunier will be countered by RHP Nate Rolka for the Blue Hens. The game will be televised on the SEC Network+.
(Feature image credit: Ole Miss Baseball)
Austin Eldridge
Austin has more than ten years in sports media, including sports talk radio, play-by-play broadcasting and journalism. He has followed Ole Miss athletics for his entire life and has covered the Rebels and the rest of the SEC while working in the Memphis media market. Outside of sports media, Austin is a musician and outdoorsman. Before a serious accident forced him to be medically discharged, he was a multi-media journalist with the Mississippi National Guard.
