With his dugout full of talented hitters, Coach Mike Bianco has many options

OXFORD, Miss. — This young season has already provided a few interesting quandaries for Ole Miss head baseball coach Mike Bianco, courtesy of the abundance of talent he has in his dugout. And, yes, it’s a nice problem to have.

It seems as if every time he inserts a first-time starter into the starting nine, they go yard. And even when they’re reinserted into the starting lineup, they go yard. It’s like, “You get a homer and you get a homer and you get another homer.”

Now, who knows how long this can realistically continue but it’s as fun as it gets at the moment. Through four games, seven Rebels have gotten a starting nod in all of them. They’ve collectively hit .400 with 38 knocks in 95 at-bats.

While his regulars are hitting that blistering .400, Coach Bianco’s supporting cast is hitting a whopping .363, having hit four of the Rebels’ 11 round-trippers.

First-baseman Anthony Calarco’s three-game starting streak ended Tuesday against Arkansas State when Ole Miss defensive tackle Tywone Malone got the first start of his two-year career at Designated Hitter. Tywone is known for turning batting practices into home run derbies. His first swing at a letter-high breaking ball resulted in an absolute no-doubter.

Calarco, meanwhile, is sitting pretty with a .375 average early. While he hasn’t shown the home run power quite yet, he has put the ball in play in every plate appearance, plus he’s walked once. He’s exhibiting a very good eye in the box.

The quandaries continue when you realize just how many more players are showing their stuff.

Freshman Will Furniss has started two games, one as DH and the other at 1B, and homered in both. Frosh Judd Utermark homered in his only start in the DH spot. Both of these homers came in their first college at-bats. Reagan Burford opened the season in the starting lineup at DH and only had two plate appearances, but he’s in the mix, as well.

Then you have a slew of pinch-hitters (thus far) who’ve shown their wares when getting the call. Captain Garrett Wood had the run-rule walk-off single in the opener, while John Kramer and Tim Simay have provided this opportunistic trio a 3-for-3 record at the plate.

Some of the most productive pressure doesn’t come from the opposition, but from those you’re around every day, those whose excellence drives your own performance to greater heights. Iron sharpens iron, as the old saying goes.

Or, maybe everyone gets a lucky Jobu figure for their locker like No. 9 hitter Peyton Chatagnier told us he has in his. Peyton is literally on fire, hitting a team-leading .583 with two blasts mixed in. He has a happy bat.

Kemp Alderman’s power has been on display thus far with his two doubles, two home runs and eight RBI while boasting a .467 batting average.

Then there’s Jacob Gonzalez. The Rebel shortstop leads the team with nine RBI. Over the three-game series with Delaware, Gonzalez went 4-for-12 (.333 BA) with a double, a grand slam, eight RBI and two walks. 

Ethan Lege, meanwhile, is following in Justin Bench’s footsteps in this regard; he’s on pace to get hit by a pitch over 40 times during the regular season, “taking one for the team.”

The other regulars, TJ McCants, Calvin Harris and Ethan Groff are hitting a combined .387.

Again, everywhere Coach Bianco looks, he’s got hitters who are producing. The DH spot is up for grabs, a decision which may also affect who starts full time at first base. Or, will we see a continuation of this successful rotation of extremely strong hitters coming to the plate?

We’ll find out more this weekend against the top-ranked team in the Big Ten, the Maryland Terrapins. 

(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)

David Walker

David is the consummate true-freshman quarterback, first pioneering the position only a year after college freshmen were given varsity eligibility by the NCAA in 1972. In 1973, the left-handed all-state gunslinger from Sulphur, Louisiana started for the Texas A&M Aggies and earned the All-Southwest Conference Freshman of the Year award as selected by the league’s coaches. David is the first college quarterback ever awarded Freshman of the Year in the NCAA. He was only 17, and still holds the NCAA record as the youngest starting quarterback in college football history. He wore No. 8 at A&M in honor of one of his football heroes, Archie Manning.

In becoming the winningest quarterback ever at A&M, David was converted from a dual-threat QB to a triple option trailblazer. The two-time team captain led three record-breaking offenses that changed the direction of football at A&M forever, establishing once and for all the winning tradition that the Aggies had so-long desired.

As a high school head coach in Houston in the late ‘80s, David stationed his quarterback in the shotgun formation, having him reading defenses and throwing hot routes at a time when such offensive schemes were frowned upon by traditional fans and coaches. One of his quarterbacks tossed 57 passes in a single game, which stood as the all-time Greater Houston Area record for many years. 

As you can tell from his bona fides, David is extremely qualified as our expert on all things Quarterback at Ole Miss. Enjoy his exclusive analysis only here at The Rebel Walk!