Ole Miss hosts No. 1 LSU this weekend; Rebels could have Hunter Elliott back in some capacity
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss baseball has played five Southeastern Conference series thus far this season, and there are five more to go starting with this weekend at home versus LSU. While at the halfway mark, things have not gone as expected for the defending national champions, there is plenty of baseball left to be played —and the Rebels (21-16, 3-12 SEC) are looking to get two key pitching pieces of the puzzle back soon.
Ace Hunter Elliott has not pitched since the opening game of the season vs. Delaware back in mid-February due to forearm tightness he felt after the game. He was later diagnosed with a UCL sprain. Reliever Riley Maddox underwent Tommy John surgery a year ago.
Now, for the first time in two months in Elliott’s case and a year for Maddox, head coach Mike Bianco may soon have both back on the mound.
Elliott has been in a rehabilitation protocol since February that included not throwing at all for three weeks after the injury. He began a structured throwing program after the three weeks that has been strictly adhered to, including working his way up from light throwing to bullpen to live batters.
After the Rebels’ midweek game Tuesday against Arkansas State, Coach Bianco was asked about Hunter’s status. The Ole Miss skipper said Elliott was throwing bullpen Tuesday while the team was on the road and that he would learn more about how that went when he returned to Oxford.
“I’ll find out (Wednesday) how that went and we’ll check how he’s feeling. But, our hope is he’ll be available in some capacity (for the LSU series).”
Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco
If all went well and has continued to for the rest of the week, Ole Miss fans very well could see Elliott on the bump soon.
Now, would the Tupelo native return as a starter? Would he start Friday or Saturday? What would his pitch count be?
Coach Bianco responded to these questions by explaining he just doesn’t have all the information yet to answer.
“I hate to keep you guys at arms length. I just don’t want to get ahead of myself,” Bianco said.
“We’re going to make a decision tomorrow (Wednesday) or certainly by Thursday about what we’re going to do. I don’t want to get ahead of myself and say something and I have to take it back.”
Coach Bianco
Maddox is also expected back earlier than had initially been thought. He may be available when the Rebels take on Georgia next weekend; although, his official return date has not yet been announced.
Back on April 8th after the series loss to Arkansas, Coach Bianco discussed Maddox’ return and suggested the reliever could be back the end of the month.
“He’s been terrific. They’ve (Riley and Hunter Elliott) kind of been on the same day so I get to see their bullpen’s together, or one after another. He’s looked great. Usually when they get to this point, it’s not about pain. It’s about rhythm and pitching. It’s more can they pitch and he has. He’s thrown all his pitches — fastball, slider, change. This week he was able to throw in the protocol a breaking ball at full speed. He’s looked terrific and looks like he’s on his way to being back and that should probably be at the very end of this month.”
Coach Bianco on Riley Maddox
Ole Miss has played Vanderbilt, Florida, Texas A&M, Arkansas, and Mississippi State and currently sits with a 3-12 SEC record.
The Rebels have No. 1 LSU this weekend, but after that it gets a bit easier. Georgia, Missouri, Auburn, and Alabama will follow after the series against the Tigers. Missouri and Auburn each sit at 5-10 on the season, while Georgia is 4-11.
Those series offer Ole Miss an opportunity to make up some ground in their quest to ensure they are one of the league’s 12 teams that make it to the SEC tournament in Hoover.
Next Up
Ole Miss and LSU begin a Friday-Sunday series at Swayze with first pitch on Friday at 6:30 p.m. Saturday’s game is set for a 2:00 p.m. first pitch and will be televised on ESPN2. Sunday’s game is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy)
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
