PREVIEW: Ole Miss hosts No. 5 Arkansas and looks to bounce back in league action
OXFORD, Miss. — The upcoming Arkansas series at Swayze Field has taken on an importance of substantial proportions. While it’s still relatively early in the SEC season with lots of baseball yet to put in the books, the Rebels’ current 1-8 SEC record has many fans a bit concerned.
At the moment, Ole Miss’ league record has the Rebs equal to Mississippi State in the West and Georgia in the East. Fortunately for Ole Miss, West co-leaders LSU and Arkansas are only 6-3 — and are the only teams in the division boasting winning records.
Alabama, Auburn and A&M are each sitting at 3-6, just two games ahead of Coach Bianco’s bunch. With seven SEC series remaining on the schedule, there is ample time for Ole Miss to make a run at the SEC West title.
Meanwhile, SEC East leader Vanderbilt, who swept the Rebels in the opening series, is 9-0.
The Arkansas Razorbacks began their season at 20-2 and were sporting a 15-game winning streak after taking game one at LSU. But while they now arrive in Oxford with the No. 5 national ranking, they have lost three of their last five SEC games.
The Razorbacks are hitting .296 as a team while the Rebels sit at 302. The league average is .303.
Arkansas’ team ERA is 5.04 and the Rebs come into the series at 5.55. The only teams in the league with a higher ERA are the aforementioned Bulldogs of Georgia and Mississippi State and Auburn.
While one can expect the Rebs to be favored in every game, you can also anticipate some heavy scoring on both sides. Arkansas has hammered 48 home runs and the Rebels have hit 46. Rebel pitching has given up a league-high 46 home runs. Arkansas has surrendered a .268 batting average to its opponents, which is 3rd-highest in the SEC, and Ole Miss isn’t too far off at .257.
What the scouting report will also tell you is that neither squad is likely to incorporate the sacrifice bunt into their offense. So far this season the Hogs have bunted twice and the Rebs only once. Kentucky, in contrast, has sacrificed 30 times and has 73 steal attempts. Ole Miss and Arkansas combined have attempted 65 steals.
From my perspective, the Rebels are catching Arkansas at an ideal time. The pressure of getting Mike Bianco his go-ahead win has been relieved and, despite the unfortunate start in conference play, there is nothing to indicate this team can’t make a quick turnaround.
The caveat is the revenge factor that comes into play here. After all, it was the Ole Miss Rebels, behind the masterful shutout pitching of Dylan DeLucia, who eliminated Arkansas in last year’s College World Series, punching their own ticket to glory in the finals against Oklahoma. The Razorbacks will no doubt come in looking for some payback.
Currently sitting seven games under .500 with 21 to play looks mathematically like a huge hill to climb, but every fan knows this Ole Miss team is in it for the long haul. Even if they should split the next 12 games, they’re still no worse off than the 2022 national champs were at the same juncture.
And interestingly, despite the unexpected tough conference start, the Rebs are listed as a regional host in the eyes of the oddsmakers. The first step, of course, is to get out of the basement.
Here are some notables as we prepare to enter the series with the Hogs.
- The Rebels and the Razorbacks matched up six times last year, including three times in the College World Series.
Ole Miss won two out of three games against Arkansas at the CWS including a 2-0 win to reach the CWS Finals. - The Rebels have won four of the last six series between the two teams winning in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.
- Ole Miss and Arkansas have played each other nine times over the last three postseasons (2019, 2021, 2022).
- Jacob Gonzalez was named to the 2023 Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List this week becoming the first Rebel to do so since 2014.
- Head coach Mike Bianco became the second-winningest SEC head coach of all time on Tuesday passing Skip Bertman with his 871st win.
- The Rebels have scored 17 runs with two outs over their last four games and are hitting .312 as a team with two outs.
- Kemp Alderman is ranked fourth in the SEC in RBI with 42 RBI in 28 games. He is averaging 1.50 RBI per game.
- Alderman is also ranked eighth in the SEC in home runs with 11, tying his total from 2022 already.
- Alderman is currently riding a 23-game on-base streak dating back to February 25, the longest streak of the season for Ole Miss. He also owns the longest hitting streak at 12 games (2/25-3/11).
- Ethan Groff is ranked eighth in the SEC in stolen bases with 11. He has only been caught stealing once in 12 tries.
- Ole Miss is ranked fourth in the SEC in fielding percentage (.981) and sixth in batting average (.302).
Hotty Toddy!
(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)
David Walker
David Walker was named Louisiana’s High School Player of the Year at just 16 years old and, at 17, became college football’s first quarterback to earn Freshman of the Year honors. He remains the NCAA’s youngest-ever starting quarterback, a distinction that has stood for decades.
Transitioning from a wide-open high school offense to Emory Bellard’s renowned wishbone triple option, Walker excelled as a dual-threat quarterback. He graduated as Texas A&M’s all-time winningest quarterback and served as a two-time team captain, helping to transform a program that had endured 15 losing seasons in the previous 16 years.
After his playing career, Walker coached and taught algebra at six Texas high schools before moving into private business. In 2011, he published his memoir, “I’ll Tell You When You’re Good,” a title inspired by the coaching philosophy of Shannon Suarez, the Sulphur High and Louisiana High School Hall of Fame coach who was a significant influence on Walker’s life and career.
Walker’s compelling storytelling in his autobiography reflects the breadth of his experiences in high school and college football, and it is an undeniable fact that he saw more action than any athlete in the history of the NCAA. Since 2013, he has contributed to The Rebel Walk, sharing his insights and expertise with readers.
