Mike Bianco Breaks Down Ole Miss’ NCAA Regional Draw, Arizona State Challenge
OXFORD, Miss. — Head coach Mike Bianco met with the media on Monday after the announcement of Ole Miss going to the Lincoln Regional to take on the No. 3-seeded Arizona State Sun Devils on Friday. The first pitch is set for 8 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
“Everybody’s going to talk about how good their regional is,” Bianco said at Monday’s media availability. “Obviously, I think this is one, don’t know much in fairness about the other clubs and barely glanced at them, but probably more of Arizona State because that’s who we play.”
Arizona State comes into the regional with a 37-19 overall record and a 19-11 mark in the Big 12 Conference. The Sun Devils are led on the mound by their ace Taylor Penn, who has a 3.22 ERA and is 6-0 on the season in 20 appearances and four complete games with a shutout. At the dish, ASU is led by Landon Hariston, who has a .413 batting average with 28 home runs, two triples, and 20 doubles.
“They certainly have a big ace on the mound (Taylor Penn) and one of the best offensive players (Landon Hariston) in the country. A really good offense with 108 home runs, we don’t play a lot of people that have more home runs than us. Certainly going to be a challenge for us.“
Mike Bianco on Arizona State
The Rebels have one player remaining from the 2022 National Championship run, Hunter Elliott, and his leadership will be key to Ole Miss.
“Leadership, somebody that’s been here and not just through that run, but has seen, you know, all sides of it,” Bianco said.
“From an injury standpoint, from a side where we weren’t good. And he’s grown a lot, I think, he would admit, that’s one of the cool things we’ve talked about, you know, as a coach to watch guys grow up, and to watch him grow up, not just as a player, but certainly as a leader, in the program.“
Mike Bianco on Hunter Elliott’s leadership
Over the last week, Ole Miss has gotten a lot of work in with practice and ind that will be beneficial as regionals begin.
“I think we had a good week,” Bianco said. “We intrasquaded on Wednesday, a couple of more practices, and then another intrasquad yesterday (Sunday). The guys who didn’t throw all threw on Wednesday and Sunday. I think we got enough at-bats and enough live abs. I mean, we looked really good.”
Bianco was asked if he had ever been to Lincoln, Nebraska, before going this week.
“No, I have not,” Bianco said.
“Seen it years ago when Dave Van Horn was there and they were doing so well. I have heard a lot of good things. I know Chris Cleary our Director of Ops, has played in the stadium and talked about the atmosphere. Great crowds and we are excited about it.“
Mike Bianco on Lincoln, Nebraska
Ole Miss will take the diamond against Arizona State at 8 p.m. on Friday, and the game can be seen on ESPNU.
Adam Brown
Adam Brown returns to The Rebel Walk after being on the Ole Miss beat as a Sports Editor for over 13 years. He is a lifelong Oxford resident. Brown graduated from the University of Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
Prior to The Rebel Walk, Brown was the sports editor of HottyToddy.com covering every Ole Miss sport and local high school sports in the community.
