OXFORD | There was a collective curiosity around the Ole Miss baseball program following the series loss to UCF, with most everyone wondering how the Rebels would respond following the 20-game win streak and the first adversity since Fayetteville, Arkansas, in 2019.
And while the competition will improve and there’s plenty of work to be done, the early marks are positives following the 5-0 week that included a sweep of Belmont. Ole Miss also beat Memphis, 16-4, and Jackson State, 12-1.
The No. 4 Rebels won in a variety of ways and showed some toughness as tinkering and role-defining continue prior to league play. Ole Miss faces Alcorn State on Tuesday before a home weekend against ULM. The Rebels are at Louisiana Tech next week for a two-game set before league play versus Auburn in Oxford.
Here are some quick impressions from the week.
Tim Elko certainly heated up. After starting the season 3-for-25 with nine strikeouts, the team captain is 10-for-17 with five home runs and only one strikeout.
Mike Bianco said last week Elko was late on the fastball and early on offspeed, signaling some discomfort in the box. This week, Elko didn’t get as long in his swing and reacted well. Ole Miss isn’t the offense it can be without him hitting, and this is a good sign for the season. He’s one who benefits from steady reps, and the talent is evident.
Kevin Graham was another breakout hitter, following up a 1-for-13 series against UCF with a 6-for-18 week that featured the game-deciding home run on Saturday and an early home run on Sunday — the latter coming against a left-hander which was Graham’s focus during the offseason. He was 1-for-19 against lefties as a freshman.
Taylor Broadway threw the final two innings on Saturday to get the win and some Ole Miss bullpen struggles on Sunday forced him back into action a day later.
He entered with two on and no outs and after picking up a couple outs, Broadway allowed a single, a hit by pitch and a double that tied the game and also ended the inning with an out on the bases.
It’s the first run he’s allowed this season and not a brilliant outing, but the breaking ball was sharp and the velocity was normal. It was two appearances in approximately 24 hours which isn’t common for relievers. His ability to rubber-arm during a series is crucial for Ole Miss, and many of the pitches were high-stress with runners on or the batter representing a tying or go-ahead run.
“If he can pitch like that every weekend, we are going to win a lot of games,” Bianco said.
The strikeouts are nice, and this is nitpicky at the moment, but Ole Miss starting pitchers aren’t getting deep into games, and they are giving up a lot of home runs.
Derek Diamond had gone at least five innings in every start (six of them) of his career prior to Sunday, but six innings is his career high and three of the six are 5.0-inning appearances.
That stat is worth significant weight in gold on Sundays, so it’s not a criticism, but his next step is avoiding so many deep counts and shaking off some umpire squeezing that seemed to affect him against Belmont. It may also be a catalyst to him keeping the ball in the park more. During his career, Diamond has allowed seven home runs in 35.2 innings.
Doug Nikhazy has struck out 22 and walked two in 13 innings, giving up three home runs. The swing-and-miss stuff is there and improved; he threw three ground-ball outs in five innings and 89 pitches against Belmont.
Hoglund has been the steadiest of the three starters. He has lasted at least five innings in 10 of his last 11 starts. He was exceptional against UCF with 104 pitches in seven innings with no walks, seven ground balls and 10 strikeouts, but the other two starts lasted 5.1 innings each, and he threw 95 and 96 pitches, respectively.
The Rebels have an above average bullpen which mitigates the pitch-count issue, but it likely correlates to elevated mistakes that are getting hit for extra bases.
The three weekend starters have allowed eight home runs in 45.2 innings. The rest of the pitching staff has allowed two home runs in 60.1 innings.
Hayden Dunhurst isn’t just a defensive specialist. He’s arguably the best catch-and-throw player in the league at his position, but he’s also the Rebels’ most consistent offensive threat right now.
Bianco put him in the three-spot on Sunday and he had the winning single in the ninth inning of the walk-off victory against Belmont.
Dunhurst is hitting a team-best .371 with an OPS of 1.006 that ranks second behind only Elko. The .520 on-base percentage leads the team, and he’s walked 10 times with only one strikeout in 50 plate appearances.
