Notes: Young pitchers impress in Ole Miss 20-3 fall ball rout of Okra
OXFORD | Ole Miss and Delta State played 12 innings of exhibition baseball on Saturday, taking advantage of the new rule that allows two such events during fall practice.
The Rebels won the first 6-inning segment, 13-3, and then blanked the Division II Statesmen, 7-0, in the final six innings.
Ole Miss continues fall work on Monday and plays Little Rock in Oxford on October 27.
Here are some notes from the day.
YOUNG PITCHERS CARRY REBS DURING FINAL SEGMENT
Ole Miss pitchers faced just one batter above the minimum during the final six innings, thanks to five scoreless innings from true freshmen. Gunnar Hoglund and Doug Nikhazy pitched two innings apiece and fellow newcomer Kaleb Hill threw a perfect frame to set up Parker Caracci in the final inning.
Hoglund, a first round pick who turned down the Pirates to be at Ole Miss, was 91-93 MPH with his fastball and flashed a clean delivery, though he appeared to overthrow a little during his first inning. The breaking ball is getting more consistent and tighter, and he’s known for his fastball command.
Nikhazy had two strikeouts in the six batters faced, as the 5-foot-10 left-hander has turned some heads and entered the pitching roles conversation.
Hill, huge coup for Ole Miss out of Arkansas, hit the mid 90s from the left side. He’d struggled some in early intrasquads, but the talent is evident. He has elite upside and got his feet wet with a quality inning.
OLE MISS OFFENSE LOOKS AS IT SHOULD VS. DSU
Ole Miss picked up 16 hits in the first six innings, and Grae Kessinger (reached four times with three hits) and Tyler Keenan (three hits, a double) both had excellent days at the plate.
However Delta State didn’t show much velocity on the mound, so it’s hard to get reads off the offense from that standpoint. This team is going to hit, and they put a lot of at-bats together and looked like they were supposed to against inferior competition. There weren’t many empty at-bats or misses on hittable pitches.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES FROM THE DAY ON THE DIAMOND
Ole Miss was really clean defensively during the 12 innings, and they also executed base running well. It’s October so fundamentals and clean play are two things that sometimes lack at this part of the calendar.
They also got a really good two-inning effort from Will Ethridge to open the game. One of the frontrunners for the Friday night job, Ethridge hit 95 MPH with his first pitch of the game and had three strikeouts in two innings.
Ethridge’s breaking was in the mid 80s and was sharper than I remembered from the end of last season. It had more wipeout to it and could be a weapon to go with the usually precise fastball.
Anthony Servideo and Carl Gindl have been two sophomore names rising during the offseason, and Servideo showed range both to his sides and running down a looping liner in short right field. He gives the Rebels the potential of a dynamic middle infield when paired with Kessinger.
Junior college transfer Taylor Broadway remains shut down with elbow soreness. There’s no damage, but Ole Miss is being cautious with him and allowing it to subside. He hasn’t pitched since the opening weekend of intrasquads.