OXFORD | Parker Caracci knew it was likely his last chance.

In his conversations with Ole Miss coaches prior to leaving for Baltimore a few months ago, the right-handed pitcher was told to maximize the summer baseball opportunity. Two seasons had passed without Caracci seeing the field in Oxford, and the 35-player roster limit for college baseball is an unavoidable fact.

“They told me it’s the best chance I’m going to have,” Caracci said about his talks with Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco and pitching coach Carl Lafferty.

Caracci, a Jackson, Mississippi, native, joined the Rebels in the 2015 class and redshirted his first season. That was expected and easy to handle. The following fall Caracci pitched well and seemed to be — at least for several weeks — in good position for a roster spot. His performance diminished because of what he described as control issues and an overall loss of enjoyment with the game.

He was told to wait again, as he was clipped from the roster — partly because of his performance and also because of the emergence of several players in the 2016 signing class that was rated No. 1 nationally.

Caracci went to the games. He was around, but he couldn’t put the uniform on.

“It’s hard to have to sit out a whole season and go to every game but knowing you won’t play and you can’t dress out,” Caracci said. “You just sit in the dugout. It’s hard to do it. Sometimes I wanted to quit, but I stuck it out and stayed with it. You have to think about what the future is going to be like. If I didn’t have the summer I did, then I would have thought more about it.”

The idea of moving on never made it to the forefront because of his work in Baltimore with the Redbirds, a part of the Cal Ripken Collegiate League which has elevated its status in recent years.

Caracci appeared in 20 games and dominated with a 0.69 ERA over 38.2 innings. He struck out 48 and walked 12, earning league pitcher of the year honors. He led the league with seven wins and was also second with six saves. He didn’t allow an earned run in 16 of his 20 appearances.

He hadn't faced a live hitter since early spring but only gave up one earned run in his first three weeks.

“I was a little rusty throwing against hitters and it felt weird at first, but once I figured it out — after the first two games, probably — I was able to locate better than I had in the past,” Caracci said. “This is the best I’ve ever been able to go in and out and throw my slider and feel confident that it’s going to be a strike.”

Caracci was 89-83 MPH with his fastball and used a hard slider and a curveball. The only mechanical alterations were keeping closed more and making sure to utilize his lower half in his delivery.

“The summer was great for Parker,” Lafferty said. “He has talent, and he can help us. It’s nice seeing his work pay off and him showing that type of consistency.”

During then first instrasquad this fall, Caracci only gave up one hit, and this past weekend he got one of the starting spots on Sunday and allowed one run on two hits and in three innings.

More importantly, he didn’t walk a batter. In past years a bad pitch turned into a loss of command that had the tendency to spiral his outings. The confidence increase from the summer has helped him move past poor moments.

“I’m having fun,” Caracci said. “I’m enjoying the game again, and that makes it easier to handle whatever happens.”