Rebels falter on the mound and defensively in loss to Kentucky
OXFORD | Ole Miss took a two-run lead into the second inning during a perfect afternoon for baseball at Swayze Field.
That was the high point of a stumbling, bumbling swing game for the Rebels against Kentucky.
Ole Miss put a better day together offensively, but pitching and defense cratered any chance of evening the series, as the Wildcats clinched the weekend with a 17-9 victory to set up a sweep opportunity at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The Rebels (18-10, 3-5) have lost five of their last six SEC games. Kentucky is 23-4 overall and 7-1 in the SEC.
Liam Doyle had his first subpar start of the season, as Kentucky ran him after 2.2 innings, scoring six runs on four hits and four walks.
Doyle struggled to get the high strike, and Kentucky didn’t chase much over the course of the 67-pitch, 34-strike outing. Doyle was near 70 percent strikes for the season prior to Saturday. He struck out just one.
“Just not enough balls in the strike zone,” Mike Bianco said. “It set the tone on a day that was tough to pitch in this ballpark. We were hoping he’d find it and a swing from getting out of that third inning, but it was a tough day for him.”
Three different relievers — Mason Morris, Sam Tookoian and Brayden Jones — allowed three runs each, and Kentucky put it out of reach with a two-run fifth and four-run sixth.
Ole Miss scored four in the fourth off four hits to pull within 7-6 at the time.
The Rebels committed six errors, even though 14 of the 17 runs were earned. Ole Miss also walked 10 batters, hit three and struck out only fiive. On Friday, the Rebels had three errors, three passed balls and two wild pitches.
“We have to be tougher,” Bianco said. “It’s ugly; not excuses. The errors aren’t ground balls. They are pickoffs and steals and the ball trickles into the outfield. It’s a bunt and pitcher slips. It exaggerates the score and runs, and it’s real and you have to make the plays… We’re better than that, but it’s obviously a concern a couple days in a row.”
Saturday was ugly on its own merit, but it underscored the Friday giveaway. Doyle was never going to be perfect all season, and Ole Miss has to avoid handing games to opponents to get within shouting distance of the postseason.
Riley Maddox was plenty good enough. Ole Miss wasn’t otherwise. The hitting was good enough here. The defense continues to be an enigma and consistent only in that it’s a struggle.
In the past six SEC games, Ole Miss has been run-ruled twice, committed six errors in a game, didn’t score in the first two innings despite five walks and made Maddox’s night a moot point.
It’s not even the losses; it’s the poor play and lack of SEC-level competitiveness in multiple phases depending on the game. Ole Miss, while it was better offensively, didn’t match Kentucky with the wind gushing dead out of Swayze Field.
The SEC is about finding different ways to win. Lately, Ole Miss isn’t doing the necessary things to even let the other team lose.
“If you don’t play well, you get beat up in this league, and we certainly have had that the past couple of weeks,” Bianco said. “The good thing with this league is everybody beats everybody. If you can hang in there and win some games, next thing you know you’re in the thick of it.”