OXFORD | Carl Lafferty hasn’t seen the Southern Miss starting rotation in person this season, but the Ole Miss assistant was quick with high praise for what the Rebels will see this weekend.
The Golden Eagles will send out Hurston Waldrep and Tanner Hall on Saturday and Sunday, respectively in games one and two of the Hattiesburg Super Regional. Both Team USA invites to play for Collegiate National Team manager and Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco this summer, the pair headlines a rotation that Lafferty thinks would do well in the Southeastern Conference.
The start time is 3 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. An if-necessary game three doesn’t yet have a time for Monday.
“Tennessee is the one that comes to mind as the best in our conference, and it’s possible Southern Miss would be right behind them in this league. They are real guys and a huge challenge.”
The two teams split midweek games this season, with Ole Miss winning in Hattiesburg and USM winning in Pearl. That Tuesday at Southern Miss set the stadium record for attendance. There’s plenty of in-person scouting for both teams’ bullpens and offenses, but the starting pitching knowns are through reputation and video scouting.
“We know a little bit about their lineup, obviously, but the thing that you don’t know is those three starters,” Bianco said. “I think the thing when you talk about Southern Miss baseball, this year’s team, is how strong they are on the mound… They pitch differently in the way they go about their business. You’re going to face basically a different guy every single day.”
Waldrep, after only 16 innings in 2021, has thrown 85 innings with a 2.96 ERA. He’ struck out 128 with only 29 walks. Waldrep has allowed more than three earned runs twice this season — five runs in an inning against Dallas Baptist on March 13 and five runs to UTSA on May 15 in three innings.
A good as Waldrep has been, he’s not the typical day one starter. Tanner Hall, also a right-hander, threw 32 pitches against LSU on Monday, so USM coach Scott Berry is holding him for Sunday. Ole Miss did the same with Doug Nikhazy against Arizona a year ago.
Hall has a 2.60 ERA, 140 strikeouts and only 13 walks in 103.2 innings. Hall threw a season-high 109 pitches against Army to open the regional. Hall has gone eight innings without allowing an earned run four different times this season and blanked Mississippi State over seven innings back in early March.
Five runs against Florida Atlantic in 5.2 innings and four runs to UTSA in five inning are Hall’s worst outings of the season.
Hall pitched five scoreless innings against Ole Miss in the Oxford Regional a season ago with five strikeouts and no walks.
“The people who appreciate baseball and pitching will appreciate Hall,” Bianco said. “The way he goes about his business and it’s a fastball that’s very impressive but not because of the velocity but more because of the location, the movement. The numbers don’t lie.”
Should a game three happen on Monday, USM will turn to right-hander Hunter Riggins, who has the best ERA of the three starters. He’s struck out 85 with 21 walks in 97.1 innings and has pitched nine inning twice this season.
He threw 117 pitches against Kennesaw State in the regional. A graduate transfer from Delta State, Riggins has lasted at least six innings in six straight starts and nine of his last 10 appearances.
