Alabama

Mike Bianco laments lack of Ole Miss baseball consistency after another series loss to Alabama

Published

2 weeks ago

April 27, 2024

Mike Bianco laments lack of Ole Miss baseball consistency after another series loss to Alabama

OXFORD — Mike Bianco has seen this Ole Miss baseball team play well. That’s what fuels his hope. It’s also the root of his frustration.

The capability is plain to see. The Rebels have secured memorable wins over Mississippi State, Georgia and even on Friday night against Alabama in the last three weeks. But Ole Miss is not playing to those capabilities often enough to meet the expectations this program has developed over 24 seasons with Bianco at the helm.

After dropping two out of three to the Crimson Tide at Swayze Field this weekend, the Rebels’ path to an NCAA Regional looks more like a lightly used foot trail conquered by prickly overgrowth.

“You go back to the ’22 team ‒ and not because we’re 7-14 or anything like that ‒ but one of the things we’ve always said about that team is they showed up every day,” Bianco said. “They were very consistent in the way they approach practice, the way they approach the game, the way they approach everything. This team’s too inconsistent.”

The Rebels (23-20, 7-14 SEC) have an unhappy tendency to get embarrassed when they lose. Eight of their 14 SEC defeats have come by at least seven runs. And those margins are often inflated by Ole Miss’ inability to get out of its own way.

In Saturday’s decisive rubber match against Alabama (28-16, 9-12), Ole Miss got a strong start from Mason Nichols, who didn’t have his best stuff after returning from an injury. He pitched four innings of one-run ball anyway.

Once he left the game, the Rebels collapsed. Their bullpen faltered, sure, but they twice missed routine fly balls in the outfield to extend innings, unable to cope with the elements on a blustery, sunny afternoon.

Offensively, they didn’t have an answer for Alabama freshman Zane Adams, who entered the game with a 4.54 ERA. Adams pitched into the eighth inning having allowed one run before Jackson Ross finally chased him with a late home run in a game that was already decided.

“We’ve got the wind blowing out 20 miles an hour and we can’t pull the ball in the air the whole day,” Bianco said.

SIMMONS: Ole Miss football dual-sport athlete Austin Simmons leaves baseball game with injury

Bianco was asked postgame why he feels this team has failed to achieve consistency, and whether there are certain traits his more dependable teams from the path have featured that this group lacks.

He said he didn’t believe it was fair to discuss culture, leadership and chemistry during the season.

“When you’re this close, you can’t really analyze that kind of stuff,” Bianco said. “…Sometimes you don’t win because you’re not good enough. You know, that’s a fact. And that’s probably more so than not. But there’s times when you don’t win because you don’t show up enough, and that was kind of the message today.”

It would be disingenuous to pretend as though these Rebels don’t have serious roster construction problems. They don’t have a true Friday night starter ‒ they haven’t won a series opener since their first SEC set of the season against South Carolina. Injuries and ineffectiveness have gradually depleted their bullpen into a unit that lacks reliability. Ole Miss’ preseason plan at catcher hasn’t worked out and its lineup isn’t the murderer’s row some hoped it might be.

Still, undeniably, Ole Miss has the talent to catch the baseball reliably. It has the talent to make basic plays on the infield. It has the talent to handle a freshman lefthander better than it did against Alabama on Saturday in a 10-3 loss.

That’s why Bianco can feel hopeful ‒ and like an opportunity is passing him and his team by.

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

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Alabama

Severe solar storm brings Northern Lights to central Alabama

Published

1 hour ago

May 11, 2024

Press Room

Severe solar storm brings Northern Lights to central Alabama

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – Hundreds of photos poured into WBRC via the First Alert Weather app Friday evening, May 10, as a very strong solar storm brought the aurora borealis to central Alabama.

A rare site for folks as far south as Alabama, the Northern Lights were visible in many rural areas of the state Friday night.

You can view the photos viewers submitted to us by clicking here. A few are also below.

Northern Lights in Alabama(Sara, Wilsonville, Ala.)

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Alabama

Alabama legislators pass bill to increase penalties for phony calls

Published

9 hours ago

May 10, 2024

Press Room

Alabama legislators pass bill to increase penalties for phony calls

DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) – After unanimous votes in both the Alabama House and Senate, House Bill 82 has been sent to Governor Kay Ivey’s desk to be signed.

The bill strengthens the penalties for people who make phony calls to law enforcement. It used to be a Class A misdemeanor, punishable up to a year of jail time, but will now be classified as a Class C felony, punishable up to 10 years in prison.

“It’s kind of a step in the right direction for us because it helps us maybe deter somebody from just going out and doing it and thinking it’s a joke,” said Henry County Sheriff Eric Blankenship.

The bill was introduced following the Carlee Russell incident, where she faked her kidnapping in 2023. Sheriff Blankenship said his department was called the same year with a phony call of an active shooter in a Henry County school.

“We had to bring our SWAT team there, we had to clear the entire school to ensure that there really wasn’t an active threat,” said Sheriff Blankenship.

Sheriff Blankenship explained the domino effect of bad circumstances that occur for the department whenever a false call is made.

“It not only puts a strain on us with manpower, but it also puts a strain on budgets and having to pay overtime, said Sheriff Blankenship.

When a phone call comes through 911, it is expected to be serious. Sheriff Blankenship hopes the stricter penalties make others thing twice before trying to pull a quick one on law enforcement.

“If it’s a valid reason where law enforcement needs to be there, by all means call 911If,” said Sheriff Blankenship. “It’s in a hoax or a prank or anything, we have severe penalties now, not only for the swatting calls, but also for just abuse of the 911 system.”

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Alabama

Alabama lawmakers fail to approve state’s controversial gaming legislation

Published

16 hours ago

May 10, 2024

Press Room

Alabama lawmakers fail to approve state’s controversial gaming legislation

Alabama lawmakers failed to approve controversial gaming legislation on Thursday, the final day of the state’s legislative session.

The proposed measures would have legalized a state education lottery, electronic games of chance, traditional raffles, and paper bingo but continued to prohibit tables, cards, dice, and dealers. The bill would not authorize sports betting.

The state House approved the conference reports on the gaming bills, sending the legislation to the Senate for consideration. The measure, which required 21 votes to move forward, failed by a single vote after State Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Baldwin, voted against it.

“I want to publicly thank this body … it’s amazing when you work together as a team when things don’t have Rs or Ds by their names,” said the bill’s sponsor, Republican state Rep. Russell Blackshear, when the legislation passed in the House hours before the Senate failed to do the same.

The gambling legislation would also have authorized the Alabama educational lottery to be paper only, while allowing electronic games of chance at seven locations throughout the state. No other locations would have been granted without new legislation being passed in both bodies and voted on by the citizens of the state.

More: Back to the drawing board: Alabama House doesn’t concur with Senate gambling bill

The lottery was set to be solely for education, with all other forms of gaming going to general funds. Alabamians would also have been able to participate in national lotteries, including the Mega Millions and Powerball lotteries.

The Alabama Gaming Commission would have regulated the approved forms of gambling and worked to stop cases of illegal gambling in the state. Republican Gov. Kay Ivey would also have been required to enter negotiations for a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians to limit in-person activities on land.

Gaming of any kind was last on a ballot in Alabama in 1999, and it was defeated in a statewide vote.

Ivey said she would not call a special session to address the gaming bills.

Victor Hagan is the Alabama Election Reporting Fellow for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at vhagan@gannett.com or on X @TheVictorHagan. To support his work, subscribe to the Advertiser.

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