Mississippi
Hosting NCAA Tournament unlikely for Ole Miss baseball, other takeaways from MSU series
STARKVILLE — Despite a late-inning rally, Ole Miss baseball lost at Mississippi State in the series finale on May 10.
The No. 22 Rebels scored two runs in the seventh inning and two runs in the eighth, but stranded the tying runner at first in the ninth inning in their 6-5 loss. The teams had split a doubleheader on May 9, with the Rebels winning the first game 10-4 and losing the second 4-1.
Because Ole Miss won 8-7 in the Governor’s Cup in Pearl on April 22, the overall season series is tied 2-2.
“Just disappointing,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. “We didn’t play well enough. They outplayed us again. Disappointing way to end the weekend.”
Here are three takeaways:
Where Ole Miss baseball stands in regional host outlook
Four regular-season games are left on Ole Miss’ schedule. Three of them provide a chance to impress.
The Rebels (34-17, 14-13 SEC) will host UT Martin on May 13, then close the regular season with a three-game home series against No. 8 Auburn. The Tigers (36-15, 16-11) are No. 3 in the RPI.
As it stands heading into that stretch, Ole Miss hasn’t done enough to earn a host bid. It entered the Mississippi State series projected as a No. 2 seed in a regional. Winning one of three games against the unranked Bulldogs isn’t going to help the forecast.
Sweeping Auburn and going on a run in the SEC Tournament, however, could be enough to put Ole Miss into the conversation for a top-16 seed.
“We’ll get over it,” Bianco said. “Obviously a disappointing night. This will sting for a few days but we’ll be ready to go.”
Strikeouts are hurting Rebels’ offense
The second game of the series on May 9 illuminated Ole Miss’ struggle. Mississippi State recorded 16 strikeouts, 15 of them by Evan Siary in eight innings.
The Rebels have struck out at least 10 times in their past six games, and it’s adding up. They have struck out 476 times this season, the most in the SEC.
Oftentimes, strikeouts and home runs go hand-in-hand. That is true in Ole Miss’ case, with 93 homers, fourth-most in the SEC.
The strikeouts aren’t totally stunting the offense, however. The Rebels have scored 388 runs, No. 6 in the SEC. But on days when the home runs aren’t coming in droves — such as May 10 against Mississippi State, in a rainy, five-error game, with the wind blowing in — Ole Miss could have scratched more runs across by putting balls in play.
“We didn’t have a ton of base runners,” Bianco said. “Credit their pitching staff. Disappointing offensively for us.”
Ole Miss baseball starter Riley Maddox is back on track
It’s easy to overlook Ole Miss pitcher Riley Maddox’s strong start. The Rebels lost the game 4-1, but most of the action came after he left the game. Maddox pitched 6⅓ innings and allowed two earned runs on four hits. He struck out a season-high eight and walked just two.
Maddox was coming off a rough outing on May 3, when he allowed five runs on eight hits against Oklahoma in 4⅓ innings.
When he has his best stuff, as evidenced against Mississippi and in a seven-inning, one-run performance against Vanderbilt on April 26, he is a major asset. Consistency has been his problem.
Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_