Around The Horn: Observations From Ole Miss' Losing Weekend vs. Tennessee

OXFORD, Miss. -- For the first time since 2019, Ole Miss was swept on the baseball diamond this past weekend, losing three-straight games to Tennessee.

The Rebels entered the weekend ranked No. 1 in the country, a spot that will likely be held by Tennessee in most polls on Monday. Ole Miss was blown out in the first two games of the series, and a comeback effort fell short in a 4-3 loss on Sunday.

Here are some observations from the weekend in Oxford.

1. The Rebels badly miss Kevin Graham.

Ole Miss scored seven runs combined across three games this weekend. To put that into perspective, there were only four games this season where the Rebels had been held below seven runs, and for an offense that was expected to be the strength of this team, a lack of production exacerbates what has become a large pitching problem (more on that later).

Kevin Graham is still recovering from wrist surgery, and there is no solid timetable on his return, but his absence in the lineup is becoming more and more noticeable. Ole Miss put up 15 hits combined in three games against the Vols, seven of which came on Sunday. Tennessee is very talented and certainly looked like the best team in the country this weekend, but the Rebels have to find a way to make up for Graham's presence in the middle of the order until he returns.

2. It's official: the starting pitching is a real problem.

Tennessee has a potent offense, but the inability of the Rebels' starters to work deep into games is a trend, and, eventually, a trend becomes a problem. It's safe to say that we've reached that point.

John Gaddis was chased in the second inning on Friday, and Derek Diamond continues to struggle the second and third time through the order. Jack Dougherty was able to provide a small amount of length, but not nearly enough to give Ole Miss what it needed on Saturday.

Again, this problem is likely exacerbated due to the fact that Tennessee's offense is scary good, but thus far, Ole Miss seems to lack a consistent weekend arm, much less a guy who can provide length on a Friday night. I'm not sure what the answer is, but I expect there to be more rotation shakeup in the coming weeks.

3. It's one series against a really strong team, but this team has work to do.

The season isn't over by any means. Ole Miss has plenty of talent on its roster, but it needs to start putting more together if it hopes to reach its high aspirations this season.

The Rebels host North Alabama on Tuesday and travel to Memphis on Wednesday before hitting the road to continue SEC play against Kentucky next weekend. They need an opportunity to get healthy and find their footing again. They certainly got punched in the teeth this weekend, and better play across the board will be needed moving forward.

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