Ole Miss Baseball Is Good, But Room For Improvement Remains

Maryland is not a bad baseball team. Let's start there.

When the No. 4 Ole Miss Rebels welcomed the No. 13 Maryland Terrapins to Swayze Field this weekend, this was not going to be a repeat of the Delaware series where Mike Bianco's team rolled for three-straight days. The Terps have talent, and they showed it over the weekend, especially on Friday night when they picked up their lone win of the series.

Of course, Ole Miss helped its competition a good bit over the weekend, as well. The Rebels' pitching staff issued 22 walks over the course of three days, which is an average of 2.44 free passes per inning. Oh, and that's not counting hit batsmen. Throw that number in, and it's even worse.

But, as head coach Mike Bianco said multiple times over the weekend, his team fought. It fought after issuing 11 walks on Saturday where, after losing Friday's game, it would have been easy to mail in the series and try for next weekend. It fought after allowing the Terps to climb back into Sunday's game time and time again after opening a big lead in the third.

There are problems, yes, but this team has potential.

Its ceiling? Well, that depends on a lot of factors, not the least of which is the status of staff ace Hunter Elliott. The Rebel lefty is scheduled to see a doctor out of town this week, but the longer he sits, the more people begin to wonder if they'll see him on the mound again at all this year.

It also depends on the pitching staff as a whole. Elliott or no Elliott, this bullpen is young, and Jack Dougherty was expected to be the anchor after injuries to Riley Maddox and Josh Mallitz prior to the season. Throw in those two now-injured relievers, and you've got a pretty stout relief corps.

Without those arms and Elliott? Dougherty is moved to Fridays, and sophomore Mason Nichols is suddenly the "veteran" of that relief group and thrust into the closer role.

Let's go worst-case scenario for a moment. Assume that Elliott does not return this season. What did this weekend show? It showed that while the pitching staff needs work and some shuffling, this offense has a chance to be special yet again. Even when Ole Miss walked 11 men on Saturday, the offense pushed through and picked up a win over a solid team out of the Big Ten.

That shouldn't go unnoticed.

It's also worth noting that a large amount of this pitching staff is made up of freshmen, so growing pains are inevitable. Even so, these relievers showed their potential at times over the weekend, mixed in among the walks and hit batters.

People will likely remember the struggles on the mound from Saturday, but what about when Sam Tookoian first came out of the bullpen and looked unstoppable? Senior Mitch Murrell got into some trouble on Sunday, but he worked out of it, making pitches when he needed to. JT Quinn, bullpen arm and midweek starter, has also looked strong at times.

It's February. What else did you expect? Maybe a little sharper, sure, but most of these guys are young, and they'll look like it at times.

If you stop and think about it, this team is 6-1 in its national title defense season after losing a lot of talent to the pros last season and being hampered by injuries before this year even began. The mood is likely pretty positive among fans at the moment due to a series win, but some may be focused on the warts this team has in the early going.

That may be prudent, but a 6-1 mark after some of the struggles that have been seen on the mound is a good sign. As the old saying goes, it's much easier to tweak performance after a win than a loss.

The Rebels' season has gotten off to a good start, but some growth will be needed (and likely seen) throughout the season. This team is good, but can it be even better? The answer is 'yes,' and it's up to experience to make that happen.

For now, though, Ole Miss fans should focus on the positive aspects. A veteran and talented Maryland team came to Oxford this weekend, and your team came out on the good end of that three-game set.

We'll see where it goes from here.

You can follow John Macon on Twitter at @JMakeGillespie.

Hey Rebel Fans! Want to see the Ole Miss in action? Get your Ole Miss game tickets from SI Tickets here!

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Rebels? Click Here.

Follow The Grove Report On Facebook and Twitter.

Want even more Ole Miss Rebels News? Check out the SI.com team page here.