Ole Miss Appears In Baseball America Top 25 Rankings Following Series Win Over South Carolina
Ole Miss baseball is trending up heading into the second week of Southeastern Conference play. Voters from the national level are starting to pay attention, too.
In the latest Baseball America rankings, the Rebels made their season debut, appearing at No. 17 following a midweek victory over Louisiana-Monroe and a series win over South Carolina. Ole Miss outscored both opponents in four games 23-13.
The Rebels watched their nine-game win streak come to a close in Sunday's series finale, but the damage was done leading into the match. Last season, Ole Miss' bullpen came with pitches only found in a nightmare. This year, it's been the backbone of a resurgence under Mike Bianco.
Ole Miss (15-6, 2-1 SEC) used eight relievers for 12.1 innings of work ower three games against the Gamecocks. Combined, the unit held South Carolina (15-5, 1-2) to one run over the weekend.
Starting pitching also has been much improved to begin the season. Liam Doyle and Gunnar Dennis might not be stars like Texas A&M's Ryan Prager or Florida's Luke Holtmon, but they continue to send batters back to dugouts with limited success.
Doyle dazzled in Saturday's win, going 5.1 innings while allowing three runs and striking out 10. Since joining the Rebels from Coastal Carolina this offseason, the sophomore has 27 strikeouts in 13.2 innings pitched after transferring from Coastal Carolina this offseason.
Dennis, who's taken over as the Friday night starter, gave the Rebels enough juice to secure the series-opening win with seven strikeouts in five innings. He also allowed three runs but worked his way out of two jams with runners in scoring position.
The Rebels were one of eight SEC schools represented in this week's rankings. Arkansas remained in the top spot following its sweep over Missouri while Vanderbilt moved seven spots to No. 2 after going 4-0 against Auburn and Indiana. LSU and Texas A&M dropped from the top-three to No. 5 and No. 10, respectively following series losses to Mississippi State and Florida.
The Gators moved up two spots following the 2-1 series win over the Aggies. Alabama jumped nine spots after going 2-2 on the week in games against Southern Miss (L 9-7) and Tennessee (2-1 series win). As for the Volunteers, they fell out of the top 10 to No. 11 after going 2-2. Mississippi State, which struggled to begin the year, went 3-2 with an extra-inning win over New Orleans on Wednesday evening.
The Gamecocks remained in the top 25 despite going .500 on the week, appearing at No. 21.
The Rebels will have another daunting week ahead beginning Tuesday with a midweek matchup against No. 25 Southern Miss in Pearl, Miss., before traveling to Knoxville for a three-game series against Tennessee.