Three Takeaways From Ole Miss' Series Victory Over Maryland

OXFORD, Miss. -- After being held to just two runs on Friday night, the No. 4 Ole Miss Rebels outscored the No. 13 Maryland Terrapins 30-14 in the last two games to secure their second weekend series victory of the season.

The Rebels ended the series on a high note with an 18-8 run-rule victory on Sunday, but there is still room for improvement. Maryland boasts a talented, veteran lineup that provided a good test for the Rebels early in the year. Ole Miss proved it has the offense to stay in dogfights, but its pitching on the other hand was shaky at times this series.

Without further delay, these are my biggest takeaways from another exciting weekend at Swayze Field.

1. Will Furniss played well, but DH still feels like a question mark

First baseman Will Furniss has gotten off to a hot start in his freshman year, posting a .368 batting average, 1.105 OPS, and two monster home runs in 19 at-bats. Against the Terrapins, Furniss recorded a .444 batting average, a double, and made it across home plate once. An all-around solid stat line, but it just feels like the Rebels could be getting more out of the position and it is not totally ideal to have your DH batting eighth.

Furniss needs time to develop, as he is very much a boom-or-bust hitter at the moment. Another option at DH is infielder Tywone Malone, but he has similar strengths and weaknesses to Furniss.

An option that I think would be beneficial to both the offense and defense is finding a more consistent spot in the lineup for team captain Garrett Wood. With TJ McCants back in the lineup, he and former Tulane transfer Ethan Groff will likely be the primary guys patrolling the Ole Miss outfield, leaving left field open for Wood. Now yes, slugger Kemp Alderman is likely the guy who slides into left field, but in this scenario Alderman is the DH.

Wood has recorded a hit in every at-bat he has taken this spring, and showed up big during the postseason for Ole Miss last season. I believe the new team captain has earned a crack at the starting lineup for a test run at the least.

2. The Rebels need to tune up their pitching staff

With sophomore Hunter Elliott scratched from the Maryland series due to forearm tightness, junior Jack Dougherty started on the mound for the Rebels for the first time since their first game of the CWS Championship last summer. Dougherty went 4.0 innings recording six hits, three earned runs, two walks, and three strikeouts before Mike Bianco went to the bullpen.

The Rebels also struggled to find the strike zone this weekend, as they issued 22 walks and a handful of HBPs in three games. The bright side for the Ole Miss pitching staff is that it is a young group so growing pains will come, but the potential is certainly there, as it is still only February.

3. Anthony Calarco is fitting in just fine at Ole Miss

It is no easy task to simply replace the guy who is getting a statue of himself built outside Oxford-University Stadium, but first baseman Anthony Calarco did his best Tim Elko impersonation on Saturday when he walloped his first home run of the year 410 feet.

Calarco extended Ole Miss' lead on Saturday in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run jack that soared into right field at an exit velocity of 114 mph (the hardest hit ball of the day) and proceeded to hurl his bat into the air right in front of the home plate umpire.

In 20 at-bats, the former Northwestern has recorded six runs, five RBIs, two doubles, and one home run with a .350 batting average. With a 1.009 OPS, Calarco has shown little issue getting on base and has also flashed his ability to hit to the opposite field.

You can follow Ben King on Twitter at @BKing_2023.

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