Three Takeaways: Ole Miss Baseball Snags Series Win Over Iowa
After a disappointing start to the series, the Ole Miss Rebels bounced back nicely on Sunday with an 8-3 series-clinching win over the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Here are three takeaways from the Rebels' win on Sunday.
Ole Miss LHP Wes Mendes
Ole Miss Athletics
Saunier Dominates
Grayson Saunier might have had one of his best outings in an Ole Miss uniform on Sunday.
After a high-pitch count early, Saunier could have been pulled, but he kept escaping danger. After two errors in the second inning loaded the bases, Andrew Fischer made two great plays to keep the game at knotted at zero. Saunier looked like an ace in parts of this game as he threw up five scoreless innings of work, giving up only two hits and allowing just three free passes.
It will be interesting to see if Coach Bianco toys with the weekend rotation once again entering another home series at Swayze Field. The Rebels are less than two weeks away from opening up SEC play, and Saunier will be a feature weekend starter if he continues to throw up zeros like he did today.
Advantageous Rebels
Rebel hitters looked comfortable in the box this weekend.
Even after seeing a big league fastball on Friday, the Rebels worked counts and made Iowa use a ton of arms. Friday's game looked like a wash, but after Iowa's bullpen imploded, the Rebels had knotted the game back up at seven going into the ninth.
Ole Miss ended up losing that game, but the confidence carried over into Saturday. The lineup was selective and composed in its plate appearances, and Andrew Fischer had his breakout game, going 3-for-5 with two homers and five RBIs. It is highly doubtful that the Rebels will face another bullpen with as many holes as Iowa, but they will need to stay composed at the plate no matter who they face.
With South Carolina looming, the Rebs need to work on finding that big hit when they are blessed with bases-loaded situations. Sac flies are great, but nothing takes the wind out of the sails of a team quite like a bases-clearing double.
Bullpen Is Deep
The Rebels bullpen has tons of upside.
Besides Connor Spencer's rough outing on Friday night, this bullpen has shown up and given this team a spark. While Austin Simmons could be the next Rebel QB after Jaxson Dart's departure, he looks to be the next elite lefty who shuts the door on teams.
Simmons came in and shoved on Saturday, pitching two innings of scoreless baseball. He also showed some emotion which led to an offensive explosion.
Josh Mallitz also looked strong in the win on Saturday, pitching two innings of scoreless ball and picking up three strikeouts. Mike Bianco has turned to Wes Mendes multiple times out of the pen as well, and he looks to be another reliable option in late situations.
If the bullpen can continue to produce, Ole Miss could be a surprise team in the SEC this season.
The Rebels welcome the Memphis Tigers to Swayze Field on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. CT before Morehead State comes to town on Friday. All of these games will be televised on SEC Network+.