Struggles continue for Ole Miss baseball after blowing late lead against Memphis

There will always be the ‘Summer of 2022’ and Ole Miss baseball’s run to its first national championship in Omaha but that feels so long ago right now despite happening less than 10 months ago.

Struggles continue to pile up and Tuesday’s 11-9 loss to Memphis was yet another disappointing ending to a game Ole Miss had tightly moved into the win column.

Falling behind by five runs early, Ole Miss (18-14) rallied to outscore the Tigers (18-16) 8-1 the following four innings to grab a two-run lead heading into the ninth inning. Closer Mason Nichols came in to get the final three outs but what transpired instead was another late-game collapse.

Nichols allowed four straight hits to begin the frame including three home runs and Memphis retook the lead and gave a body blow to the Rebels. Yet another ‘snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory’ moment by an Ole Miss team that was once a Top 5 team earlier this season.

Starting with the Jacksonville State game on March 14 Ole Miss has lost 11 of its last 15 games, including a 2-10 record in Southeastern Conference play.

“One of those nights where you start game, give them too many base runners, couple infield base hits and sitting there looking up and it’s 6-1 and doesn’t look good,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco.

Ole Miss responded but the pitching continues to be a problem even against weaker competition than the SEC.

The Rebels beat this same Memphis team a week prior and used starter Grayson Saunier. Seven days later Saunier was unable to make it out of the third inning giving up six runs off five hits in 2.1 innings of work.

The freshman right-hander was moved out of the weekend rotation ahead of the Texas A&M series after starting the season in the Saturday slot. He was going to be used as a bullpen guy but has since only seen midweek starter action.

Tuesday’s results are not encouraging if expecting to see Saunier in any kind of important reliever role at a critical juncture of a SEC weekend game anytime soon. The results have slowly gotten worse as each week and start rolled on this season.

“Not good. Just got to throw more balls in the strike zone. Not good enough,” Bianco said of Saunier’s effort on Tuesday.

The bullpen stopped the bleeding with Cole Ketchum and Sam Tookoian giving up only the lone run until Nichols’ disastrous ninth inning. Tookoian worked two scorless innings in the seventh and eighth but was replaced by Nichols, who rarely gets midweek closer work once SEC play begins.

The move by Bianco did not pan out and Ole Miss once again left scratching their collective head afterwards.

Losses are piling up for the Rebels and each one is beginning to take a visible toll on the team.

After dropping the Arkansas series this past weekend second baseman Peyton Chatagnier was at a loss for words and almost speechless when asked what can be done to turn things around.

The “I don’t know. Win, I guess” reply from Chatagnier was almost alarming with his tone and defeated body language. Players who managed to turn the ship around less than a year ago and win it all are suddenly looking around trying to see who has the magic potion.

Ole Miss has Alcorn State coming to town on Wednesday and if there is a better ‘get right’ opponent than the Braves then I would like to see it. The Rebels at the moment need nine full innings of good things to happen, even if its against an opponent like Alcorn State.

A trip to Starkville and a suddenly surging Mississippi State awaits in three days.

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