No. 4 Ole Miss leaned on its title-chase mettle to back-door series win over No. 13 Maryland
The 2023 season was barely a week old when the defending-champion Ole Miss baseball Rebels were dealt their first real test.
No, not on the field. Well, that’s not entirely true. The fourth-ranked Rebels lost their season opener to No. 13 Maryland on Friday. They responded by winning each of the last two, including an impressive offensive display in the rubber match on Sunday.
But earlier in the week Ole Miss announced it was shutting down ace sophomore lefty Hunter Elliott due to forearm tightness. Veteran Jack Dougherty took over his spot as the Friday night starter and was roughed up by Maryland in a loss.
Elliott’s status for the season — let alone his next potential rotation turn — is completely up in the air. Typically for pitchers at all levels forearm tightness is a precursor to Tommy John — the dreaded surgery with a year-long (and sometimes more) recovery period.
RELATED: Ole Miss ace Hunter Elliott to not pitch in Maryland series due to forearm tightness
The Rebels are putting off a final decision on Elliott until later.
Why? Because they’re afforded the benefit of time.
Elliott’s getting second and third opinions, and long-time head coach Mike Bianco and staff are waiting to see how he responds to non-surgery treatment. If Elliott went under today or in two weeks, the recovery time is pretty much same. If there’s a chance, Elliott — and, as an extension, Ole Miss — wants to exhaust his option.
The Rebels have already been in this situation this year; fellow pitchers Josh Mallitz and Riley Maddox are each currently on the shelf following their own Tommy John procedures.
But the Rebels displayed some of their hard-earned resiliency of the title chase of last summer. Ole Miss, leaning mostly on one of the better on-paper lineups for Bianco entering a season, grinded out a 12-6 Saturday win.
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Then came Sunday.
The teams combined for 10 home runs. The last — a run-rule-triggering and game-winning grand slam by veteran catcher Calvin Harris — was the last and proved decisive. Ole Miss is 6-1.
Next up is a two-game midweek set against Louisiana Tech. First pitch of game one is scheduled for Tuesday at 4 p.m. CT.
Starter Xavier Rivas — a first-year junior-college left-hander — went 3.2 innings and gave up six runs. He was one of three Rebel pitchers used in the win. The others were Mitch Murrell and Brayden Jones.
Ole Miss will get a rematch with Maryland in the first of a three-game visit to Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the Cambria College Classic next weekend.
Photos and highlights by Ole Miss Athletics.
