Ole Miss baseball has its opening weekend rotation and starting nine mapped out
The 2023 Ole Miss baseball season is a couple days away and it is now known who will be the starting pitchers for the opening weekend as well as which nine players will be manning the field.
Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco provided clarity on Wednesday as to who will be in the Rebels starting rotation for this weekend’s opening series against Delaware. Bianco also has the remaining starting eight position players pretty well figured out, at least for the first weekend.
Not much of a shock to anyone but sophomore Hunter Elliott will be the Ole Miss ace and getting the ball on Friday. Then freshman right-hander Grayson Saunier is set to pitch on Saturday with transfer Xavier Rivas getting the ball in Sunday’s series finale.
Rivas, who gave up the least amount of runs in the fall, earned a spot with Saunier and Elliott after all three separated themselves the most from the rest of the staff over fall and preseason workouts.
Saunier, who gave Bianco and his staff a bit of a scare this past week, was throwing a bullpen session on Wednesday and did not look to be in any discomfort. Bianco affirmed that as well.
“Probably what you would hope, he probably needed a little bit of a break,” Bianco said of Saunier. “Wasn’t anything major. …If it was a big game, important game could he throw? The honest answer was probably, but at this point you just want to be safe and make sure he’s okay.”
Jack Dougherty was another pitcher in the mix of consideration to land a weekend starting spot but he will work coming out of the bullpen this weekend. With the injury to Josh Mallitz, the back end of the bullpen took a hit and Dougherty is the guy pegged to work a potential closing role.
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“Dougherty is the guy, kind of a wild card, has the most significant time in the bullpen,” Bianco said. “I think starting off the first weekend probably gives us a little better feeling instead of bringing somebody in that’s never done it before or done it here.”
Finalizing the other eight position players Ole Miss will send out on Friday was not as difficult of a task.
Three newcomers are going to find their way onto Swayze Field in the opener. Transfers Anthony Calarco, Ethan Lege and Ethan Groff all got a position nod from Bianco.
When it comes to the infield Calarco will be at first base with Peyton Chatagnier back at second base and Jacob Gonzalez at shortstop. Lege will be at third base while Calvin Harris is going to be doing the catching duties.
In the outfield Groff is at center field with TJ McCants at right field and Kemp Alderman in left field. As for the designated hitter spot look for someone different in all three games this weekend, according to Bianco.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if you saw a different DH all three days and maybe another lineup with a guy or two out there,” Bianco said. “We feel really comfortable and confident with probably the top 10 guys. After that we need to get some at-bats under some guy’s belts to see what’s going to happen after that.”
