The Flagship: Ole Miss baseball is around the corner, and the Rebels will be tested early
In this edition of The Flagship, powered by Riverland Roofing, Ben Garrett (OMSpirit.com) is joined by Ole Miss baseball hitting coach Mike Clement.
The on-the-rebound and new-look Rebels open the 2024 season next month in Hawaii. Clement and Co. are feeling the urgency to get things back on track following a disastrous turn a year ago.
“We really get tested, for sure, two of the first three weeks of the season,” Clement said. “Obviously traveling as far as we’re traveling and Hawaii is a veteran team. They have some left-handed pitching, which we’re going to have left-handed hitters in our lineup. So, that’s a good challenge for us. They have a bunch of fifth-year guys out there.
“They were 18-12 in their league, I think, last year. Both the travel and their talent, that’ll be a good test to open things up. We play Iowa the third weekend, and they have their best team they’ve ever had. They may have one of the best pitching staffs in the country. Their Friday guy throws like 102 miles an hour and is supposed to be a Top 10 pick in the draft. Their Saturday guy may have been the the Big 10 Pitcher of the Year last year. It’s the best team they’ve ever had.”
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Ole Miss and Hawaii will play a four-game series in Honolulu February 16-18.
A Saturday doubleheader is included.
Iowa righty Brody Brecht was projected to the Chicago Cubs at pick No. 14 in MLB.com‘s most recent mock draft. Brecht works primarily off a fastball/slider combination that reminds MLB.com of Paul Skenes, formerly of LSU, and the No. 1 overall selection in last year’s draft.
“We get challenged early, and I think that’s good,” Clement said. “Some of the things that we’ll look at is depth on the mound. We play five games that first week. What does the pitching look like? Is there depth enough? We weren’t great with depth on the mound a year ago. Seeing what (true freshman catcher Campbell) Smithwick looks like behind the plate. We feel really good about the offense, but is it productive? Can we drive in runs? Is it extra-base hits, and what does the OPS look like?
“I think you can really gain some things.”
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