Alabama baseball, now on a season-high four-game losing streak, is set to take on the No. 17 Ole Miss Rebels this weekend. This will be the first home Southeastern Conference game of the season for the Crimson Tide. First pitch of the series is set for Friday night at 6:35 p.m.
Alabama enters the series after being swept by No. 4 Arkansas last weekend in Fayetteville, then losing 9-0 at Troy on Tuesday. Ole Miss is entering the game on a losing slide, as well. Ole Miss dropped the last two games of its home SEC debut against Auburn before losing to Southern Mississippi 10-0 Tuesday night in its only midweek game before the series this weekend.
Alabama’s starting rotation will have to be solid against the Rebels, who have a reputation for strong hitting. Ole Miss has four players batting over .330, including infielder Alex Yarbrough, who will come into the series with a team-high .410 batting average.
The need for strong starting pitching could be difficult for the Tide, as the rotation is not completely set yet. Up until the start of the DRASH Alabama Baseball Classic on March 9, Alabama had used freshman Taylor Gilbeau, junior Charley Sullivan and freshman Justin Kamplain as the Friday, Saturday and Sunday starters, respectively.
In the last two weekends of action, head coach Mitch Gaspard has moved Sullivan to the Friday night slot, deploying Gilbeau on Saturdays and junior Trey Pilkington on Sundays.
It is possible that starting pitching on an ace level may not be necessary, however. In last season’s series with the Rebels in Oxford, Miss., Alabama’s only loss was on the night that former Alabama ace Nathan Kilcrease pitched. Alabama lost that game 4-0, then went on to take the series with a 7-5 win on Saturday and a 6-4 win on Sunday.
The role of Alabama’s starting pitching remains up in the air, but what is known is the quality of pitching the Rebels will be bringing to Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Bobby Wahl, the ace of the Rebels pitching staff, is 4-1 in five starts with a 1.55 ERA and 34 strikeouts. Wahl has allowed 21 hits in 29 innings pitched and only one double to go along with no triples or home runs.
The No. 2 pitcher for Ole Miss, R.J. Hively, also brings elite competition for the Tide. His 1.88 ERA in five starts is one of the best in the SEC. Hively, like Wahl, has allowed no home runs this season on his way to a 3-1 record.
