The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Conclude Second Week of Fall Ball
9/30/2014 | Baseball
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss baseball team concluded its second week of fall scrimmages on Saturday, Sept. 27, and after the bats and defense stole the show in the opening week of scrimmages, head coach Mike Bianco said he was really pleased with the pitching he saw in the team's third and fourth scrimmages.
Pitchers Sean Johnson and Jacob Waguespack started things off Friday. Each of the juniors allowed one run in three innings of work and they combined to strike out seven. On Saturday, junior southpaw Christian Trent struck out three batters in two innings, and didn't allow a hit or a walk. He was joined by seven other pitchers who didn't allow a run Saturday while pitching at least one full inning.
"Friday and Saturday, but especially Saturday, we pitched great," Bianco said. "Friday, with Jacob Waguespack and Sean Johnson at the beginning, they kind of set the tone for a good weekend on the mound. Saturday, of the nine pitchers who threw, eight of them didn't give up a run. So, we played 17 innings of scoreless ball. That was a good weekend on the mound for us."
Freshman Michael Fitzsimmons, sophomore Henri Lartigue, senior Sikes Orvis and freshman Kyle Watson hit home runs Friday, and junior Holt Perdzock hit a round-tripper Saturday. Lartigue, a catcher from Southaven, Mississippi, went 3-3 with three RBIs on Friday, while Perdzock went 3-4 Saturday.
The big keys during fall practices for Bianco, who is entering his 15th season at Ole Miss, are to evaluate his team and get his system installed. In describing what he's looking for, Bianco compared baseball fall practices to what football coaches are looking for in their team during spring practices.
"The biggest things are, one, to get everything in. To get our system in offensively, defensively and pitching wise," Bianco said. "The other thing is to evaluate and see where we are at certain positions, where we need to improve and where we need to recruit. It's just the start of that, but we're off to a good start."
Ole Miss will continue its fall practice schedule this week with two more intrasquad scrimmages Friday and Sunday open to the public. Friday's scrimmage will begin at 2:30 p.m., and Sunday's scrimmage will start at 5:00 p.m.
For more information on Ole Miss Baseball, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissBSB, on Facebook at Ole Miss Baseball and on Instagram at olemissbsb.
