Ole Miss baseball continues struggling to find a permanent fix for a position that vacated more than six months ago.
Ole Miss dropped its 9th of their last 10 against Mississippi on Sunday, and it exposed how Mike Bianco hasn't been able to plug the hole left in the heart of the order after Ethan Surowiec's transfer to Florida on July 1.
Ethan Surowiec looms large over Ole Miss
No single player can make or break a game against a rival like Mississippi State, but 247 Sports' Chase Parham has a solid argument on why Surowiec's transfer has become the Achilles' heel that cost the Rebels the series.
"Ethan Surowiec was expected to be a constant in the middle of the Rebels' lineup this season. Instead, he'll be in the opposite dugout this weekend as Ole Miss opens a three-game series at Florida on Thursday," Parham writes.
"His absence is showing up in a place the Rebels (19-10, 3-6) haven't stabilized all season. Ole Miss scored just six runs over three losses to Mississippi State in Oxford following a two-run effort at then-6-16 Memphis on Tuesday."
Surowiec wasn't just a high-average hitter; he was a protection piece at 4 for Bainco. The 'Stabilizer'. Last season, he slashed .375 with a massive 1.274 OPS in his limited starts.
Without him at No. 4, teams can pitch around veterans like Judd Utermark and Austin Fawley.
"It's about a lineup that hasn't consistently produced one-through-nine — and one that had a potential answer already on the roster."
More than the numbers, it is the shocking shift in a boy who grew up to be a Rebel fan deciding he's better off at Florida. It signals something far more serious than what's at the surface.
For now, the Mississippi State series just exposed the flaws holding the Rebels back; the ones next to come might crush them entirely if Bianco can't nail the shuffle in the heart of the order.