The Bats came Alive : Ole Miss Baseball vs #15 Clemson

In the last game of the Shriners Children's College Showcase, the bats of the Ole Miss Rebels finally came alive. After producing only two runs and a handful of hits in the first two games, the scoring and offensive barrage came early and often for the Rebels on Sunday against the ranked Clemson Tigers.

It was a great response and a needed one after the Rebels' trouncing by the Longhorns the day before. Ultimately, it was a short game and a 15-5 win for the Rebs, who leave the Shriners and Arlington 2-1 with two ranked wins and plenty of reasons for optimism.

Bianco would switch the lineup up to bring some life to the team. In his collegiate debut, the Freshman Hayden Federico was sensational, scoring 3-5 with three runs and 2 RBIs. The kid is an absolute dirtbag and a gamer. Moving forward, keeping him out of the lineup will be hard.

Federico would start this with a 2-strike single in the first, followed by a Luke Hill, who had a career day walk. After that, newcomer Ryan Moerman put that bow on top of an incredible debut weekend with a three-run bomb to put the Rebels up early.

Rebel starter Mason Nichols was ok. He made it through three innings, allowing three runs on five hits and walking one. I have said it before, but I don't think Nichols is a starter, and I don't think he will be long enough for the rotation this year. I decided to roll with the experience for this one, and in the end, it worked out, but I think his talents are better utilized when coming in relief.

Luke Cheng made his Rebel debut at shortstop, coming in for Paino, who was not having a great weekend. Cheng played solid defense and was a real thought at bat at the bottom of the order for the Rebs. He laid down a sacrifice bunt in the second to move over some runners. We all know the talent and potential of Owen Paino, but at this point, Cheng might provide the higher floor option for Ole Miss.

After the Cheng sacrifice, Luke Hill roped a triple. Following that, Judd Utermark flashed his potential for this season, and he absolutely crushed a moonshot 450 ft to the second deck of Globe Life. This would put the Rebs up 7-zip after 2.

Next up was Luke Hill, who, after the triple, continued to tear the cover off the ball and finish a great weekend. His three-run oppo shot in the third made it 10-2.

He still was not done, and in the 6th, he had one more in him, sending a solo shot to the left. He quickly wrapped up player of the game honors and MVP of the weekend.

Lastly, we have to talk about Will McCausland. I think he was phenomenal in relief and cemented himself as a go-to reliever this year. I wrote that the staff saw something in him and tapped into his stuff. Hi helped the Rebels get out of a jam in the fourth with a big punchout and then was good down the stretch, finishing things out in route to the run rule.

Next for the Rebels is the Swayze opener, Tuesday @ 4 Central against Arkansas State. Following that is a weekend series in Swayze against Eastern Kentucky. We will have a preview, a recap, and then a weekend preview soon for the Ark State matchup. It was a really good weekend for the good guys, and now they roll into the easy non-conference schedule, allowing them to continue to sort through the rotation, lineup, and bullpen. Hotty Toddy!