After a disappointing 27-29 season last year, the Ole Miss Rebels look to be much better than they were, and they just might be.

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While it’s still very early in the season, Ole Miss has already faced some quality opponents. Besides a very bad showing from pitcher Riley Maddox against Texas, where he had a 16.20 ERA through 3.1 innings, The Rebels have been lights out. Maddox did bounce back, pitching five innings with a 0.00 ERA against Eastern Kentucky. 

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Their best win in the early stages of this season is undoubtedly their dismantling of the Clemson Tigers. They run-ruled the then top ten ranked Tigers with a score of 15-5. This game showed flashes of Ole Miss’ potential greatness as an overall team, with their best strength being pitching, with 57 strikeouts as a team through seven games. Pitcher Hunter Elliot has been lights out, with a 0.0 ERA through 11 games pitched. He has only allowed five hits as well with 13 strikeouts on the year. 

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While pitching is the clear strength, hitting is also rounding into form, with certain players clearly standing out from the crowd. Luke Hill has been the best hitter, with a .462 batting average and three home runs. He is a very good contact hitter with some good power to boot. As a whole, the team has a .271 batting average and 11 home runs. 

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The only clear problem that should fix itself as the season progresses is the slow start from the hitters. They tend to start off very cold, which almost came back to bite them against Arkansas State, where they would win in extra innings. 

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As a whole, this Ole Miss team is good, much improved from last year. It will be interesting to see how much better as the season progresses. 

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