Rebels begin to show progress

Don’t be fooled by Mississippi’s 13-10 start. Coach Mike Bianco expected growing pains after losing key pieces from his College World Series team and starting the season with one of the toughest schedules in the country.

The Rebels took a big step this past weekend by winning two of three against a Florida team that was ranked No. 1 by D1Baseball.com. The week before, the Rebels lost two of three at LSU, which now holds the No. 1 spot in two major polls.

The defending SEC West champ Rebels are tied for third in the division at 3-3.

“That team that went to Omaha last year, our lineup was full of juniors and seniors who were in the program for years,” Bianco said Monday. “Contrary to this year, we got off to a tremendous start and got a lot of confidence going. When you look at this year’s team, most of the returnees are freshmen and sophomores. My point in saying that about the youth is that we really like these guys.”

The Rebels lost their top four hitters, 10-game winner Chris Ellis and closer Josh Laxer. Three pitchers who were expected to be contributors are out for the season because of Tommy John surgery.

Two freshmen, left fielder Kyle Watson and third baseman Will Golsan, each are batting .300 at the top of the order. Another freshman, Tate Blackman, is playing second.

The team’s anchor is senior first baseman Sikes Orvis, who batted .421 with three doubles, two home runs and nine RBIs in the first two SEC series.

The Rebels are set with Nos. 1 and 2 starters Christian Trent (4-1, 3.11 ERA) and Brady Bramlett (3-1, 1.54). The biggest issue, Bianco said, is locking down a No. 3 starter.

Poll positions LSU (21-3) won its road series against Arkansas and is No. 1 in the Baseball America poll for the third straight week. The Tigers took over No. 1 in the D1Baseball.com ratings after Florida’s series loss at Ole Miss. Collegiate Baseball newspaper’s poll is topped by Texas A&M (24-1), which had its season-opening win streak end Sunday at Alabama.

Cavalier concerns Virginia (14-7), the national runner-up in 2014, has lost six of eight and is last in the ACC’s Coastal Division at 3-6. The Cavaliers are batting .263, and they’re coming off their first home conference series loss since 2012. The 13-1 loss Sunday to Florida State was particularly ugly, with six Virginia pitchers combining to walk 15.

This story was originally published March 23, 2015 at 11:35 PM.