Doherty giving a stimulus to Ole Miss bullpen
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May 5—OXFORD — When the debut came, the cautious optimism followed.
Surely, there was more ground to cover before Jack Doherty could be a reliable SEC option in a bullpen in desperate need of a spark.
Doherty, though, took off his redshirt, put on the Superman cape and hasn't taken it off.
His latest feat of wonder came on Saturday night when the 6-foot-4 true freshman from Collierville, Tennessee, a guy who wasn't part of the plan less than a month ago, retired all 11 batters he faced before handing off Game 3 against South Carolina to Taylor Broadway.
Doherty was being redshirted until his practice play made Rebels coach Mike Bianco rethink his plan.
Bianco inserted Dougherty against Austin Peay when he stuck out five of six batters he faced in two perfect innings.
"When we got to that point we said he's as good as anybody that we're running out there. It's unfortunate that he's not able to pitch. We contemplated it for weeks. All of a sudden we decided we'd do it," Bianco said of the decision to pitch Doherty.
The Rebels were 31-12, 13-8 in the SEC going into Tuesday's home game against Arkansas State. Doherty's role in a weekend sweep of South Carolina helped Ole Miss stay within reach of regional host and national seed goals.
As young players go he's one of a number of true freshmen who have played big roles for the Rebels.
Shortstop Jacob Gonzalez, a starter since Game 1, is the current SEC freshman of the week after going 4 for 9 with a double, a home run and six runs scored against the Gamecocks.
Center fielder TJ McCants, who broke into the lineup later, was 5 for 10 with three RBIs. Now he leads the team in batting with a .358 average.
Kemp Alderman has had several hits, one of them a walk-off home run in Game 3 against LSU.
Doherty's in-season rise included adding velocity to his fastball and bit to his slider.
It's easy to settle into a routine when the games start coming four times a week, but Doherty never quit working.
"We've been having live at-bats almost weekly since the start of the season. Just going out there and competing and showing what I can show, that was the difference-maker," he said.
Now Doherty, who mowed down Austin Peay, has a 1.28 ERA in two SEC appearances with one hit, one walk and six strikeouts over seven innings.
"It's much harder, with 10,000 people in the stands against another team from the Southeastern Conference, to pitch the same way you're pitching in a simulated game," Bianco said. "It's for real when the uniforms are on. I'm really proud of him."
