Ole Miss hopes for better bullpen against Bulldogs
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Apr. 16—STARKVILLE — The quest for pieces may have taken an uptick on Tuesday night.
Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco discarded the redshirt on freshman right-hander Jack Dougherty in the Rebels' 13-1 win over Austin Peay.
Dougherty started the fifth and threw two scoreless innings. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Collierville, Tennessee, native struck out five of the six batters he faced in his college debut.
Whether he gets an opportunity this weekend against rival Mississippi State remains to be seen. Game times at Dudy Noble Field are 6 tonight, 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Bianco sounded like a coach searching for answers on Sunday after Ole Miss pitching issued 17 walks and two hit-batters in an 18-14 loss to Arkansas. The Razorbacks had to fight off the Rebels from a 14-14 tie after once leading 11-0, but the win catapulted them to No. 1 this week.
Ole Miss closer Taylor Broadway has been strong with eight saves. He's figured into the decision in 11 of 13 appearances the three other times with wins.
Broadway pitched 2 2/3 innings for a save in Game 2 against Arkansas.
"We'll continue to look for pieces in front of Broadway," Bianco said on Sunday.
Veteran set-up man Max Cioffi will not be among the pieces.
Cioffi was expected to play a key relief role this season — perhaps as closer — but made just one appearance on opening weekend and then had to have surgery to repair a torn meniscus.
He was working his way back from that when he tore a ligament in his elbow, and he's done for the remainder of the season.
There will be further bullpen shake-up this weekend. Drew McDaniel, who drew two starts when junior left-hander Doug Nikhazy was injured, replaces Derek Diamond as the Sunday starter.
Assistant coach Carl Lafferty doesn't believe it's time to sound the alarm in the bullpen.
"Going into the Arkansas weekend I thought we had done a pretty solid job. There had been some inconsistencies here and there," Lafferty said. "It's our job to compete in the strike zone better, but the truth is that's not really us. We've got to get back to being us."
It's a big leap from entering the Austin Peay game with a 9-1 lead to entering in the middle innings in an SEC road environment with runners on base.
It's possible Daugherty could be one of the pieces this weekend. Bianco was unsure late Tuesday.
"I think he could. He was as good as a lot of the guys we've had. He certainly could be a factor. I don't know if I want to commit to that right now, but that was nice," he said.
