Intrasquad Notebook: Gunnar Dennis Shines For Rebels on the Mound

Gunnar Dennis collected six strikeouts in the Ole Miss Rebels’ intrasquad game on Friday.

Friday afternoon's intrasquad for Ole Miss baseball had some preseason fireworks both offensively and defensively. Here are some key observations from the action at Swayze Field.

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- Gunnar Dennis, the junior southpaw transfer out of Meridian (Miss.) CC, went to work using a good mix of fastballs, changeups, curveballs, and sliders to fan six Rebel hitters. Dennis' fastball sat at 88 to 90, and he used the slider heavily in his matchups. Dennis is penciled in to start game one of the doubleheader on Saturday vs. Hawaii.

- JT Quinn was also sharp. He ran his fastball up to 96 and used his sharp-breaking slider to get hitters out in front. Quinn, who is slotted to make the opening day start, is primed for a breakout year. 

- Luke Hill got the offense started, lacing a single to center at 106 mph off the bat. Ethan Lege platted the first run of the day, hitting a homer to left field off Quinn. 

- Wes Mendes, freshman LHP from Tampa, Fla., was the first out of the pen. He looked strong with a couple of strikeouts and ran his fastball up to 94. He also threw a change-up and a curve. 

- Reagan Burford and John Kramer both hit long home runs with Kramer’s exit velo being 109 off the bat. 

- Mason Nichols and Josh Mallitz also came in out of the pen. Look for them to add veteran leadership and length out the bullpen this year. 

- Connor Spencer, a RHP transfer out of Southeast Louisiana, also saw a couple of innings of relief. Spencer attacked hitters with fastballs and sliders and ran his fastball up to 94. He struggled with command at times but will be another veteran piece that will be very valuable down the stretch in conference play. 

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- Brayden Randle, a freshman shortstop from Rockwall, Texas, is someone else to have your eye on. Randle moves very smoothly to his right and left as he made a nice play to turn two up the middle. I could see him getting innings at short or second during the midweek matchups, and with more at-bats, he is going to develop into a very good player for the Rebs in the future. 

The Rebels have two more intrasquads this weekend, tomorrow at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 10:30 a.m. before they head to Hawaii for the first series of the year.