Mike Bianco Credits 'Disappointing' Opening Weekend to Rebels' 'Lack of Confidence'
The first two games of the weekend (save for a few bumps) were largely positive for Mike Bianco's Ole Miss Rebels.
Even though the game on Opening Day lasted 13 innings and did not conclude until almost 4 a.m. CT, the Rebels came away with a win, a result they replicated in Game 1 of their doubleheader on Saturday. From that point on, however, the weekend belonged to the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.
There are a few excuses that could be given for the Rebels' concluding performances over the weekend (including a 13-4 shellacking on Sunday): traveling over 4,000 miles, opening with an incredibly late game on Friday, multiple new faces on the field, etc. But those would be cop-outs.
The bottom line is that Ole Miss simply didn't play well enough to win in the final two games of the weekend, and it didn't look all that sharp in the early games, either. Six errors and a ton of walks highlighted the Rebels' loss on Sunday, and that trend is unacceptable moving forward.
"Just a really disappointing day to finish off a disappointing weekend," head coach Mike Bianco said on Sunday. "Just a ton of errors. I can't remember in 24 years playing the game so poorly in all three phases. There'll be some bright spots, but they're hard to even mention now when you play like we have the last two games, it's a tough one to swallow today."
Ole Miss hit the transfer portal hard this offseason, and it is still looking to solidify its daily starting nine. Bianco tinkered with his lineup throughout the weekend, giving some of these new pieces an opportunity at various positions in the field.
There is still time to figure out the best path forward in terms of a starting lineup, but Ole Miss can't afford many more performances like it saw on Sunday. And regardless of who's on the field, confidence was clearly an issue when the going got tough.
"Encouraging and telling them it's going to be alright, that's not how you succeed in this game or in athletics," Bianco said. "They have to find that own courage, their own confidence. You can't give somebody confidence.
"People act confident. It's an action. It's not something tangible that you give somebody."
Bianco knows that this team has the ability to play well. He's seen it from fall ball through the early spring, but putting that on the field when it counts is a different matter. If Ole Miss wants to turn it around early in this campaign, it will need to tap into that potential sooner rather than later.
"They played really well and really confidently for about six months," Bianco said, "so when you collectively don't play that way, you have to find yourself. That's the great thing about this game: you get to play again. They'll get to play again on Wednesday and get an opportunity to have some success."
The Rebels will host the Arkansas State Red Wolves for their home opener on Wednesday, slated for a 4 p.m. CT first pitch. The game will be televised on SEC Network+.