Mike Bianco Announces Probable Opening Day Lineup for Ole Miss Baseball

The Rebels are two weeks away from their season opener against Charleston Southern.

OXFORD, Miss. -- Ole Miss baseball held its media day on Friday, and head coach Mike Bianco detailed the lineup he plans to trot out on Opening Day against Charleston Southern.

The Rebels return the majority of their lineup from a season ago, including Tim Elko who tore his ACL in midweek action in 2021. Derek Diamond is projected to be the Friday night starter to begin the 2022 season, but the starting spots in the rotation behind him are yet to be determined. Possibilities include transfers Jack Washburn (Oregon State) and John Gaddis (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) or Drew McDaniel.

Probable Opening Day lineup for #OleMiss according to Mike Bianco:

LF Graham
CF Bench or McCants
RF Alderman or Leatherwood
3B Bench or Burford
SS Gonzalez
2B Chatagnier
1B Elko
C Dunhurst
P Diamond

Bianco says spots after Diamond are TBD.

— John Macon Gillespie (@JMakeGillespie) February 4, 2022

The lineup on Feb. 18 for Bianco is expected to be as follows:

LF Kevin Graham

CF Justin Bench or TJ McCants

RF Kemp Alderman or Hayden Leatherwood

3B Justin Bench or Reagan Burford

SS Jacob Gonzalez

2B Peyton Chatagnier

1B Tim Elko

C Hayden Dunhurst

P Derek Diamond

The majority of these names will be familiar to Ole Miss fans, but one newcomer in the mix is JUCO transfer Reagan Burford. Bianco spoke on the success the offense had during the fall and the potential growing pains experienced by his pitching staff this offseason.

“The offense that was the No. 1 offense in the Southeastern Conference continued to swing well as we return basically the entire offense from last year," Bianco said. "Even with Tim being sidelined with ACL rehab, they continued to swing well.

“That made it tough on a pitching staff that’s trying to make a name for itself," Bianco continued. "A lot of offense, and that’s nice, but the problem is that you’re on the other side of the ball as well. We didn’t pitch it as well as I would hope, but with that being said, some guys really stood out.”

Ole Miss will open its season at home on Feb. 18 against Charleston Southern. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. CT.

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