Coca-Cola Classic: A short photographic journey

We finally got our camera hooked up and photos edited from this past weekend in Mobile when the Rebels stumbled out of the gates with a 1-2 record.

Here's a few photos from our escapades:

Brett Bukvich comes in to protect the lead against Mercer...great move Mike

A rally cap moment during the UM vs USA game

PUN INTENDED!!!! LOLZZZZ!!

Is Mercer sponsored by Tony Stewart? WTF is up wit dem numbaz?

A paparazzi moment with Mike Snyder? Matt Snyder? One of them

The infamous Sweats McJaguar cheering during UM vs USA game

Up next: A two game series with Central Arkansas, and a weekend series versus TCU. At best, we're expecting a 5-3 record by this time next week. More on those games later.

Rebels stunned by USA in extra frames

Well, a huge waste of human sat behind us at today's baseball game between our Rebels and the South Alabama Jaguars.

This guy complained about EVERY SINGLE PITCH that went against his team. He accused Ole Miss of every travesty imaginable including buying the game away from his beloved Jags, cheating against Mercer(a game we lost) and the JFK assassination. I'm sure you have had a similar experience, possibly even at an Ole Miss game. Lives and dies with every call by an umpire.

He was one of the most miserable people I have ever had to sit near during a baseball game. Sitting by himself in a faded USA t-shirt, sporting grey sweatpants and velcro Rockport sneakers, I can only imagine his portly physique playing baseball at some level in his life. 

His annoying personality drove everyone in his life away as he was sitting by himself but had no reservations about eavesdropping on our conversations. We spoke to those around us about Scott Bittle's great pitching ability, and he mocked us with our own words as USA drove a run across in the tenth to seal the Rebel loss.

He quickly waddled down the steps after the game's ending realizing he was in the same section as many Ole Miss player's parents who were giving him the stink eye throughout the afternoon. We luckily snapped a few photos of this brute and will be posting them as soon as possible.

The loss was embarrassing, because our pitching staff was really on point against the Jaguars while our bats were incredibly useless. We ground into three double plays while stranding over half a dozen. It was flat-out frustrating, and I hope this team does some soul searching before Texas Christian comes to town.

Mobile wasn't all bad. Most of the USA fans were reasonable, but we got the Christmas gift of sitting by Sweats McJaguar. 

A few quick notes:

- Liberty ended up winning the Coca-Cola Classic with a 2-1 record with the loss coming to Ole Miss. 

- Evan Button looked like he pulled or strained a hamstring running out a ground ball during the USA game. It was very tough to see as he was coming back from a season ending injury last year. 

- Mike Snyder got his first action as a Rebel at 3B.

Day 2 of Coca Cola Classic: Ole Miss vs Mercer

Yesterday's victory should have been a good confidence builder for our team. We played good small ball with a sacrifice fly to bring in the go-ahead run but also had the big three run bomb from Logan Power early on to show the line-up has some pop in their bats. 

Pitching was a little touch and go with Aaron Barrett. He made a couple mistakes, and Liberty made him pay. Lesson learned, hopefully. Our bullpen gave four solid innings in relief, and if it is any foreshadowing, I feel comfortable giving them a lead this season.

Mercer got lit up by USA last night 9-2. We could've gone to the game with our all day tickets, but we decided to eat massive amounts of hot wings and drink beer instead. The entertainment value was roughly the same. 

We're not expecting Mercer to come from behind like the Flames did yesterday if the Rebels jump out to a lead. I and Brian Walker's Elbow fully expect a thrashing today. 

Chris Corrigan will be taking the mound for Ole Miss at a striking physique of 6'3'' 157 lbs. according to our AD website. If this is true, his body is basically a bullwhip flinging a ball towards home plate. He's got game, though, as Toronto drafted him in the 18th round out of Juco.

There were approximately 12 scouts with radar guns at the game yesterday for Barrett's appearance, so we'll see how many turn out for today.

Kevin Mort didn't have a great game against Liberty, so we're wondering if he'll get another chance today. Bianco may consider moving Button to SS and getting a Snyder or Logan Williams to play 3B. Obviously, it's a little early to write off a player, but while it's early, this is when you have to experiment with the line-up before you get into SEC play. 

Rebels too close for comfort against Liberty

We're just getting nestled in to the luxurious Holiday Inn off of I-65 in Mobile. We got a real tight view of the Arby's across the street. Rollin' in style.

The first game against Liberty started off really promising as Aaron Barrett was pitching lights out striking out three of the first four batters as we jumped out to 4-0 behind a three run HR by Logan Power.

Then, we bumbled and fumbled our way to a 6-5 win by manufacturing runs and stealing a few bases. Our bullpen effort of Morgan, Goforth and the Bittler was incredibly effective as they should be against a team whose mascot, "the Flames," is in stark contrast to the conservative nature of the Christian school formerly headed by Jerry Falwell(maybe his ghost is still there, we don't know).

The Liberty fans were good natured and made fun of the deficiencies of the stadium, such as the "jumbo-tron" that was one third blacked out or the in-game promotion that offered a free box of popcorn for a foul ball returned to the concession stand. Times are tough. 

We were convinced the error button was broken on their scoreboard because we counted roughly 4 or 5 errors in the first five innings before one was actually tallied on the board. 

Kevin Mort and Evan Button weren't overly impressive on the left side of the infield letting a few balls through and booting a couple as well. Matt Smith played a good defensive game along with Brett Basham behind the plate. 

Logan Power completely bombed the home run in the first inning. Just crushed it. The home run by Liberty was somewhat of an enigma, because we never saw it go over the wall. We're pretty sure it hit the top of the wall and came back into play, but the ump ruled it a three run homer. Who knows? We still won, so not really incredibly important.

Stanky Field does sell beer...in cans. I don't know what else to say, but it was pretty comforting to see beer cans littering the stadium as we departed for some strange reason.

Mobile is traffic ridden due to Mardi Gras festivities, but we're going to hit up a few unsavory joints tonight to get some local flavor. There's no doubt some drunk coon asses that we'll be running into as the sun goes down. We'll check back in later.