As much as Bulldog fans would like to deny the fact, there hasn’t been much stopping the Ole Miss Rebels’ potent lineup this season. Going into a series finale against the potent Rebs, it looked unlikely that a reliever-turned-starter with a 10-plus earned run average would be the one able to cool their hot bats.Sophomore starter Ricky Bowen was able to do that and more as he came just a pitch shy of recording the first Bulldog no-hitter since 1985 in his first SEC start.
Bowen’s bid was broken up on a 2-2 pitch to Michael Hubbard that turned into a line drive through the left side of the infield.
However, Bowen still held on to finish a two-hit, 4-0 shutout of Ole Miss, who has been ranked as high as second this season.
“A no-hitter would have been incredible,” Bowen said following the win. “Especially with it being against your rival and a team with the accolades Ole Miss has received.”
Bowen’s efforts earned his first SEC Pitcher of the Week honors, and he was also named a Louisville Slugger’s National Player of the Week.
“It was really a blessing, and I didn’t expect it,” Bowen said. “Usually you don’t get pitcher of the week if you’re on a team that lost the series. It was a really humbling experience though to be put up there with some of the guys who are on that list and some of them who I assume will be on the list before the year is over.”
Bowen said while the excitement was high for himself and the team as a whole, they didn’t let it get to them when the first hit came through.
After all, the priority of the day was to pull out the win and avoid its second-straight series sweep.
“It was cool that it lasted as long as it did, and it was awesome that I got so close, but I wasn’t upset or mad about it,” Bowen said. “It was more of just well, it happened so let’s get the last out and keep this shutout. We all just kind of laughed after the first hit because it was great to get that close.”
MSU head coach Ron Polk said after the game that he wasn’t surprised in Bowen’s performance and he had confidence in the young right-hander since the beginning.
“I am super proud of Ricky. We’ve had some regular pitchers down with injury, and we really needed someone to step up,” Polk said after the game. “Ole Miss has a great offensive ball club, and Ricky did a super job of keeping them under control.”
Bowen’s talents did not go unnoticed by the Ole Miss lineup either.
“Nobody had a clue what was coming,” Rebels third baseman Cody Overbeck said. “He mixed it up real well and hit all of his spots. I was very impressed.”
Bowen’s shutout came on the heels of a heartbreaking 6-3 loss to Baylor, in which he struck out seven but still came away with the loss.
And despite the stellar performance against Ole Miss, Bowen had to weather another tough start against the South Carolina Gamecocks where he was touched for eight runs, including a grand slam.
“This weekend I didn’t get it done like I should have, and I didn’t follow up like I should have,” Bowen said. “I just try to do everything the same as I always do.”
Bowen said the transition to starting pitcher from his 2007 role of middle reliever has been difficult thus far.
He led Bulldog pitching last year with a 3.00 ERA and tied with junior closer Aaron Weatherford for a team-leading five saves.
Bowen said changing his mentality and approach has proved to be the biggest struggle in transitioning to an SEC starter.
“It’s a big difference because when you’re a reliever, you’re attacking each inning and each hitter with a lot more intensity because you don’t know how long you’ll be in,” Bowen said. “When you’re a starter, you have to look at the bigger picture. You’re attacking more of a lineup than you are one or two batters so you have to have a plan, and you have to know what you’re doing.”
While he prefers being a starter, Bowen said the role is not without its downside.
“As a reliever, if you go out there and have a rough outing, you get to go back out there the next day or two days later,” Bowen said. “But as a starter, you’re sitting there a whole week if you have a rough one. You have to live with it for an entire week.”
After beginning the season with a dismal 10-13 record, Bulldog fans and players alike realize this is a completely different team from last year’s College World Series lineup.
Bowen said, however, that he’s confident that both the talent and leadership are as strong this season as it was in 2007.
“The thing with last year’s team that’s probably a little different is we had guys like Brian LaNinfa and Mitch Moreland that were just these really great intensity guys who knew how to handle pressure and to attack the game,” Bowen said. “They had a great mindset towards the game, and they were kind of the guys who really picked you up also. They weren’t recognized as being big time leaders of the team, but to me, those were some of the guys who really helped me out a lot.”
With the absence of players such as Moreland and LaNinfa, Bowen said many players who participated in secondary roles last season have been pushed to step up to more prominent positions and provide team leadership.
“You’ve got guys who are doing things that weren’t doing last year, who maybe weren’t every day starters that are this year,” Bowen said. “It changes and it makes things different, but I think we have just as quality leadership this year. Every year it’s a different group, a different team, and people are going to respond to things differently.