Blue plate special

 

By JIM MASHEK

 

 

Barry Gunther spent his first two seasons at Ole Miss in the bullpen, making an occasional start at designated hitter or behind the plate.

 

Charlie Waite was entrenched as the Rebels' catcher for the first three seasons of Mike Bianco's tenure as the Ole Miss coach.

 

Gunther didn't let that time go to waste, however, and has emerged as one of the Rebels' steadiest players this season in their pursuit of the school's first Southeastern Conference title since 1977.

 

Ninth-ranked Ole Miss (38-15, 17-10 Southeastern Conference) closes regular-season play with No. 4 LSU (38-14, 16-11) in a three-game series starting Friday night in Oxford. Ole Miss shares the overall SEC lead with Arkansas and Georgia, with LSU one of three teams just one game back in the standings.

 

"Obviously, it was hard to sit on the bench, but I realized my position on the team," Gunther said. "I'd been a starting catcher since my freshman year in high school. I knew Charlie Waite was a great catcher. I just waited my turn, I guess.

 

"I knew I had to be patient."

 

Gunther's patience has been rewarded with a breakthrough junior season with the Rebels. He handles the most effective pitching staff in the SEC. The Rebels' team ERA is 3.28, second only among league teams to Alabama, the last-place team in the SEC West.

 

He ranks third among the Ole Miss hitters with a .352 average. The 5-foot-11, 187-pound junior from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has collected 14 extra-base hits and 27 RBIs, but his greatest value to the Rebels, not surprisingly, is on defense.

 

Gunther has committed just three errors all season and retired nine of 36 base runners attempting to steal a base against the Rebels.

 

Bianco was the catcher on LSU's 1989 squad that finished third in the College World Series. He likes what he sees in his protege.

 

"A lot's been made about what Barry has done with the bat," Bianco said, "but he's raised his game defensively, too. He's been a workhorse back there. He does a great job of receiving, throwing and blocking (plays at the plate). He's had so many big hits for us, too.

 

"Barry and Charlie were close. He understood his role his first two years here. He got to play in some SEC games, and he just kept working."

 

Gunther hits in the nine-hole for the Rebels because he's been most effective in that spot. He's eligible for the pro draft this summer but is more likely to return for his senior year at Ole Miss, which Waite did before going in the 23rd round of last year's draft to the Philadelphia Phillies.

 

Gunther's older brother, Josh, was a pitcher at South Carolina after making a name for himself at Manatee (Fla.) Community College. His younger brother, Yogi, is a freshman second baseman at Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale.

 

Asked if his kid brother was named after New York Yankees catcher/wordsmith Yogi Berra, Gunther said, "That's the only other Yogi I know."

 

Gunther likes taking charge on the field, and the Rebels will need his leadership skills in their highly anticipated series with five-time national champion LSU.

 

"It's the most demanding position out there," he said. "I like having the pressure on me, being in charge out there. It's kind of like being the quarterback in football."

 

One of Ole Miss' most effective pitchers for the 2004 season is through.

 

Sophomore left-hander Brae Wright, who has compiled a 6-2 record for the Rebels, was dismissed from the team on Wednesday.

 

Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco announced the move and had twice taken disciplinary action against Wright earlier this season. Wright also had struggled with arm trouble, but he still had a 2.81 earned-run average with 49 strikeouts in 671/3 innings pitched.

 

Wright, who is from Southaven, made his last appearance for the Rebels in a 7-3 loss to Georgia on April 25. He made 19 starts in his two seasons with the Rebels, going 10-6.

seems like he'll go back to school