This past weekend had all the vibes of a Super Regional weekend in Oxford between two high level programs that pushed each other to the brink and back.
No. 5 Georgia (34-11, 15-6 SEC) pulled out the series over No. 17 Ole Miss (31-14, 11-10 SEC) ending a red hot streak of wins that put the Rebels back in the regional hosting conversation. Losing two of three at home is not a great look of course, but the manner in which it happened showed Ole Miss can play with anyone in the country.
In the first game
Saturday, Ole Miss used 10 unanswered runs to come back from an eight run deficit to win 10-8 in the largest comeback for the program since 2021. Then came the marathon game two taking 14 innings and going much later into the evening than anyone wanted or expected with the Bulldogs pulling off a 9-7 victory.
The Sunday series finale was the only game where Ole Miss’ bats just went completely silent in a 5-1 loss. I think it showed both teams were a little gassed from a very long Saturday, however, the Bulldogs just had enough left in the tank to extend its lead late and put the series away.
So that’s all stuff you already know if you follow Ole Miss baseball closely. Tristan Bissetta seemingly disappeared for a good portion of this weekend, and it follows a concerning trend for the team’s number one offensive weapon. While he has a .329 batting average for the season, the slugger has struggled in SEC play with a .235 performance at the plate.
He’s not the only player facing the fact that SEC pitching is causing some slump to their season average. There are a few toting the load offensively at the plate with Will Furniss, Hayden Federico and Judd Utermark showing up most consistently as the team is now 21 games into conference play. Topher Jones and Owen Paino have helped to provide a spark in the lineup at times as well.
The downward trend offensively is concerning in conference games mainly because well that’s about all that is left to play. The Rebels still need wins to have a chance at being named a regional host, and looking ahead, here’s how the home stretch plays out for Ole Miss.
- April 28 vs. Mississippi State (Pearl, Miss.)
- May 1-3 at Arkansas
- May 8-10 vs. Texas A&M
- May 12 vs. UT Martin
- May 14-16 at Alabama
Mississippi St. and Texas A&M are playing some great baseball right now, and those four games loom pretty large currently as RPI boosts if the Rebels can get wins. Arkansas has had a meandering kind of SEC season much like Ole Miss with some ups and downs though I don’t think this is Dave Van Horn’s most quality squad.
Alabama has significantly cooled off from one of its best starts in years, but with the series in Tuscaloosa, it could be a pressure packed weekend to make a final statement before the SEC tournament in Hoover.
In the last 11 games, the Rebels need to have a winning record to solidify itself in the top 16. Head coach Mike Bianco has been known to cancel late season non-conference games that don’t help his team’s RPI, but I don’t think we’ll see that this year with UT Martin.
If you’ve got a prediction for how the last stretch of games plays out, drop it below. Could the Rebels pitching staff lock down its opponents and its lineup scratch enough runs to have one last streak? I think its entirely possible to see seven more wins for this experienced squad if things come together as the spring semester ends.
