Headlines
Ole Miss Positioned to Earn National Seed, Host Regional
A Georgia runner slides safely into third on Sunday.
As we enter the last week of the Southeastern Conference baseball this week, the No. 11 Ole Miss Rebels look to secure the Western Division crown and a NCAA tournament host site.
The Rebels enter the week with a 37-15 overall record, 17-10 in the SEC. This past weekend, the Rebels took two-of-three games from the Georgia Bulldogs. They hammered the Dogs 12-2 Friday, fell 2-0 on Saturday and treated fans Sunday to another thrilling walk-off win.
The Rebels are in a tight race with their in-state rivals the Mississippi State Bulldogs for the divisional crown. Over the past few series, State has demonstrated growing confidence with big series wins and sweeps. The Bulldogs have a record of 16-11 in conference, just a game behind Ole Miss. Last weekend, they took their series from Tennessee.
This week the Rebels close out the regular season with a midweek game at Arkansas State in LIttle Rock. Then, it’s on to Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, where HottyToddy.com will have complete on-the-scene coverage.
MSU travels to Alabama this weekend trying to find away to take the division.
Sam Smith will have to pitch effectively for the Rebels to become a national seed.
A series win over the Aggies should ensure that Ole Miss hosts a regional at Swayze Field. That would be an exciting event that Rebel fans have been waiting for since 2009.
The super regional possibilities are a bit more murky. Because of a complicated computer-generated ranking system called the RPI, even a sweep or series win over A&M and a win in the regional might not guarantee a super regional host bid for Ole Miss, which is fighting to become a national seed.
It all has to do with strength of schedule.It’s certain, however, that a series loss to the the Aggies will preclude super regional possibilities, so the best course for the hot Rebels is simply to keep on winning.
Great defensive play in the outfield is a Rebel hallmark.
Catcher Will Allen helps the Rebels offensively and with his arm.
HottyToddy.com sports staff
| Sat, Aug 31 |  | vs Furman | W, 76-0 |
| Sat, Sep 7 |  | vs Middle Tennessee | W, 52-3 |
| Sat, Sep 14 |  | @ Wake Forest | W, 40-6 |
| Sat, Sep 21 |  | vs Georgia Southern | W, 52-13 |
| Sat, Sep 28 |  | vs Kentucky | L, 20-17 |
| Sat, Oct 5 |  | @ South Carolina | W, 27-3 |
| Sat, Oct 12 |  | vs LSU | L, 29-26 (2 OT) |
| Sat, Oct 26 |  | vs Oklahoma | W, 26-14 |
| Sat, Nov 2 |  | @ Arkansas | W, 63-35 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Georgia | W, 28-10 |
| Sat, Nov 23 |  | @ Florida | 11:00 AM ABC or ESPN |
| Sat, Nov 30 |  | vs Mississippi State | 2:30 PM ESPN or ABC |
You must be logged in to post a comment Login