Ole Miss Looks to Bring Confidence into NCAA Tournament

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

Ole Miss baseball prepares to host an NCAA Regional this upcoming weekend in Oxford. This will be the 10th regional Ole Miss has hosted since the 2004 season. 

Ole Miss heads into the field of 64 after finishing just shy of three straight appearances in the championship game of the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama. The Rebels take a 41-19 overall record into the Road to Omaha. 

This past week, Ole Miss had a dominant outing on the mound by the pitching staff in all five games. The Rebels only surrendered 13 runs. 

Coach Mike Bianco and staff want the pitchers to be able to attack the zone and make pitches and get off the field.

“We were able to do that this week more times than not,” Bianco said. “We attacked the strike zone. I thought we had a little more attitude to us on the mound, and I think we were more aggressive in the count early in at-bats that helped us a lot.”

Going into the regionals, the Rebels look to take the mindset they had in the SEC Tournament of wanting to win every game into the next week. Bianco challenged his players to play loose and free with a “competitive spirit.”

“We challenged the guys at the beginning of the week to bring that type of energy and that type of vibe and swagger to the field every day, and I think they did,” Bianco said. 

Ole Miss will open up at Swayze Field in front of the home crowd with the energy and support from the fan base.

“More of a belief in one another that guys are going to succeed at the plate and on the mound and in the field, ” Bianco said. “It’s a confidence.”

The Rebels will soon learn what other three teams will be stepping in between the chalk to take the diamond at Swayze. The NCAA selection is at 11 a.m. Monday on ESPN2.