Taking a Look at the Oxford Regional

Oxford Regional is No Cakewalk for the Rebels

Ole Miss was heading into Selection Monday confident in getting the 8 seed and hosting a Super Regional, but the committee disagreed. Many Ole Miss fans were upset with LSU's getting a national seed because the Rebels beat them head to head and have a higher RPI. Those are arguably two of the greatest factors in getting a national seed. Rebel fans were also upset with being paired with 3-seeded Miami when Ole Miss was one of the teams highly considered for a national seed. 

Nevertheless, Ole Miss is hosting a regional just as we all knew would happen. What we did not know was what three teams would be heading to Oxford. Now, we know. The two seed is Tulane, the three seed is Boston College, and the four seed is Utah. 

Here's a quick look at some stats of all four teams:

#21 Tulane is a dangerous team. They won their conference, and they have wins over LSU and USM. Let me remind you...USM split the season series with Ole Miss, and LSU is a national seed. Tulane is for real. They can play baseball down there, and we will have to be on our A game in order to beat the Green Wave. Also, Boston College will not be afraid of the Rebels. This team is in the ACC and has been playing top 25 RPI teams all season long. This is nothing new for them. Lastly, Utah is just coming off winning the PAC-12 conference title, and they are a force to be reckoned with right now. The Rebels have the upper hand, but if they make some errors and do not do their job, Utah can make some noise.

The first game is between Tulane and Boston College at Swayze on Friday, June 3rd, at 3:00 PM CT. Ole Miss vs. Utah will follow at 7:00 PM CT. We will need Swayze PACKED this weekend. That is very key. So, let's ROCK Swayze and go into Miami, FL, with a chip on our shoulder and ready to complete the "Road to Omaha".

My prediction: Ole Miss wins the regional, but they lose 2/3 to Miami.

Recap: No. 10 Ole Miss vs. Georgia (SEC Baseball Tournament)

Timely Hits Thrust Rebels to Convincing Victory

Sophomore 2B Tate Blackman is congratulated after having crossed home plate.

Junior ace Brady Bramlett got the start today for the No. 10 Ole Miss Rebels against the Georgia Bulldogs, a team with its backs against the wall for an unlikely NCAA Tournament bid. After two quick outs, Georgia was on the board with a crushed solo home run. After having given up a few other hits in the top of the first inning, Coach Bianco walked to the mound to have a word with Bramlett, and nothing was the same from then on. Bramlett would end that inning harmlessly and put three more strong innings together. 

Redshirt Freshman Brady Feigl came in the top of the fifth, and he was dealing. After having retired batter after batter, he gave up a few hits in the seventh, and it was about time for Will Stokes to come in anyways. Stokes just came to the mound and did his thing. His fastball was touching the upper nineties from time to time, and his ability to get ahead in counts gave him an opportunity to keep the batters guessing with any pitch...like his deadly breaking ball. 

Not surprisingly, Junior CF JB Woodman had a field day. Although he cashed in for his first triple of the year, his performance was nothing we have not seen before...just look for him in the First-Team All-SEC and SEC All-Defensive Team. He had 3 RBI's due to a crushed double and triple to the wall, and he also chased down many balls that looked like they would surely drop. Colby Bortles had a 2-run RBI double in the bottom of the fourth, an inning which the Rebels had ten, yes...TEN, batters come to the plate. 

Wyatt Short came in to start the top of the ninth, and that was all she wrote. He needed only 11 pitches to secure the 5-1 win, and the rest of those in the bullpen will be a key factor throughout this postseason. We need to keep these arms safe. Again, the final score was 5-1, and Ole Miss will face second-seeded South Carolina tomorrow at 1 PM on the SEC Network. (Reminder: Ole Miss was swept at Swayze by this team, so they're pretty good...). Ole Miss will need there A game tomorrow, but it is very nice to get into the double-elimination portion of the bracket.

Recap: No. 6 Ole Miss at No. 2 Texas A&M (Game 3)

Ole Miss Squeaks Out Win Despite Late Scare

After having lost game 1 and 2 by a good amount(Game 1: 6-1/Game 2: 11-6), the Ole Miss Rebels were desperate for win number forty. It would in all likelihood lock the Rebels' shot at hosting a regional, a goal which this team had set from day 1.

As a fan, you were just waiting for that one big inning from A&M. They had a five-run inning on Thursday and won by five. They had a six-run inning on Friday and won by six. That inning would not come around for A&M. Chad Smith started this game, and he was throwing straight heaters. He was touching 96 MPH it seemed like every other pitch. He touched 97 on a big K early in the contest. After having played about half of the game, Ole Miss put Sophomore Will Stokes in the ballgame. He had some good stuff, giving up one ER, and he came out with one out in the eighth inning.

Short was great. There were bases loaded with one out against one of the best offensive teams in the country. As a spectator, one is thinking that the Rebs will give up at least one run, and this ballgame will go to extras or an A&M win. Neither happened. Short forced a pop-up in foul territory for the second out, and that gave every Rebel fan a sigh of relief. The next batter, highly-touted MLB prospect Nick Banks, would ground out to Robinson, and the game was over.

Ole Miss had achieved its 40th win and 18th SEC win, but that was only good for 7th best in the conference. The SEC has so much depth. The Rebels play ten-seeded Georgia on Tuesday in Hoover at 1 PM on the SEC Network. Although the Bulldogs have shot to win that one, the Rebels have a shot to win the whole thing. Anything can happen. No predictions coming from me, but I expect the Rebels to do fairly well. Nonetheless, Ole Miss is heading into postseason on a high note with a huge 3-2 win, and we will just have to see how this Rebel team will finish off this great year. 

Recap: (12) LSU vs. (13) Ole Miss

Woodman Propels Rebels to Series Win

RF J.B. Woodman celebrates his 2-run HR with 2B Tate Blackman at home plate.

Ole Miss took 2/3 from LSU this weekend, helping Ole Miss improve to 33-12(12-9 SEC). Before the Governor's Cup loss and series win, Ole Miss was ranked 13 in D1baseball.com's poll, 12 in USA Today's poll, and most importantly, 7 in the RPI.

On Thursday, the Rebels won a close game on Thursday. The final score was 7-6. Brady Bramlett pitched just below 4 innings on Thursday, and he had a decent(at best) performance. JB Woodman was #8 on SportsCenter's top ten plays with TWO rockets to home base to get the runner out. If he doesn't get those throws perfectly in on time, the Rebels give up two more runs than they did and lose the game. Woodman also had 2 RBI doubles to lead the Rebels to victory in game 1.

On Friday, Alex Lange for LSU pitched a complete and phenomenal game which led to a 6-3 Tigers win. Woodman went 2-3 in the game and accounted for 2 of Ole Miss' 3 runs. He belted a 2-run homer in the very first inning, but obviously, one player's performance usually does not get you a win over this quality of a team. It set up a rubber match on Saturday.

On Saturday, the Rebels' bats were on FIRE. JB Woodman and Colby Bortles hit back-to-back HR's in the first inning to give the Rebs an early 3-0 lead. With another JB Woodman laser to home plate to get the runner out, Ole Miss was just on flames. You turned around, and there was another run on the board. JB Woodman hit a 2-run shot later in the game, and LSU had one inning of good baseball offensively which accounted for their two runs. James McArthur had his first SEC start and pitched lights out. There was a 45 minute rain delay, and he pitched before and after the delay. The final score was 8-2, and the Rebels are inching closer to a hopeful regional hosting bid in the NCAA Tournament.