Ruby DraayerCurrently, there are seven SEC teams in the top-25 rankings. The first five spots are held by SEC teams, four of them in the SEC West. Baseball is a long sport, and teams are not expected to win every game, but if you want to make it to Omaha, there is very little room for error.
Ole Miss opened up league play with a 3-0 sweep against Auburn, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
The Rebels were able to win the series against ULM but lost to ULM in the series finale, 8-3. Then, to make matters worse, The Rebels suffered a brutal loss at the hands of Louisiana Tech last week, scoring just one run to their 13. They were unable to hit, and some of the team’s heaviest hitters went 0-for-4 on their first real road season game. Junior Kevin Graham was able to reach base for his tenth consecutive game with a single in the first game, as well as senior Tim Elko and freshman Jacob Gonzalez reaching for their 12th straight game.
Nothing was looking good for the Rebels as they were about to take on Auburn. In a press conference following the loss to Louisiana Tech, head coach Mike Bianco said, “We really didn’t do anything in all three phases…offense, defense, pitching. We didn’t play better defense and didn’t help ourselves out. It’s disappointing.”
Luckily, Ole Miss was able to turn it around in the end.
Ole Miss beat Auburn in a close one on Friday night, as they were able to handle business the next few days. Veteran pitcher Gunnar Hoglund proved to everyone that he will be an essential key to winning out in the SEC. Hoglund pitched eight shutout innings and 13 strikeouts. The first game of the series was a battle of pitching.
Auburn’s Cody Greenhill pitched seven scoreless innings. Both pitchers allowed for zero runs. The win came in a late bomb from freshman Calvin Harris in the eighth inning. I held my breath as Auburn came up for their last at bat. If you watched the game, you know exactly what I am talking about.
Ole Miss continued their win streak with a win over Central Arkansas in their mid-week game on Tuesday night. The long balls, and fairly good pitching aided in this win. Gonzalez, Elko, and sophomore Hayden Dunhurst each had a home run in the game against Central Arkansas. The bullpen cycled through to give up a combined two hits. Things could be better, but a win is always a win.
It isn’t quite time to panic for postseason dreams, but as any Ole Miss fan knows, if you want to host Regional games, you can’t drop must-win non-conference games.
Ole Miss will take on the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa this weekend, hopefully continuing on this hot streak.
