With the final spot in the 2025 SEC Tournament Championship game on the line, the Ole Miss Rebels and LSU Tigers would again meet at the Hoover Met to renew an old Southeastern Conference rivalry. It doesn’t matter the sport; when Ole Miss and LSU meet, there’s always tension that leads to thrilling games, and with the addition of the built magic of the Hoover Met and a spot in the Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship on the line, the tension was so thick you would need a steak knife to cut it.

Despite not playing for the first time in forever in the regular season, the Rebels’ and Tigers’ rivalry was as good as ever.

With a spot in the SEC Tournament Championship game on the line, Coach Mike Bianco and the Ole Miss Rebels would go with Cade Townsend as the starter on Saturday, while LSU would go with Jaden Noot. Jaden delivered LSU with four complete innings, giving up three hits, two runs, and seven strikeouts. Like Noot, Townsend finished his day in the 4th inning after facing two batters in the fourth. Townsend gave up two hits, no runs, and had three strikeouts. Chase Shores would be the middle relief guy for the Tigers on Saturday; he hit triple-digits several times during his time on the mound. Chase Shores would finish his day in the top of the 7th after giving the Tigers 2.2 innings of near-perfect baseball, striking out three Ole Miss batters.

Ole Miss would strike first in the top of the first off the bat of Will Furniss, who, with a solo shot, gave the Rebels a 1-0 lead over LSU. From there, Campbell Smithwick delivered Ole Miss with a base hit in the top half of the fourth that scored Isaac Humphrey to give the Rebels a 2-0 lead over the Tigers of LSU. The two runs scored by Ole Miss were enough to get the Rebels over the finish line, as the Rebels will now play Vanderbilt on Sunday at noon in the 2025 SEC Tournament Championship game.

With the win over LSU on Saturday, the Rebels have done all they can do and then some to host an Oxford Regional next weekend. A win over Vanderbilt would not only give the Rebels another SEC Tournament Championship under Coach Bianco, but it would give the Rebels another win over an RPI top-17 team, the third of the week at the SEC Tournament.

Ole Miss will take on Vanderbilt on Sunday at noon on ESPN2 in the 2025 Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship game.

Photo Credits- Ole Miss Baseball on X