Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the Ole Miss Rebels have gotten hot and are finally playing to the potential most people expected from the start of the season. Ole Miss has gone from being swept at home by Mississippi State to being the winners of the last three conference series and the winners of ten out of the last twelve games. Ole Miss has gone from a two-seed in a Regional somewhere to playing their way back into hosting another Oxford Regional. There’s still a lot of baseball to be played for the Rebels, but the mometum is building for Ole Miss to be at least a Regional Host, and likely a contender to make a return trip to the College World Series. 

For a team that many said didn’t have the offense or even the pitching depth, Ole Miss has started peaking at the right time, backed by a dominating sweep at home over LSU, and a clinic of a run-ruled 19-2 win over Murray State on Tuesday night. Since being swept at home by Mississippi State, the Ole Miss offense has outscored teams 104-48. During that time, the Rebels have three run-ruled wins over Murray State, Alcorn State, and LSU, simply dominating far less imposing teams. For the Ole Miss offense, it hasn’t just been one guy that beats you; it’s been one through nine that provide Ole Miss with depth. From Judd Utermark to Dom Decker, to Tristan Bissetta and Austin Fawley, Ole Miss has the bats to make some serious noise this offseason. 

While the offense has exploded, the pitching staff has come into its own as the three weekend guys of Hunter Elliott, Cade Townsend, and Taylor Rabe have all matured during the last month, combined with the midweek guys and the bullpen that holds the line for the Rebels, and Ole Miss seems to be clicking the way many of us thought they would from the jump. You’ve got guys like Hudson Calhoun and Walker Hooks providing Ole Miss with solid relief, giving the starters an extra weapon in the arsenal to turn to. Then it’s Owen Kelly at closer, all around the pitching staff for Ole Miss is just as deadly and difficult for teams to navigate. 

As far as the resume goes, Ole Miss comes into the weekend series with 5th Georgia sitting at 8th in RPI metrics, and 4th overall with strength of schedule. From there, Ole Miss is 9-9 in Q1 games, 3-3 in Q2, and a combined 18-0 against Q3 and Q4 this season. Ole Miss comes into the weekend at 10-8 in conference play and needing just five combined wins in conference play to likely lock up another Oxford Regional. During that stretch, Ole Miss has a conference series against 5th-ranked Georgia this weekend, at 24th-ranked Arkansas next weekend, then closes it out at home against 7th-ranked Texas A&M before ending the regular season at 15th-ranked Alabama, then the SEC Tournament. Not easy, but the path is there for Ole Miss to make a run, that’s taking two out of the four series, and not getting swept in another, and Ole Miss will likely be going into the SEC Tournament, preparing for another weekend at Swayze Field. All Ole Miss has to do is take care of business and keep playing the way they’ve been playing, and hosting a Regional will be a very real thing for the Rebels. 

Ole Miss returns to action on Friday night as they welcome the 5th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs to Swayze Field for a three-game conference series. 

Photo Credits- Ole Miss baseball on X