Coming into the weekend of May 10-12, the Rebels were 9-15 in conference play, about four wins away from the lucky number 13 required for a spot in the NCAA tournament. The NCAA and SEC Tournament were both unlikely despite their achievements as a top-25 RPI and 10 Quad-1 wins, which is crucial for a team on the bubble.
Their guests for the weekend, the No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies came into the series with only eight losses on the season and have been crushing the ball. The first seven of the starting nine batters in game one were all hitting .300 or above.
Game one (won 4-3)
The Aggies struck first to score, holding the Rebels to a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom of the second inning. Soon after, Judd Utermark crushed a two-out homer over the fence to shrink the gap 2-1.
Pitcher Riley Maddox started on the mound for the Rebels. Despite allowing runs in the first and second, Maddox kept a scoreless top of the third. This allowed the Rebels to catch up and tie it up with the Aggies 2-2, closing out the third.
Texas A&M would sneak in one more run to find a 3-2 lead, but this would be the last time they see a change in score for the remainder of the game.
Pitcher Wes Mendes relieved Maddox at the seventh. He faced eight Texas A&M batters and went two innings with four strikeouts, two walks and no hits or runs.
A two-run bottom of the eighth on Friday night — featuring a game-tying double by Jackson Ross who would later score on a sacrifice fly for the go-ahead run — prefaced an ice-cold ninth inning save by Connor Spencer.
Game two (won 10-2)
Saturday’s game was not as close. The Rebels shellacked the Aggies 10-2, nearly walking them off via run-rule in the eighth when Ethan Groff was thrown out at the plate trying to make it 11-1.
After storming out to an early 5-0 lead with Pitcher Liam Doyle on the hill, the Rebels kept themselves in an important series-winning position for the rest of the game.
The Aggies did not see a point on the board until the top of the third, with a two-out solo home run for a small sight of hope.
With the help of Jackson Ross and Ethan Groff, Ole Miss went into another scoring frenzy at the bottom of the fourth. The Rebels improved their score to a solid 9-1 as they headed into the final innings.
In scoreless innings for both sides, the Rebels added one more to solidify their final score, 10-1. Texas A&M would not see another point on the board until the top of the ninth with one final chance to score.
Pitcher Liam Doyle stood out in game two going 6 innings, giving up just 4 hits and one earned run on Saturday.
Ole Miss put away a crucial game two as they took the Series win 10-2, which was a win Rebel fans knew was needed with the hopes of an SEC Tournament trip.
Game three (lost 6-0)
While a sweep for Ole Miss would have nearly solidified their bubble status, it was not meant to be. The Aggies blanked the Rebels and won 6-0.
In what was a slow start for both sides, the Aggies found their footing first with a run in the third.
Texas A&M slowly stole the game from the Rebels with runs throughout the day, with a notable three in the sixth inning.
What’s next?
A series win against one of the most talented offenses in Division I gives the Rebels the hope for a positive SEC Tournament scenario in the next few weeks.
The Rebels are approaching their last mid week game at Southern Miss, and their last SEC series against defending National Champions Louisiana State.
