Postseason baseball returns to Swayze Field this weekend after Ole Miss’s strong showing in the SEC tournament. Despite an inability to take down Texas A&M when it mattered most, the Rebels once again find themselves in good position to advance to a super regional and – perhaps – repeat 2014’s visit to Omaha for the College World Series.
Even though the Rebels were snubbed in favor of the hated LSU Tigers for the last national seed (of which the SEC earned a record-number four), quality baseball is still in store at Swayze this weekend. In arguably the toughest regional overall, Ole Miss will have to face off against Tulane (2 seed), Boston College (3), and Utah (4). Tulane (39-19, 15-7 AAC) boasts some serious power at the plate, slugging 60 home runs on the season so far, and will be a solid test for the Rebs’ pitching rotation. Boston College (31-20, 13-15 ACC) cannot boast the same offensive numbers, but a 10-10 record against top 25 RPI teams and a solid finish in the stacked ACC reflect the Eagles’ overall strength. Finally, Pac-12 champions Utah (that’s right, a major conference champion is our 4 seed this year) rounds out the field. Yes, they have a losing overall record (25-27, 19-11 PAC-12), but they have faced some solid talent in an admittedly-down PAC-12 and came out on top, despite preseason projections that they’d repeat last year’s result as dead last. Clearly, they have some grit.
The only thing that is set in stone at this point is that the Rebs will play Utah at 7 PM on Friday night after BC and Tulane spar at 3. From there, the double-elimination tournament games will take place at 1 PM and 5 PM on Saturday and Sunday. If necessary, a rematch of Sunday’s game 6 will take place on Monday evening to determine the winner. The Oxford regional is paired with Miami’s national seed; here’s hoping that the Rebs make it to Miami and beyond. 
