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Ole Miss baseball: Previewing the Oxford regional

By Randy Morgan

Jun 15, 2014; Omaha, NE, USA; Mississippi Rebels outfielder J.B. Woodman (12) and pinch runner Cameron Dishon (14) celebrate after Dishon scores the Rebels first run against the Virginia Cavaliers during game four of the 2014 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. Virginia defeated Mississippi 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 15, 2014; Omaha, NE, USA; Mississippi Rebels outfielder J.B. Woodman (12) and pinch runner Cameron Dishon (14) celebrate after Dishon scores the Rebels first run against the Virginia Cavaliers during game four of the 2014 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. Virginia defeated Mississippi 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports /
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Ole Miss will face Utah at 7 pm CT on Friday night and look to work their way through the Oxford regional. Could face Miami in Super Regional round.

Ole Miss was selected as one of 16 hosts sites for the NCAA regional’s. Ole Miss will host Tulane, Boston College, and Utah this weekend in the Oxford regional. The Rebels look to advance to play in the Super Regional round next week, where they are paired against the Coral Gables regional. Ole Miss is seeking another trip to Omaha. For the Rebels to do that, they will have to work their way through their own regional. Here is how they can do it.

2 Seed – Tulane Green Wave

The former SEC member won the AAC regular season with an overall record of 39-19. This Green Wave team has some impressive wins this year, including sweeps over LSU and Southern Mississippi. Tulane is also 6-1 over top 25 teams this year. This is a tough two-seed for the Rebels.

Tulane doesn’t pop out on paper anywhere, but they will beat you by scoring. In some of their biggest wins this season, they scored 11 on Arizona, 12 on Southern Miss, and seven on LSU. The Green Wave are led by Stephen Alemais, who leads the team with a .318 batting average and 35 runs.

The Green Wave have some power in their lineup as well, with three players with double-digit home run counts. Jake Willsey, Jeremy Montalbano, and Hunter Hope hit  10, 11, and 13 home runs respectively.

On the mound, the Wave boast  four starters with sub 4.08 ERA’s. The Rebels are most likely to face Tulane on the second day of the regional, after the Wave take on the three seed, Boston College. I expect Tulane to throw Emerson Gibbs (2.44 ERA) on the first day, and then Ross Massey (2.40) on day two.

The Rebels can beat Tulane, if they continue this hot streak from the SEC tournament. But they will need the pitching to vastly improve based on what I saw in Hoover.

Related Story: Ole Miss baseball: What we learned in Hoover.

3 Seed – Boston College Golden Eagles 

Boston College is a lot less scary than Tulane. The Golden Eagles finished the season at 31-20 overall, but 13-15 in conference.

The Golden Eagles do have two players hitting over .300, but their leading home run hitter is Joe Cronin with four. This squad does not hit the long ball very often. Their best series victory this season is over Virginia.

On the mound, the Eagles have two starters that can go deep into games. Jacob Stevens (2.04 ERA) and Justin Dunn (1.35) have both given the Eagles some solid starts this season. Mike King is another pitcher the Eagles could use if needed.

Ole Miss hopes they can face the Golden Eagles on day two in the winners bracket.

4 Seed – Utah Utes 

The Utes of Utah barely made the NCAA tournament this season. The Utes regular season record was 25-27, but their conference record was 19-11. The Pac-12 was down this season, and the Utes took advantage.

This Utah squad looks a lot like Boston College. They don’t hit for power like Tulane, but can hit the long ball when needed. Their leader in homers this season is  Dallas Carroll, who hit seven.

Next: 8 reasons Ole Miss will make it to Omaha

The Utes also have some guys who can get on base. They have 5 players with 30+ games who are hitting over .300. Their leader in average is Cody Scaggari.

On the mound, the Utes will bring Jayson Rose to face the Rebels. The ace has a 2.62 ERA and a 8-5 record. Rose is a powerful pitcher who can go deep into games. The Rebels will have to find a way to stop him.

Who will the Rebels play if they win the Regional? 

Ole Miss is matched up with the Miami Hurricanes this season, meaning if they can get out of Oxford, they will play the winner of the Coral Gables regional. T

The Miami Regional looks like this. two seed FAU, three seed Long Beach State, and four seed Stetson.  If the Hurricanes were to advance, likewise with Ole Miss, it would set up a rematch of a 2006 Super Regional matchup between the two.

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