Ole Miss Baseball: Rebels Finish Season With 8-4 Win, Tourney Begins

Ole Miss baseball finished as strong as expected. Skipper Mike Bianco’s ‘Energy Saturday’ spoke volumes on the field Saturday as the Rebels defeated the No.23 Auburn Tigers 8-4. The Rebels needed the win to gain a little momentum headed into the SEC Tourney which begins this coming week.

Ole Miss baseball fans who watched Saturdays game against Auburn saw a completely different team. After suffering losses in games 1 and 2, the Rebels found themselves with their backs against the wall. Although they have a spot in the 12 team SEC Tourney, they needed a win in the regular season finale. One, they needed to finish the regular season on a positive note. And two, they needed the extra win to help their postseason chances beyond the SEC Tourney.

Coach Mike Bianco tweeted about ‘Energy Saturday’ early that morning. Well, the Ole Miss Rebels (32-24, 14-16) found the energy and found the offense which had been absent in the series. The Rebels were strong at the plate and won the 8-4 decision against No.23 Auburn (34-22, 16-14). With the win the Rebels were able to avoid the sweep and close out the regular season with a little momentum.

Of course, Ole Miss is slotted to play at least one game in the SEC Tourney today in Hoover. The Rebels will enter the tourney as a No.9 seed and face No.8 seed Auburn for the fourth time in six days. How will the Rebels fare against Auburn? Well, that remains to be seen. However, it shows the importance of Saturdays win. For now, let’s look at Saturday’s game and enjoy the regular season ending SEC win. Of course, it’s always by the numbers.

At The Plate

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Of course, when this Rebel team shows up offensively there is little doubt they can win games. Well, the Rebel bats showed up strong on Saturday.

In total, 6 Rebels totalled 13 hits which helped produce 8 runs. Rebel batters were patient in the box and produced 5 walks while only tallying 3 strike outs on the day.

Tate Blackman had a career day at the plate going 4 for 5 and knocked in 3 RBI. Blackman’s 4 hits are a career high for the junior.

Ryan Olenek and Nick Fortes were also hot at the plate. Olenek had a 3 for 4 day and knocked in 2 RBI, while Fortes went 3 for 5 and also knocked in 2 RBI. Another Rebel who stepped up at the plate was freshman Cooper Johnson. Johnson went 1 for 2 and tallied an RBI. Tim Rowe went 1 for 4 while Will Golsan went 1 for 5 in the box for the Rebels.

On The Mound

Of course, David Parkinson drew the start for the final game of the series against the Tigers. Parkinson went 4.2 innings on the rubber allowing only 1 earned run on 6 hits. He committed 2 walks while recording 8 Ks.

Coach Mike Bianco made the call in the 5th and Will Stokes took the mound. Stokes went 4.1 innings allowing no runs and only 1 hit. Stokes gave up no walks while recording 5 Ks. He picked up the win for his effort.

Tourney Begins Today

No.9 seed Ole Miss will face No.8 seed Auburn in an elimination game today. Brady Feigl is the probable starter for the Rebels on the rubber. First pitch for today’s game is slotted for 4:30pm CT and the game will be televised on the SEC Network. Good luck Rebels!