The Rebels drop the SEC Opening Series against the Razorbacks in a Wild Rubber Match

Ole Miss had their first losing weekend of the season, which came from the Arkansas Razorbacks' hands. It was tough to swallow in a wild back-and-forth rubber match on Sunday afternoon that saw the Rebels come within one of taking the series after picking up a device opening victory on Friday.

The week got off to a poor start, taking a beating in Mobile, Alabama, at the hands of the South Alabama Jaguars in the midweek, and then it ended with a sour taste in the mouth with not being able to put away the Hogs. The Rebels went 1-3 weekly and dropped from 13th to 18th in the latest D1 Baseball poll.

The Rebels got off to a hot start on Friday. The Rebels got after the Arkansas ace Zach Root. Hayden Federico took the first pitch and put it over the fence for an electric start to the series.

The Rebels tagged Root for 10 hits and seven runs, chasing him after three innings. The Rebels took a 9-2 lead after five innings. Hunter Elliott was pretty darn good, getting through 5 innings. Having him as you will be in any Friday game is a huge asset to the team. Mason Morris was able to go 3.1 innings even though it was a bit labored but got the job done, and the Rebels claimed game one 10-6.

Saturday wasn't great, but we will save some time on this one. Riley Maddox started well, but things played out very similarly to the Texas game, where he ran into major trouble in the 5th inning, giving up three runs on four hits and two walks in 4 innings pitched. The Rebels turned to Will Mccausland, who gave up five earned runs without recording a single out, pretty much ending this game as the Rebels would end up dropping this one 12-3.

The one positive was a bomb by Austin Fawley for his fifth of the season. Fawley was excellent this weekend and has seemingly claimed the full-time catcher role.

The rubber match on Sunday was an amazing back-and-forth game. This started off with a bang. After a Federico walk, Luke Hill would take one deep to put up the Rebels 2-0.

And then, in the third, Judd Utermark would park his 8th home run of the season for another two-run shot to put the Rebels up 4-0. Judd is continuing his march to a 15+ homer season.

Mason Nichols I thought was really good. He made it through 4.2 innings, and it was a shame he just quite wasn't able to make it out of the 5th, but he only allowed one earned. The defense on Sunday for Ole Miss was really bad.

Walker Hooks would come in next, which was Mangrum's right move, but he did not have his best stuff. He only recorded two outs while allowing three hits and three earned runs. After that, Brayden Jones would come on, but he did not have great stuff, allowing two runs in his one inning.

The Rebels would end up going down 8-5 but battled back in the 7th with a Sanford homer, a Fawley RBI single, and then a fielder's choice to tie things at 8.

Will Furniss, then in the 8th after a solo shot earlier in the game, would deliver a dribbler to left field, but the incredible hustle of Sanford allowed him to score from first base on what could have been the winning run and an incredible moment.

The Rebels has to rely on Spencer to get the last nine outs of this game, and unfortunately it was a little bit too much for him. The Rebels were down to the last out but unable to finish the job. However, Spencer did not allow a single earned run in his time, and that is because of the poor defense.

We have to have a real conversation about Owen Paino, who almost single-handedly cost this game with three errors, including a routine ground ball to begin the 9th. The freshman just looks lost right now both at the plate and especially defensively and has now become a massive liability for the team.

He might be talented and develop as a future all-American, similar to the career of Grae Kessinger, but he is not ready and is clearly struggling with the mental side of things. The plan is certainly not for him to be the everyday guy right now, as Luke Cheng has started at a short stop on Friday. He was playing well with two hits to start the game before taking a pitch to the face while trying to lay down a sacrifice bunt. Now, the reports are that there are no fractures for Cheng, that he is just in concussion protocol, and that he is expected back for the weekend. However, if he can't go, we need a different plan than Paino at short, and Bianco should tinker with a few options this midweek.

The Rebels have a real opportunity to bounce back as they will travel to Pearl for a rematch with the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in another ranked opportunity and then travel to Columbia, MO, to take on the Missouri Tiger, who looked to once again be the worst team in the SEC.

It was a frustrating end to the weekend, but this is a much more competitive ball club than the last two seasons. You were one out of taking the series against a good Arkansas team. You won't have to play teams like this every weekend; my thoughts about this team remain the same. They appear to be a middle-of-the-pack SEC team, which is good enough for a #2 seed in a regional at worst and gives you an outside shot at hosting, depending on how things shake out.

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