After a tough series at home against the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Ole Miss Rebels traveled east to take on the Auburn Tigers, claiming two out of three games to take the series on The Plains.
Auburn has been in the thick of one of its more disappointing seasons in recent history, and this Ole Miss baseball team looked to try and expose it on its home turf. While the Rebs were able to take the series, in some way, the weekend felt like a "could have been" after dropping Sunday's game.
Here are three takeaways from the weekend action in Auburn.
Mashing In The Middle
The Ole Miss bats really came to play this weekend and supplied tons of run support throughout the series. Much of the success came from the middle of this Rebels lineup.
Game one got off to a loud start after a Jackson Ross homer, and he had a very productive series, collecting four RBIs. Will Furniss also had some big swings of the bat, leaving the yard in game one to help the Rebels keep pilling on.
While the lineup looked to come to together and really feed off each other's at-bats, one guy stood apart from the rest. Andrew Fischer continues to stand out in his debut season in the SEC as he homered in three straight games and crushed a two-out double to clear the bases in game three of the weekend.
With Texas A&M coming to town, the middle of the lineup needs to continue to be selective but also aggressive when they get a pitch they can drive.
Pitching With A Lead
While the Rebels' bats were hot all series, the pitching staff struggled when given run support. One of the most important parts of the game is being able to pitch with a lead.
Mason Nichols didn't have his best stuff on Sunday but battled through out his outing. After the Rebels put up five in the first, the Tigers responded with two the the bottom half. When your offense gives you support, especially early in the contest, it is crucial to have a shutdown inning to give the hot bats another opportunity.
Eventually, five runs wasn't enough, and multiple passed balls cost the Rebels a sweep on the road.
Bullpen Struggles
During the beginning of the year, the bullpen looked to be the strong point of this Ole Miss roster, and after another rough ending to a weekend, it looks to be a weakness.
Depth isn't an issue, it seems, as freshman Wes Mendes was great in his outing on Saturday, securing his first collegiate win.
Sundays have been a horror show, and with Mason Nichols shouldering the load as the Sunday starter, it leaves Coach Mike Bianco scratching his head.
Texas A&M is arguably the best offensive team in the SEC and is led by outfield phenom and SEC RBI leader Braden Montgomery. Montgomery, a native of Madison, Miss., has had a phenomenal season in the SEC after transferring in from Stanford.
The Aggies are coming off a series loss in Baton Rouge and will be hungry for a road series win this weekend before the postseason begins in Hoover. This team is a top contender in Hoover and could be a squad that makes a lot of noise on the road to Omaha.
The Rebels have a must-win midweek game this Wednesday as they welcome the Murray State Racers to Swayze Field.
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