The Buzz: Ole Miss Baseball's Overlooked Key to Success in Oxford Regional

The Ole Miss Rebels have significant depth to on the star-studded roster, but a part of the squad that has been over looked this season could be the biggest factor in the longevity of their run in the NCAA Tournament this postseason.

The Rebels' bullpen has been a dividing factor in wins and losses all season for Ole Miss, and as the tournament arrives, this will continue to be a factor.

Ole Miss has a wide variety of pitchers out of the pen, including year-long shut down guys such as closer Connor Spencer and long reliever Mason Morris.

But the Rebels also have key contributors in the pen that are currently getting hot at the perfect time as NCAA Regionals arrive..

Multiple impactful games during the regular season were decided by either the dominance or the lack of it; causing the Rebels to drop games that could have been decisive in their national seeding.

However, come SEC Tournament time, the Rebels' entire pitching staff including the bullpen were lights out when it mattered most.

This includes a an SEC Tournament semifinal performance where the bullpen threw 4.1 innings without allowing a hit; therefore holding off LSU to no runs, their first time being shutout all season.

This helped push the Rebels into the SEC Championship Game, and despite a 3-2 loss to Vanderbilt, the appearance clinched Ole Miss home-field advantage this weekend in Oxford as they host an NCAA Regional for the first time since 2021.

The Rebels' bullpen will once again be important to the success of the team, but it does not rely solely on them as they hope to come in with run support, and have a defense play a solid glove behind them.

The Rebels will begin their College World Series run on Friday night as they take on the Murray State Racers at 7 p.m. CT following the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets versus the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.

NCAA OXFORD REGIONAL FIRST ROUND SCHEDULENo. 2 Georgia Tech (40-17) vs. No. 3 Western Kentucky (46-12): 3 p.m. on ESPN+No. 1 Ole Miss (40-19) vs. No. 4 Murray St. (39-13): 7 p.m. on ESPN+.