Ole Miss completes its eight-game homestand to begin the season at 4 p.m. against Southern Miss. The Rebels (6-1) head to Greenville, North Carolina, this weekend for the Keith LeClair Classic. Ole Miss faces, in order, High Point, East Carolina and Indiana on the East Carolina campus.

Wes Burton has another audition today. The Santa Monica, California, freshman went five innings in his final intrasquad of the preseason and was quite impressive in his lone appearance this season, giving up just a walk in eight batters faced against then-No. 1 Louisville. Burton retired seven straight before a leadoff walk in the ninth ended his day.

Burton is the frontrunner to be the Rebels’ midweek starter, and that’s a valuable role, but he could also be the best option to occupy a high-leverage spot in the bullpen which Ole Miss may be an arm short with right now considering Tyler Myers’ injury and Greer Holston’s early struggles, though several of the freshmen have flashed in limited opportunities.

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Burton gained attention for muttering to himself during the outing against the Cardinals, but the actual pitching was quite noteworthy. The fastball is heavy and around 90 MPH from his 6-foot-8 frame, and he showed enough secondary stuff to be effective. After missing time in the fall with a finger injury, he got better as the preseason went on.

Mike Bianco gets an extended look today, and Burton can gain a good bit of favor with a quality outing.

“Wes has thrown it well for us,” Bianco said. “He was up and down in the fall but part of that was the injury. He’s been lights out lately… he looked so sharp and so good (against Louisville).

Southern Miss is 6-1 on the season, with a sweep of Murray State, two of three from Central Arkansas and a midweek, 6-5, win over New Orleans. The Golden Eagles pitched by committee in that midweek win over the Privateers.

Sophomore left-hander Drew Boyd is scheduled to start for Southern Miss against the Rebels, but the plan beyond him is unknown, head coach Scott Berry told SportsTalk Mississippi on Monday. The flu is significantly affecting USM’s roster, and three more players had positive diagnoses this week.

“We’ve got a bad problem with the flu right now," Berry said. "I don’t know exactly where it’s come from but started last week and working it’s way through there. Hopefully we won’t get any more bad news with someone else with it. The biggest concern is we’re all together on that bus headed to Oxford. Trying to stay as sanitized as you can."

Boyd redshirted in 2018 because of Tommy John surgery and didn’t appear in a game last season. He threw two innings of two-hit shutout work against UNO last week, striking out four and walking one on 46 pitches. He was diagnosed with the flu over the weekend.

The two teams also meet in Pearl on March 31.

Baseball America: Ole Miss jumped two spots from No. 15 to No. 13

D1Baseball.com: Ole Miss moved from No. 17 to No. 15

Perfect Game: Ole Miss stayed at No. 16

Collegiate Baseball: Ole Miss moved from No. 19 to No. 14

NCBWA: Ole Miss moved from No. 20 to No. 15