OXFORD | Ole Miss had a good week and a bad day. It also got a glimpse of what’s necessary as the postseason is here.

The Rebels took two of three from No. 2 Auburn to close the regular season and finish in the top half of the Southeastern Conference. Ole Miss opens Hoover on Wednesday and should be the No. 7 seed against the No. 10/No. 15 winner at 4:30 p.m. That’s courtesy of winning the three-way tiebreaker against Tennessee and Alabama.

Ole Miss finishes the regular season 37-18 overall and 16-14 in the SEC with an RPI that’s in the logjam of teams from No. 12-No.18. The Rebels are in the host conversation and have a gaudy 33 games and 17 wins against quad one opponents. Ole Miss, however, has the easiest conference schedule out of the 16 SEC teams if the committee pays attention to such.

The Rebels will hear their name called on Memorial Day and could have more baseball in Oxford. But, wherever the venue, Ole Miss has to manage its pitching effectively. It’s an art not a science, and there are pitfalls.

Auburn erased a five-run deficit over the last four innings to take the finale, 13-8, scoring 10 unanswered. The Rebels were trying to piece it together on the mound without its top three relievers – Mason Morris, Will McCausland and Connor Spencer – available.

Morris and Spencer threw during Friday’s win, and McCausland wasn’t available after just 13 pitches on Thursday but also getting warm during the late innings on Friday.

A regional takes three wins minimum, and the Rebels have to use at least one of those three arms typically for victories. The situation is potentially magnified with third starter Mason Nichols suffering an oblique strain on Saturday. There was no update on the severity or timeline during postgame interviews.

McCausland or Morris would be the most likely options should Nichols miss one or more starts.

Hunter Elliott had his best performance of the season this week and has consistently pitched well in the ace role. But, beyond that, the Rebels are going to the bullpen early and playing guess work with their three bullpen horses. Up-and-down warming up is taxing and can also inhibit future availability. McCausland on Saturday is an example.

The Rebels committed three errors that led to four unearned runs during Auburn’s comeback, and those mistakes will end Ole Miss’ season in two weeks. But, beyond that, Ole Miss hasn’t shown the depth to get through a lot of innings with the middle part of the reliever group.

Ole Miss’ chance to host is always valuable. The Rebels have won just one road regional in Bianco’s tenure but have moved to the super regional round seven of nine times while playing in Oxford.

It’s even more obvious with the chance to play a four seed and save some semblance of the Rebels’ key arms. But, either way, Bianco and pitching coach Joel Mangrum must operate to win a tournament instead of just a present game.

This weekend showed the considerable potential. It also showed the biggest weakness.