Ole Miss didn’t want to sweat announcements on Sunday and Monday.

The Rebels didn’t want to wait 10 days to play again.

Doug Nikhazy, Hayden Dunhurst and Co. made sure neither of those eventualities came to fruition.

Fifth-seeded Ole Miss held off 12th-seeded Auburn in the nightcap of the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament Tuesday night at The Hoover Met, 7-4.

"It's a good feeling when you run (Nikhazy) out there," Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. "I think everybody's used to that, especially at Ole Miss. It makes a lot easier on Day One when you have somebody like Doug running out there."

With the win, Ole Miss earned a spot in the double elimination portion of the tournament, which begins Wednesday. The Rebels (39-17) will face Vanderbilt (39-13) in the final game Wednesday. The tournament is double-elimination until Saturday’s semifinals.

Ole Miss now has 19 SEC wins. If there was any doubt about the Rebels’ hosting possibilities, they eliminated it on Tuesday night.

"I'm so excited," Nikhazy said. "We've got one of the best environments in the country and I'm so happy for our fans. We're going to put together a really good weekend, I'm sure, in Oxford."

Auburn’s season ended Tuesday. The Tigers finished with a 25-27 mark.

Nikhazy, working on four days’ rest, was terrific for Ole Miss. After giving up a leadoff home run to Ryan Bliss, Nikhazy retired 14 Auburn hitters in a row before walking Nate LaRue with two outs in the fifth inning. The Tigers added scratched out a run in the fifth on Garrett Farquhar’s RBI-single, but Nikhazy (9-2) dominated the them all night.

"(Bliss) is a really good hitter and a guy we circled in the lineup, so when he put a good swing on a pitch like that, it gets you locked in for the rest of your outing and gets you really locked in," Nikhazy said. "When we get down the stretch with this team, with the things that we've been through, you look back at it and think, 'Nothing can beat us now.' Especially here in Hoover, we love this place and we play really well here. This team's been through a lot and we start playing with a lot more confidence when you have a lot of chips on your shoulder."

Using a devastating breaking ball and consistent command, the efficient Nikhazy allowed just two runs and four hits in six innings of work, walking one while striking out seven.

"I felt fantastic and I think the conversation that me and Coach B had was we were going to go if I felt good," Nikhazy said. "It was a great situation where I came out and I felt every single day this week. I really wanted the ball today and I was happy that Coach B gave me the opportunity. ...It was very fluid and worked out very well."

While Nikhazy stymied the Tigers, Ole Miss’ bats jumped on Auburn’s Jack Owen. An RBI-single from Jacob Gonzalez tied the game at 1-1 in the first, and then the Rebels chased Owen (2-5) in the third.

Justin Bench’s inside-the-park home run — it likely would’ve been ruled a home run had a review been needed, but the ball caromed off the chain link fence and into the left field corner, allowing Bench to circle the bases easily — gave the Rebels the lead for good. Gonzales followed with a single, then Kevin Graham doubled and Tim Elko walked to load the bases. Peyton Chatagnier’s single scored two runs, and later in the inning, TJ McCants walked with the bases loaded to extend Ole Miss’ lead to 5-1.

"I thought we got off to a great start offensively," Bianco said, adding that it was pleasing to see Chatagnier and Dunhurst get going offensively.

"Obviously, they're a huge part of our offense and we're not quite the (same) team without those guys kind of going on all cylinders," Bianco said. "It was nice."

Auburn got consecutive RBI-hits from Farquhar and Bliss in the seventh off Ole Miss reliever Brandon Johnson, forcing Bianco to turn to closer Taylor Broadway with two outs in the frame. Broadway induced Tyler Miller to fly out to left field to end the threat.

In the bottom of the seventh, Dunhurst hit a two-out, two-run rocket of a home run over the right field wall off Auburn reliever Carson Skipper to push the Rebels’ lead to 7-4.

"That gave us a cushion feeling a little better going into the last couple innings," Bianco said. "Dunhurst was swinging it well in Game 3 (Saturday) at Georgia as well, so I think he's back to being his normal self. I think that's big. Confidence is big this time of year and whenever you can have a huge game, that can propel you the rest of the way."

Broadway closed it out from there, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out two in 2.1 innings. It was his 13th save of the season.

"He's just a fantastic pitcher," Nikhazy said. "He just continues to mix it up and make it very tough on hitters. He's one of those stoppers in the SEC who just doesn't get talked about enough. I think as the season continues you're going to continue to see him have these lock-down innings."

Bianco said he’s “not sure yet” who will face Vanderbilt Wednesday night, adding he and the coaching staff will get back to the hotel and discuss it more before making any decisions.

The Commodores, meanwhile, are expected to go with right-hander Christian Little. The heralded freshman has been used in the mid-week at times this season, sporting a 95-mile per hour fastball and a plus slider. The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder from St. Louis has been hit hard at times. He’s 3-1 with a 5.57 earned run average. In 32.1 innings pitched, Little has given up 30 hits, including seven home runs, while walking 15 and striking out 37.