Rebels inch up in polls with four top-15 games on tap this week
OXFORD | Ole Miss moved up at least one spot in all the top 25 polls this week, getting national notoriety for the continued season-long success and series win at Texas A&M over the weekend.
The Rebels (22-3, 4-2) have the most wins in the country and are No. 4 nationally per D1Baseball.com, USA TODAY Coaches Poll, Perfect Game and Baseball America. That's a one-position increase in the first three and a three-spot jump from Baseball America.
Ole Miss has four top-20 home games this week with a Tuesday 6:30 first pitch against No. 14 Southern Miss (D1Baseball.com) and a Thursday-to-Saturday series versus No. 5 Arkansas (D1Baseball.com).
The Razorbacks were No. 4 last week in multiple polls before losing two of three to No. 2 Florida in Gainesville.
The Rebels won the first and last games of a three-game set with the Aggies, as all three games were decided by a single run. Ole Miss outscored Texas A&M a combined 10-3 in the final three innings of each game over the weekend.
"I don't think we played great but obviously happy we won two out of three," Mike Bianco said. "Obviously happy we won two of three and proud of some of the good things that happened... My takeaway is we handled some punched and handled our blows and showed the toughness needed in this league."
Ole Miss is 18-1 in nonconference games, already equaling last year's win total in out-of-SEC contests. There are seven nonconference games remaining this season. The Rebels' best nonconference regular season record under Mike Bianco is 23-3 in 2002. That group lost 10 of its last 12 conference games to miss the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.
The No. 4 ranking is the highest for Ole Miss in the regular season since the 2008 Rebels were ranked No. 2 in early March. The 2014 Ole Miss team finished the season No. 3 (Baseball America) after a semifinals appearance in the College World Series.
While still a little early to track, Ole Miss is No. 3 in RPI. The Rebels are outscoring opponents by nearly four runs per game (7.1 to 3.2).