There was a moment early Friday evening when Ole Miss seemed to have things in order to even the series against Tennessee this weekend.

Vols starter Garrett Crochet had to leave the game after a comebacker hit him in the face in the third inning, and Ole Miss had a runner on with a two-run lead.

But instead of adding on and extending against the Tennessee bullpen, the Rebels repeatedly made mistakes and miscues, doing the opposite of winning baseball at a critical point in the season.

Tennessee took advantage of the self harm and clinched the series with a 7-5 win over Ole Miss. The Rebels have lost six straight games and are now 32-23 overall and 15-14 in the SEC. Ole Miss’ RPI has tumbled 15 spots down to 32 as of Friday night.

"You almost have to see it to believe it,” Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said. “It’s unfortunate. Saw things that I haven’t seen my 30 years o coaching. The pressure is immense and guys are trying so hard to win and want so badly to win.

"You could feel the pressure, and it’s real, but you have to handle that in this league.”

It makes things potentially important Saturday and Tuesday, as Ole Miss may need another win to be a guarantee for NCAA Tournament inclusion, though the resume could be good enough already. Ole Miss’ six straight losses are the most in the Bianco era, though it’s happened three times — 2004 and 2013 are the other two occurrences.

Ole Miss will begin the SEC Tournament on Tuesday and can be the No. 6, No. 7 or No. 8 seed in Hoover depending on Saturday outcomes.

No. 6 (9:30 a.m.) — A win and a Texas A&M loss to Arkansas

No. 7 (~1 p.m.) — A win and a Texas A&M loss

No. 8 (4:30 p.m.) — A loss

Thomas Dillard had four hits while hitting in the leadoff spot for the first time this season, but the rest of the Rebels went 3-for-24 including a 1-for-10 mark with runners in scoring position. Ole Mis is 1-for-14 over the two days in that stat.

But in addition two a lack of situational hitting, the Rebels ran into all kinds of trouble on the bases. Ole Miss got two on with no outs in the sixth, but Tennessee picked off both runners on one play. A poor decision to send a runner home an inning later ended a frame, and Ole Miss almost had the first out of the inning at third base down three in the ninth inning.

Ole Miss used six different pitchers, as Doug Nikhazy gave up five hits and four runs in four innings. The Rebels tied the game in the eighth, but Tennessee took a three-run lead into the ninth courtesy of a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly and a passed ball.

Austin Miller, Kaleb Hill and Parker Caracci pitched in the eighth inning.

There were 20 combined walks in the game with the Rebels giving Tennessee 11 free passes not including the one hit by pitch.

First pitch Saturday is at 11 a.m. CT.