A home run is one of the most exciting things that can happen in a baseball game.
It’s a confidence‑booster, a game‑changer, a demoralizing swing whose impact can’t be measured numerically. But it’s not a great long‑term winning strategy, because when the balls aren’t flying, neither are the wins.
It’s a nice weapon to have, but sometimes it’s better to just get on base with a walk, an infield single, a bunt, anything to build pressure.
That was the lesson Ole Miss learned Wednesday night, and it was a loud one.
The Rebels trailed North Alabama, who is still adjusting to life as a Division I program, 4-1 entering the bottom of the sixth. Their only run came on a Tristan Bissetta solo home run, a low line drive to right in the third inning. After that, Ole Miss didn’t put a single runner on base for two straight innings, which led to a fiery message from longtime coach Mike Bianco in the dugout.
Absolute rope from @TristanBissetta pic.twitter.com/9e3kw04lhi
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 5, 2026
“I can’t repeat exactly what I said. My wife would probably be mad at me,” Bianco said after the game. “I didn’t like what I was seeing. Once again, we looked similar to Sunday (a 9-2 loss to No. 16 Coastal Carolina). We looked sluggish. It was one of those ‘woe is me, it’s not my day’ types of feelings. So, we tried to light a fire under them and make sure we didn’t let another one slip away.”
The Rebels didn’t let Wednesday’s game slip away, even when Mother Nature tried to help the Lions.
Ole Miss strung together six singles and a walk to plate five runs and take a one‑run lead. The rally was interrupted by a lightning delay with runners at the corners and one out.
Worst sight in baseball.
Weather delay for now. pic.twitter.com/7ZcG5nXxxG
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 5, 2026
“With lightning delays you can at least work around the timing a bit,” Bianco said. “This one wasn’t too long, and once we knew they were pulling the tarp around 9:25 (p.m.) you could plan for it.”
The delay lasted 70 minutes, but Ole Miss didn’t lose momentum. Two of their sixth‑inning runs came after play resumed. North Alabama tried to answer by turning a leadoff walk into a run, but JP Robertson struck out three straight hitters to end the threat.
Ole Miss added two more runs in the seventh to stretch the lead to three, and from there the Rebels cruised to the finish.
It’s a good sign that Ole Miss can, figuratively, flip a switch and start playing winning baseball. But you’d prefer not to need the switch at all.
More importantly, the win matters less for the short‑term than the long‑term: a loss to North Alabama would have damaged the Rebels’ NCAA Tournament seeding.
Pitchers of Record
- WP: JP Robertson (2-0), 1 IP, 1 H, 2 K, 1 HP, 15 TP
- LP: Justus Agosto (0-1), 0.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 WP, 23 TP
- S: Luke Koenig (2), 1.2 IP, 3 H, 4 K, 28 TP (20 ST)
Ole Miss Batting Leaders
- Will Furniss: 2-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, 1 K
- Tristan Bissetta: 1-4, 1 RBI, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 K
- Collin Reuter: 1-3, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Next Up
Ole Miss has just one more weekend series to remove what’s plaguing them before the part of the schedule that earned them recognition as the toughest schedule in the country begins.
The Rebels will host Evansville in a three-game series starting Friday. First-pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. and all three games will stream on SECN+.
