No. 20 Ole Miss can enjoy a relaxing Mother’s Day after wrapping up its weekend series against No. 9 Texas A&M a day early.
Most fans know how Saturday unfolded. Texas A&M hit seven home runs in an 18-5 run-rule win, then Ole Miss answered with a 6-5 victory behind Taylor Rabe’s career-high 14 strikeouts to take the series.
Career high night for @RabeTaylor 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZWUVqxLluu
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 10, 2026
Depending on how the rest of Sunday shakes out around the SEC, that win might even give the Rebels a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament. At the very least, it pushes them a lot closer to locking up an NCAA Regional host spot.
Mike Bianco isn’t spending much time on the math. He’s focused on the only thing that matters this late in a baseball season: winning every game.
“They’re all big,” he said after Saturday’s double-header. “There are enough people that write about it and those things, so it’s not for me to really judge. Our job is to run to the finish line. Just win as many as you can while you still can.”
This writer is one of those people.
After clinching the series, Ole Miss woke up Sunday at No. 13 in the NCAA RPI and No. 16 in the Diamond Sports Ranking. That’s the right side of the hosting line, even if nothing is locked in yet.
The general consensus is that 16 SEC wins gets the Rebels into hosting position. At 14-13 in league play, they need two wins next weekend at No. 19 Alabama. Asking for a sweep is a stretch. Asking for a series win is reasonable and keeps the pressure manageable.
What could complicate things is the midweek game against UT Martin.
Last week, eight midweek games across the country were cancelled, and all but one cited the threat of inclement weather. It’s hard to ignore the pattern. Midweek games carry real RPI risk, and teams know it. A loss to a low‑rated opponent can undo a lot of good work in a hurry.
If Ole Miss were to fall to UT Martin, the path to hosting without a deep SEC Tournament run would get much steeper. UT Martin sits at No. 236 in RPI. The Rebels’ worst loss so far is to Memphis at No. 116. There isn’t much to gain Tuesday, and there’s plenty to lose.
Sure, Ole Miss could use the game to get younger players some at‑bats or give Judd Utermark a shot at the home run record in front of the home crowd. But a loss would overshadow all of it.
In May, every decision carries weight. And every loss echoes louder than it should.
