Mike Clement: What is the best-case postseason scenario for Ole Miss baseball?
Ole Miss baseball entered the weekend tied for 12th in the SEC.
The Rebels exited in a tie for ninth.
Ole Miss swept Missouri (its first series win at home all season) to keep alive its hopes for postseason baseball. The first step is qualifying for the SEC Tournament, and the Rebels have significantly improved their chances. Only the Top 12 make it to Hoover.
But they’re also fighting on their last legs for the NCAA Tournament.
Ole Miss has been 17 times in 21 seasons under head coach Mike Bianco. The last time the Rebels were left out was 2017.
Up next is a midweek matchup with Southern Miss, the No. 14 team in the country. Veteran righty Drew McDaniel will start. Ole Miss then hits the road for four (three at LSU, one at Arkansas State) before closing out the regular season at home against Texas A&M.
“Best-case scenario, shoot, you run off a 5-1 stretch over your last six, that puts you at 15-15 (in the SEC),” Ole Miss hitting coach Mike Clement said, during an interview on the Ole Miss Spirit’s Talk of Champions podcast.
“Traditionally, that gets you in. The RPI’s going to take care of itself at that point. You beat two really good teams, five of six. Yeah, that’s an easy two (seed), I think.”
Ole Miss has an RPI problem.
The Rebels are No. 58 in the country, and they only have three Top 50 wins. Just one SEC team with a league record south of .500 has reached the national tournament in the last decade.
“History says you have to get to 13 to have any chance,” Clement said. “Alabama got in last year with 12, but if you start to get into 12 or 13, RPI becomes a factor. Who’s on the selection committee probably has some affect on that. You’d like to take those things out of those people’s hands.
“With 12 or 13 comes you’ve got to win in Hoover. Put your head down and go win a bunch of these last six.”
The SEC Tournament is set for May 24-29.
Ole Miss last won the tournament in 2018, its third in program history and first since 2006.
“From the pitching side of things, I think we’ve solidified the weekend,” Clement said. Ole Miss has utilized Dylan DeLucia, Hunter Elliott and Derek Diamond, in that order, for the last few weeks.
The starting rotation has a combined ERA of 3.90 over its last 12 games.
“DeLucia didn’t have a great start against Missouri, but he’s solidified himself on a series opener,” Clement said. ”Hunter Elliott, his numbers are really good. Roles are established. How can we be more consistent offensively? We were this weekend. It was good. That’s an SEC sweep, which we haven’t had, which can’t be discounted.
“That’s what we needed to do. Unfortunately, it’s a little more of a relief than a joy at this point, but we’ve put ourselves in that situation.”
Check out our full interview with Clement below.
