Ole Miss Breaks Streak With Series Win Over Mississippi State: Three Takeaways

The Ole Miss Rebels secured a series win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs for the first time since 2015.

After getting punched in the mouth on Friday night, this Ole Miss Rebels baseball team showed some grit on Saturday and Sunday, winning the series over the Mississippi State Bulldogs in walk-off fashion.

Something flipped in the eighth inning of game two, which saw a four-run bottom half and the game knotted at seven. From that point on, the Rebels looked like a different team.

Here are three takeaways from the series win over Mississippi State.

Resilient Rebs

After a disappointing start to the series, where a seven-run top of the sixth sealed a game one victory for the Bulldogs, the Rebels continued to battle.

On Saturday night, State held a four-run lead going into the bottom of the eighth, and the game felt out of reach. The Rebels hadn't produced many clutch hits in the past two series, but a Will Furniss leadoff single provided a spark. Jackson Ross followed with a double, and momentum had shifted ever so slightly towards Ole Miss.

Campbell Smithwick, Trenton Lyons, and Brayden Randle all produced at the bottom of the order with clutch RBIs. Ethan Groff's double-plated Randle, and the score was knotted at seven.

READ MORE: 'Energy!' Ole Miss Thrives in 'Relentless' Series Win Over Mississippi State

The Rebels continued to show fight with extra-inning heroics from Connor Spencer who ate innings to keep the Rebels within reach. Ethan Lege also had multiple clutch hits and scored a run to send the game to the top of the 12th. Jackson Ross finally secured the win in the bottom of the 12th with a two-run single.

This could be a good sign for the rest of the season, especially after being swept in back-to-back weekends. Wins like this can launch you back into postseason contention, and the Rebs look to do just that with a couple of manageable SEC series coming up.

Rotation Solidified?

Riley Maddox has looked very good early in his starts, but he has had a blow-up inning when the order flips over the third time. With that being said, he can give you a quality start and might need to have a shorter leash later in the ballgame.

Liam Doyle had another big game with nine strikeouts on Saturday, and he allowed one walk and only gave up two earned runs in 4.2 innings pitched. Doyle looked locked in and put on a show in what felt like a do-or-die point in the season.

Mason Nichols got the nod on Sunday and put on a veteran performance. The move felt eminent after rotation limbo had haunted the Rebels through the SEC slate. Nichols looked like a Friday night starter, producing weak contact and allowing only four hits.

It seems that this mix might be what works. The order might need to be tweaked, but if the offense is swinging a hot bat, these guys can pitch with a lead.

Young Guns Come Up Clutch

A few young guys came through in big spots in this series.

Will Furniss walked it off on Sunday in run-rule fashion with a three-run bomb. He also had a couple of big knocks on Saturday that proved crucial in the late-inning comeback.

Campbell Smithwick made the most of his start in right field with multiple big-time at-bats that helped secure the win on Saturday. He also got the first two putouts of the game in right field and looked more comfortable in the box.

Brayden Randle hit the ball hard and had a big RBI double in Saturday's win. He also held his own at short, and Trenton Lyons also produced some clutch RBIs. It seems like the younger guys on this team had a coming out party and really produced in crucial spots in these ballgames.

The Rebels have improved to 5-10 in conference play on the year and head to Athens next weekend before hosting the Alabama Crimson Tide the week after. This is another opportunity to build on the momentum captured from this weekend's series win.

Like Ole Miss, Georgia also sits in fifth place in the SEC East, and Alabama is coming off a series win over the top-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks. The back half of the SEC slate is heating up, and for the Rebels to get back into the postseason conversation, the next couple of series will be crucial.