Three Key Baseball Series For Ole Miss in 2023

OXFORD, Miss. -- Baseball season is approaching quickly for the reigning national champion Ole Miss Rebels, and the schedule for Mike Bianco's team has some eye-catching matchups here in the preseason.

Before the first pitch of the year is thrown at Swayze Field next month, let's take a look at some of the key matchups that could teach us a lot about the 2023 Rebels on the diamond.

March 3-5: Cambria College Classic (Minneapolis, Minn.)

Conference play is always the most important time of the year, but the Rebels get a chance to face some strong competition in Minnesota in early March. At the Cambria College Classic, the Rebels will face the Maryland Terrapins (March 3), Minnesota Golden Gophers (March 4) and Nebraska Cornhuskers (March 5).

Prior to this meeting, the Rebels will also play host to Maryland in Oxford on Feb. 24-26, so these squads will likely be familiar with one another by that time. Still, facing three different opponents over a weekend is an interesting twist, and it will give Ole Miss some diversity in its schedule against teams it rarely faces. Also, it never hurts to prepare to face multiple teams in a weekend. After all, regionals are the same way.

March 16-18 at Vanderbilt

The Rebels have a daunting start to conference play when they travel to Nashville to face the Vanderbilt Commodores. By this time, Mike Bianco will likely want to have his starting lineups relatively set in stone after navigating non-conference play, especially with a tough opening slate in Nashville.

The Ole Miss-Vanderbilt baseball rivalry has had some special moments through the years, but we will start to see a picture of what this Ole Miss team may be capable of if they can take two from the 'Dores on the road.

April 21-23 vs. LSU

Many preseason polls are high on the LSU Tigers, and the Bayou Bengals enter in at No. 1 in D1Baseball's Top 25 to start the year. It was against LSU that the Rebels found some conference momentum last season in Baton Rouge, and this series being positioned late in the spring could provide another opportunity to finish strong down the stretch.

Honorable Mention: April 6-8 vs. Arkansas

When Ole Miss faces the Arkansas Razorbacks, it has become must-watch television regardless of the sport.

The same can be said for baseball. If Ole Miss wants to challenge for the SEC West crown, it will have to go through the Hogs and Tigers in more rivalry sets. Fortunately for the Rebels, both of this year's series are at Swayze Field, so that should provide some form of advantage.

You can follow John Macon on Twitter at @JMakeGillespie.

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