Ole Miss is reeling as it goes to Hoover, Ala., for the Southeastern Conference baseball tournament, which starts Wednesday.
The Rebels (36-20, 16-14 SEC) have lost five straight league games. They were swept at home by Auburn last weekend. The Tigers claimed the SEC West title and probably sewed up the right to host a regional.
Mississippi Valley State and Southern Miss will also begin tournament play on Wednesday.
In the Southwestern Athletic Tournament, MVSU (23-28. 16-8 SWAC), the second seed in the SWAC East, faces West No. 3 Grambling State (18-30, 10-14). The tournament continues through Sunday at Fairgrounds Field in Shreveport, La.
In the Conference USA Tournament, second-seeded Southern Miss (32-21, 14-10 C-USA) opens round-robin play against No. 3 seed Memphis (27-28, 12-12) at 11 a.m. The tournament continues through Saturday at Houston’s Cougar Field.
Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco was already looking toward Hoover minutes after the Rebels’ 11-1 loss to Auburn in last Saturday’s regular-season finale.
“The only solace is that we get to play next week … and hopefully start playing well again and get hot in the postseason,” Bianco said.
Ole Miss will play third-seeded South Carolina (43-13, 21-9) on Wednesday. The Gamecocks had the second-best record in conference play, but Auburn got the No. 2 seed by winning the West.
