I’m not sure if you’ve heard or not, but Mississippi takes its baseball pretty seriously. From high school to junior college to Division II, the Magnolia State features teams competing at a top level. And then at the top, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Southern Miss all enter NCAA Regional play this weekend.
The Rebels and Golden Eagles each will enjoy postseason play at their own respective ballpark, while Mississippi State travels to Tallahassee, Fla. to partake in Florida State’s regional as a No. 3 seed.
Starting with the Bulldogs, they, on paper, have the toughest road out of any Mississippi team – though, let’s be honest, all have treacherous paths ahead. Florida State, the nation’s No. 9 overall seed, is the headliner of this regional. The Seminoles may not jump off the page from a statistical standpoint, but they know how to win and have done so at a high clip in the ACC. They’re led offensively by infielder Alex Lodise, who does boast a top-10 batting average at .415, and they picked up a key series victory against Clemson down the stretch to help solidify their No. 15 RPI.
State’s opponent in Game 1, however, does jump off the page on the statsheet. Northeastern leads the country in ERA at 2.92 – the only team to have a team total below 3. The Huskies are 48-9 and winners of 27 games in a row. I don’t care what conference they play in – the SEC, Sun Belt or the Coastal Athletic Association – that’s impressive.
Many Bulldog fans might not have expected to be in this position after firing head coach Chris Lemonis midseason, but look out – Mississippi State can play with just about anyone on any given day.
The Oxford Regional features plenty of firepower as well. From top to bottom, Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, Western Kentucky and Murray State can all hit a baseball, leaving many experts to predict fireworks coming out of north Mississippi.
Ole Miss and Murray State, playing in Game 1, competed earlier this season, with the Rebels edging the Racers by a run in extra innings in midweek action.
Western Kentucky mashed its way to sweeping the Conference USA championship tournament, and the Hilltoppers topped top-20 RPI Dallas Baptist in conference play.
Georgia Tech, on the other hand, brings not only a talented team but a hungry one at that. The Yellow Jackets claimed the regular season ACC championship, but they were denied hosting a regional despite feeling deserving. It’s the last season for Georgia Tech skipper Danny Hall, who has held his post since 1994. His teams have reached Omaha three times during his tenure, and this year’s bunch wants to make it four times.
Their reaction went semi-viral on social media when the Yellow Jackets were announced for the Oxford Regional. Georgia Tech wanted to host and felt slighted, and it’s expected to pack a punch.
It should be noted that Ole Miss becoming the No. 10 national seed is an achievement itself, given that the Rebels were predicted to finish second-to-last in the SEC preseason polls. No matter what happens in the competitive Oxford Regional, Ole Miss fans can see 2025 as a success (though knowing many of them, probably not).
Lastly, there’s the Hattiesburg Regional – the fourth such regional in Southern Miss history. The Golden Eagles looked dead in the water in terms of hosting consideration just two months ago, but then they went ahead and won 18 games in a row before falling in the Sun Belt tournament final to Coastal Carolina, a fellow Regional host from the Sun Belt. USM was selected as the final hosting team, earning the No. 16 national seed.
Filling out the Hattiesburg Regional is Alabama, Miami and Columbia – no, not the Wildcats, rather the Ivy League champions. Alabama is a dangerous team that many will predict to win the regional as a whole, and the Crimson Tide defeated USM in midweek competition 10-6 earlier this season. Miami boasts a dangerous lineup but has struggled on the mound at times.
The Golden Eagles take on Columbia in their opener this weekend, with the winner going on to face the winner of Alabama and Miami. Columnist Rick Cleveland – as have many fans online – have brought up the issue on who USM head coach Christian Ostrander should pitch against Columbia. Ostrander, like Scott Berry before him, preferred to send the ace to the mound no matter who the opponent was in Game 1. That’s worked in the past when Southern Miss had one or two other starters near the same level of its ace pitcher, but for the Golden Eagles, JB Middleton has no equal.
The projected 2025 first-round pick and 2025 Boo Ferriss Award recipient boasts a 2.01 ERA with 114 strikeouts against 24 walks while being an innings-eater with 98.1 frames hurled. He’s top 10 in strikeouts, ERA and hits allowed per nine innings. He’s dominant.
Which begs the question – should he go out against Columbia and all but secure a victory while saving the bullpen? Or do you save your ace to go against a better lineup in Miami or Alabama? For my money, I’m saving Middleton for Game 2. It goes against Southern Miss’ traditional wisdom, but it gives them the best chance to win, especially because Middleton isn’t going to be available to pitch later in the Regional anyway. If the Golden Eagles save Middleton, it may be too risky to go with anyone other than Matt Adams, who emerged as a strong No. 2 starter down the stretch, against Columbia, but it’s worth consideration to look at a Kros Sivley or Grayden Harris. However, that might be seen as playing with your food, and you can’t take anyone lightly in the playoffs.
I suspect USM will go with Middleton against Columbia, but it’s not what I would do. But I was just a little league catcher, what do I know?
As for predictions, all three of the Regionals are up in the air. I think Mississippi State reaches the championship game in the Tallahassee Regional, ultimately falling short to Florida State. I see Georgia Tech taking down Ole Miss in the Oxford Regional final, and I have Southern Miss narrowly squeaking by Alabama to win the Hattiesburg Regional. But even if the Golden Eagles escape their Regional, they’d be paired with No. 1 overall seed Vanderbilt in a potential Super Regional. Good luck.
All three teams will be playing at the same time Friday night, with Southern Miss’ game starting at 6 p.m., Mississippi State’s at 6:30 p.m. and Ole Miss’ at 7 p.m. Buckle up, it should be a fun weekend full of college baseball.
