Heading into its first conference game series and hoping to escape the cold Oxford weather, No. 19 Ole Miss will travel to the Lone Star State to take on the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies this weekend.
Players cheer on each batter from the dugout during the Rebels’ win over Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in the fall ball game last year. Photo by Marlee Crawford
Coming off two consecutive losses against Boston College and Southern Miss, the Rebels are hoping to break their losing streak and crack the Aggies’ six-game winning streak.
The Aggies, who have already racked up 21 wins to their three losses this season, are a force to be reckoned with for the 13-4 Rebels. Adding to the Aggies’ threat, Texas A&M has come out ahead of Ole Miss 12 of the 14 times the two teams have played each other.
Ole Miss found itself coming up short against Boston College this week, finishing with two runs compared to Boston College’s eight. Texas A&M played Boston College in its opening weekend and defeated the Eagles handily by a score of 3-1. If this says anything about the two teams, the odds are certainly stacked against the visiting Rebels.
That being said, Ole Miss will do everything in its power to turn the tide against A&M, despite losing each of the last eight meetings between the two schools.
The Rebels can look to improve by decreasing the number of errors they commit. Although it had not committed more than two errors in a single game before Tuesday, Ole Miss accumulated four errors throughout the entirety of the game against Boston College.
Ole Miss is expected to continue leaning on players like sophomore Kaylee Horton, who went a perfect 3-3 at bat against Boston College, matching her career high. Junior Kylan Becker was close behind, collecting two successful hits from three at-bats throughout the game.
The Rebels, under the leadership of head coach Mike Smith, were projected during the preseason to finish seventh in the SEC, while the Aggies, headed by coach Jo Evans, were predicted to finish third in the conference. In the ever-ebbing SEC standings, one series can make or break an overall season, so both Ole Miss and Texas A&M are feeling that pressure heading into their first opportunities to prove themselves in the conference’s spotlight.
The Rebels will play at 6 p.m. Friday, followed by an afternoon game on Saturday at 2:30 p.m., and will then finish up Sunday at 1 p.m. The first game of the series will be available on SEC Network+, while the final two games will be broadcast nationwide on the SEC Network.
Following the series against the Texas A&M Aggies, Ole Miss will continue its stretch on the road with another away game against the Southeastern Louisiana Lions next Wednesday before heading home for another conference series against the No. 18 South Carolina Gamecocks the following weekend.
