Mike Bianco, his staff, the players and Ole Miss fans badly needed the series win over Mississippi State

If there was ever a coach, a coaching staff, a band of players and a fan base that needed to capture a baseball series, it was coach Mike Bianco and the Ole Miss Rebels over the visiting Mississippi State Bulldogs, a team the Rebels had not beaten in a three-game SEC series since Barack Obama was president.

Even though they did it the hard way, having to win the final two games after dropping Friday’s match, the Rebs pulled it off and finally sent the Bulldogs packing with their tails tucked between their legs.

It could not have come at a better time.

The Rebels had not won an SEC set since the opening series of this season in Mid-March and had not won a game of any kind since Austin Peay visited March 26. Until Saturday night, Ole Miss was working on a seven-game SEC losing streak.

As if you needed a reminder, Mississippi State beat the lethargic looking Rebs 8-0 Friday night and while we haven’t verified it, we heard Bianco read the team the riot act after that baseball fiasco.

The alleged tongue-lashing didn’t really do a lot of good until late in Saturday night’s contest.

Trailing 7-3, the Rebels erupted for 4 runs in the eighth frame to send the game into extra innings. Freshman right fielder Campbell Smithwick, freshman shortstop Brayden Randle and center fielder Ethan Groff provided the fireworks and RBI hits.

In the top of the 12th inning, MSU catcher Johnny Long connected with a home run to give the visitors a 9-8 lead, but that was only part of the story.

Long had to play a lead part in the television series Jackass, flipping his bat toward the Ole Miss dugout and then he proceeded to stomp on home plate after circling the bases.

Bianco was livid, rushing the home plate umpire and firing an expletive in his direction demanding Long be ejected from the game. Instead, the ump ran Bianco.

Ole Miss responded and showed a side of themselves that had been lacking for two or three weeks – grit and a refusal to lose.

They scored two runs in the bottom of the 12th on a walk-off single by first baseman Jackson Ross that plated Andrew Fischer and Ethan Groff for the 10-9 come-from-behind victory.

Did Bianco’s fiery talk ahttps://www.on3.com/teams/ole-miss-rebels/news/jackson-ross-is-new-to-playing-mississippi-state-but-provided-a-much-needed-moment-for-ole-miss/fter Friday’s game get the point across that losing was not acceptable in this program? Did the Bianco ejection Saturday night ignite the Rebels? Did they simply get tired of being on the losing end of games?

We will never know for sure, but Ole Miss parlayed that comeback win with a one-sided victory in the rubber match to claim the series and maybe, just maybe, they broke the curse that Mississippi State has had over them for eight long years.

The Rebels rode a pair of home runs by Ethan Lege, some double-digit hitting and a terrific start by RHP Mason Nichols to cruise to the Sunday win and cap the series.

To run-rule your rival 14-2 in the deciding game of an SEC series just adds an exclamation point to the weekend.

A long sigh of relief from Bianco, his staff, the team and Rebel fans was audible.

If there was ever a group of people who needed this, starting with Bianco, the team and including the faithful, it was Ole Miss. This baseball ship was not sunk, but it was taking on water and now it has gained a bit of buoyancy.

Now let’s see if this Ole Miss baseball team can ride this momentum to something bigger.

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