Ole Miss, the No. 5 seed, advanced to the second round of the 2021 SEC Baseball Tournament by defeating 12-seed Auburn, 7-4, on Tuesday night in Hoover, Alabama.
The Rebels, ranked 12th nationally, pounded out 12 hits and used a four-run outburst in the bottom of the third inning to take control of the game. That rally gave Ole Miss a 5-1 lead at the time.
Justin Bench homered to lead off the big inning, setting the stage. He was the first of four consecutive Rebels to reach base in the third.
Doug Nikhazy was the winning pitcher, going the first six innings and allowing just four hits and two runs while walking one and striking out seven.
Taylor Broadway came on to earn the save, pitching the final 2.1 innings while giving up just one hit and one walk and striking out two.
Ole Miss now advances to the double-elimination portion of the tournament and will face 4-seed Vanderbilt in the second round Wednesday night at approximately 9 p.m. in a contest that will be televised on the SEC Network.
Auburn was eliminated from the SEC Tournament.
