[5/25/04]Had Ole Miss won Sunday’s game against LSU, the Rebels would be the Southeastern Conference Western Division champions. But as it stands, Ole Miss fell a game short of its goal, losing 14-6 to the Tigers.

The Rebels (39-17, 18-12 SEC) rode an emotional rollercoaster throughout the weekend. They were elated after winning the first game of the series, then downtrodden after dropping the final two.

“We had a tough weekend against LSU in the final weekend,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. “They were just too hot and too good for us.”

All that in front of a raucous crowd in Oxford. The three-day attendance total at Swayze Field was 23,831, setting a stadium record for a three-game series.

Now the Rebels must pick themselves up and prepare for the SEC Tournament, which begins today in Birmingham, Ala.

“I’m proud of these guys,” Bianco said. “They’ve handled adversity throughout the year. We’re excited to turn the page and get to the conference tournament and hopefully the NCAA Tournament.”

Ole Miss draws the fourth seed in the tournament and will face fifth-seeded South Carolina at 5 p.m. If the Rebels win, they advance to face the winner between top-seeded Arkansas and eighth-seeded Tennessee.

Both teams have talented pitching staffs, and have been on fire of late.

Earlier this month, the Rebels traveled to Columbia, S.C., where they lost two-of-three to the Gamecocks in a series dominated by pitching.

Since then, Ole Miss took two-of-three from Arkansas and swept Florida prior to last weekend.

The Gamecocks won eight straight before dropping two-of-three in the weekend series to SEC East champion Georgia.

One key factor to the Rebels’ run will be the dismissal of pitcher Brae Wright from the team last week. Wright was the Rebels’ second-best starter at 6-2 with a 2.81 ERA in 10 starts.

But the Rebels still have ace Mark Holliman (9-2, 2.67 ERA) and the versatile Stephen Head (6-1, 2.43) to hold down the fort.

South Carolina, meanwhile, has gotten more consistency from its pitching staff.

Matt Campbell (8-4, 3.21), Billy Buckner (5-2, 3.31) and Aaron Rawl (10-4, 4.72) lead a formidable staff that has a 3.51 ERA.

USC coach Ray Tanner is hoping to ride their arms far into the tournament.

“This one is pretty deep right now. We haven’t been deep throughout,” Tanner said of his pitching staff. “If we get deep into the tournament that might give us an edge. I hope we can get deep into the tournament and get a chance to use some of those guys.”

The Gamecocks are packed with power at the plate as well, leading the conference with 93 home runs.

Landon Powell spearheads the offensive attack with a .356 average, 19 home runs and 62 RBIs, followed closely by Brendan Winn, who is hitting .330 with 18 homers and 60 RBIs.

Both coaches expect a tough game in a competitive tournament.

“We’re all so battle-tested by playing in this league,” Tanner said. “This tournament is the best in the country. We’re looking forward to an exciting time.”