the road ahead

Though neither Ole Miss nor Mississippi State has clinched a berth in the 10-team SEC Tournament, it would be a stunning development if either missed out. Both are essentially playing for seeding position in their last two league series, and the Bulldogs are looking at a much tougher road. State played its ace — Chris Stratton — on Friday and lost at Florida. Stratton, suffering his first defeat, pitched well enough (two earned runs in seven innings), but the punchless Dogs (now 12-13 in the SEC) lost 4-1. They face the very real possibility of getting swept in Gainesville. And then they get a very good Kentucky club next weekend in Starkville. Ole Miss, behind the pitching of league ERA leader Bobby Wahl, beat a scuffling Tennessee team in Oxford on Friday to get to 12-13 in league play. Next weekend, the Rebels are at Vanderbilt, another sub-.500 club. Ole Miss still needs to solve its Sunday funk, but it stands a much better chance than MSU of moving up in the tournament pecking order. … Meanwhile, Southern Miss is also playing for seeding position in the Conference USA Tournament, which again will be held at Trustmark Park in Pearl. The Eagles got a brilliant effort from Andrew Pierce (three-hitter, 11 strikeouts) to beat East Carolina 1-0 in Hattiesburg on Friday to climb to 10-9 in the league. That’s good for fourth position, behind ECU (13-8-1). Next weekend, USM travels to UAB, which is currently 7-11 in C-USA. P.S. MSU’s Stratton is projected as the No. 16 overall pick in the upcoming MLB draft by Baseball America. In a story posted on Thursday, the junior right-hander was pegged as the Washington Nationals’ top pick in a mock draft. … On the prep front, the Class 6A State championship series should be a dandy, matching Oak Grove and Madison Central. The series begins Wednesday at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson.