The Southeastern Conference is its usual stacked self this season. Seven teams are ranked in the top 15 of the NCAA’s RPI rankings that help determine NCAA Tournament selection and seeding, and four of those are in the top six.

With two weeks left in the regular season, that only adds extra meaning to series like the one this weekend in Oxford.

No. 6 Auburn (35-14, 13-11 SEC) comes to Swayze Field to play No. 11 Ole Miss (36-13, 13-11) in a three-game set beginning Thursday night. The winner of the series has an opportunity to gain some position in the chase for a top-four seed in the upcoming SEC Tournament — and the first-round bye that comes with it — as well as a top-eight national seed in the NCAA Tournament that would allow it to host a regional and super regional.

Of more pressing importance for both teams is improving their standing inside the SEC standings.
Auburn and Ole Miss are tied with South Carolina (28-19, 13-11) for the fourth and final first-round bye in the conference tournament. All three are one game ahead of Texas A&M (34-14, 12-12) and LSU (28-20, 12-12), and two ahead of Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State.

Auburn will change its pitching rotation for the series with Ole Miss. Davis Daniel will replace ace Casey Mize for the opener.

Auburn coach Butch Thompson told AL.com that he wanted to keep Mize on his regular rest. Mize, who is 9-2 with a 2.25 ERA, will start game two of the series on Friday night.
The sophomore Daniel has not started since allowing six runs in three innings against Mississippi State on April 14. He has been in the bullpen ever since.

“I think it was just a couple small adjustments that needed to be made,” Daniel told AL.com. “Some guys are — you try to make it pitch to pitch. It took me a little longer, but I think we made them and I’m ready to roll.”

Elsewhere in the SEC, No. 1 Florida (39-11, 18-6) can clinch a bye by winning its series with No. 4 Georgia (34-14, 15-9) this weekend, as well as do the others a favor by bringing the Bulldogs back to the pack.

Georgia, however, is red hot having won seven of its last eight games overall, and five of six in the SEC. It swept Missouri on the road last weekend.

“The momentum is not only coming from tonight, it’s coming from the past week with a big sweep of Missouri,” Georgia pitcher Zac Kristofak said after the Bulldogs beat Georgia Tech 3-1 Tuesday. “I think we’re rolling right now. We’re playing our best baseball of the year and keep doing what we’re doing.”

Other key SEC series this weekend include Texas A&M at Arkansas and Mississippi State at Kentucky.

All four teams appear to be secure in their spot for an SEC Tournament berth — 12 of the league’s 14 teams make it — but Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Kentucky all need series wins to improve their seeding and remain in the hunt for a first-round bye.

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AL.com contributed to this report.

AUBURN AT OLE MISS
• Thursday, 6 p.m. (TV: ESPNU; Radio: 107.7 FM)
• Friday, 6:30 p.m. (Radio: 107.7 FM)
• Saturday, 4 p.m. (Radio: 107.7 FM)