They were biting their fingernails on Selection Monday. Now, they are national champions. Ole Miss went from nearly not making the NCAA Baseball Tournament to winning the College World Series in 22 days.
Did the Rebels deserve to make the tournament? Yes. Despite the field being shrunk by two spots due to Kennesaw State and San Diego stealing bids as surprise conference champions, Ole Miss’s resume was solid enough to warrant a berth. Although the Rebels sported only a 32-22 record – one of the worst of any tournament team – they had some key wins against 4th-ranked Arkansas and 11th-ranked Southern Miss. And a sweep over ninth-ranked LSU near season’s end may have propelled the Rebels into the tournament over fan favorite NC State.
Ole Miss fell into the Coral Gables Regional with No. 6 Miami. After winning the opening game of the regional, the Rebels matched up with the Hurricanes. Ole Miss pitcher Hunter Elliott stifled Miami, allowing only one run and three hits while striking out eight batters. The hometown product from Tupelo (MS) pitched five innings for the Rebels.
With Miami leading by one, Ole Miss baseball’s season RBI leader, Tim Elko, blasted a two-run double to give the Rebels the lead, which they would hold. Such offensive output was no surprise for Elko, who had recorded 93 RBIs during his high school career at Hillsborough (FL). After a 16-run win against Arizona the next day, the Rebels advanced to the Super Regionals, hosted by Southern Miss.
There was no shortage of excellent Rebel pitching against the Golden Eagles. In the first game, Dylan DeLucia, a first-team, all-state selection out of New Smyrna Beach in Florida, struck out nine batters. The 2016-2017 MaxPreps Player of the Year was assisted by Jack Dougherty, who cleaned up the last 10 batters to produce a combined shutout.
The second game featured another shutout, as Hunter Elliott returned to strike out 10 batters. Two wins for the Rebels and 18 scoreless innings by the Golden Eagles sent the last team into the bracket to the College World Series.
With the confidence born of five consecutive tournament victories under its belt, Ole Miss defeated both No. 14 Auburn and Arkansas to advance to the 2-0 game, just one win away from the national championship. However, the Rebels stumbled, falling in a low-scoring thriller, 3-2, to the Razorbacks to force a winner-take-all game the following day.
With revenge in sight, the Rebels thrived. Kevin Graham and Calvin Harris both brought in runs, and DeLucia pitched another gem, allowing no runs in nine innings of work. Ole Miss baseball would be advancing to the national championship just over two weeks after a stressful Selection Monday.
It had finally arrived: the national championship between Ole Miss and unseeded Oklahoma. The Sooners had won two titles previously, and Ole Miss had yet to win their first. After the Rebels took an early 4-0 lead, Oklahoma rallied, cutting the deficit to two by the seventh inning.
TJ McCants halted all momentum, though, with a two run blast that put the Rebels up four once again. McCants wasn’t a home run specialist at Pensacola Catholic (FL), hitting only seven balls over the fence, but the center fielder delivered on the biggest of stages. Two more solo home runs by Harris and Justin Bench gave the Rebels an insurmountable lead. If Ole Miss could win one more game, they would win their first ever national title in baseball.
Elliott, once again on the mound, pitched a phenomenal first six innings that featured as many punchouts. However, an RBI double and a bases loaded walk gave Oklahoma a 2-1 lead entering the eighth inning. Just five outs away from forcing a third game, the Sooners faltered and Jacob Gonzalez, Ole Miss’s run leader, singled through the right side, driving home McCants from third. A wild pitch allowed Bench to score from third moments later, giving Ole Miss a 4-2 lead.
The Rebels’ Brandon Johnson entered to pitch the top of the ninth inning, only three outs away from victory. He had led all non-starters with 71 strikeouts, but had also allowed eight home runs. The three-sport captain from Brookwood High School in Alabama needed to channel the dominance he’d shown all tournament long – and he did. The senior struck out Oklahoma’s last three batters, securing Ole Miss’s first ever college baseball national championship.
Ole Miss needed perfect pitching and well-timed hitting to survive in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. They did much more, making history as the last team standing after being the last team selected.
