WATCH: Mike Bianco has emphatic reaction to final out to clinch College World Series
After Ole Miss pitcher Brandon Johnson struck out Oklahoma‘s Sebastian Orduno for the final out to clinch the College World Series championship, Rebels coach Mike Bianco could barely hold in his excitement.
Bianco let out an emphatic “Yeah!” as he pumped his fist before turning around to embrace a host of Rebels players and coaches. Thankfully, cameras were in the Ole Miss dugout to capture the moment up close, which you can view below.
The Rebels came back to defeat the Sooners by a score of 4-2 on Sunday after entering the bottom of the eighth down 2-1. Ole Miss got its bats going with three quick hits to bring in the tying run before chaos ensued for the Oklahoma defense. Just a little bit later, a passed ball gave Ole Miss the lead for the second time in the game. Oklahoma continued to fall apart after that as a wild pitch allowed Jacob Gonzalez to score for the third and final run of the inning.
Despite not being a Regional host, Ole Miss lost just one game throughout the entire NCAA Tournament on its way to claiming the first College World Series title in program history. Sunday’s win completed a sweep of the Sooners in the final after the Rebels delivered a dominant 10-3 victory in Game 1 on Saturday.
Bianco has been the head coach at Ole Miss since 2001, so this championship is a long time coming for him. In that time he led the Rebels to only one other appearance in the College World Series in 2014, where they were eliminated in just three games.
This time around was much different, as Ole Miss won its first two games and suffered only one loss to Arkansas in the CWS. Knowing all that certainly puts Mike Bianco’s reaction to the final out in more perspective, as he waited more than 20 years for this moment. The celebration likely won’t end there either, as Rebels fans will be sure to greet the team with enthusiasm when they return home to Oxford.