Mike Bianco, Tim Elko open up on the impact of Ole Miss fans at CWS

Ole Miss is on the verge of winning its first College World Series title in Omaha, and if the Rebels are able to pull it off, there will be plenty of fans in Omaha to see it.

If you watched Game 1 of the College World Series final between Ole Miss and Oklahoma, you might have thought that it was a Rebels home game at Swayze Field. That was especially apparent when Ole Miss hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the late innings, resulting in the fans in the outfield stands to very visibly celebrate as the victory came closer.

Knowing that there were so many fans that made the trip to Omaha to see the College World Series is something that didn’t go unnoticed by Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco.

“It felt like Swayze Field because of how many Ole Miss — because how partisan maybe it was, but man, it felt like a football game out there,” Bianco said of the fans. “On the field it was that loud. Swayze has been pretty loud. I don’t know if Swayze has ever been that loud.”

Traveling to Omaha is not an easy trip to plan, as teams don’t know until the weekend before whether or not they’ll still be alive in the College World Series. The trip is also not cheap, and that makes it that much more special to see so many Ole Miss fans in attendance.

“When they played ‘Sweet Caroline’ whatever inning it was, I have never heard anything like that,” added Bianco. “Just impressive. Thankful. I think as a coach, it’s really neat to sit back. And you don’t do it too much in the game, but it was so loud that a couple of times you did. You look up and go, wow, all these people showed up here.

“It’s not an easy place to get to. It’s not a cheap place to get to. A lot of people, it meant the world for them to be here this weekend. They’re passionate, aren’t they?”

Tim Elko on Ole Miss fans in Omaha: ‘Super fun to play in’

Bianco wasn’t the only one in the Ole Miss dugout to notice the fan support from the Rebels on Saturday night. Veteran first baseman Tim Elko has seen how passionate the Rebels fanbase can be throughout his collegiate career, but playing in front of that crowd in Omaha is something that ranks towards the top.

“Yeah. I would say there was probably 20,000 Rebels there,” Elko said. “It was an amazing environment. Super fun to play in. Just having all that support, it makes it a lot of fun to play.

“Shout out to our fans for making it up here to Omaha and making it a really cool experience so far.”