WATCH: Ole Miss takes lead vs. Oklahoma with Jake Gonzalez solo home run
One win and Ole Miss baseball will have a title they’ve never had before — national champions. The program has been to the College World Series six times but has never departed back to Oxford from Omaha with a trophy in its hands.
Through 5.5 innings, there was a stalemate between the Rebels and their opponent, Oklahoma. Everything changed when Jake Gonzalez stepped up to the plate, hitting a massive home run to right field on a 1-1 count.
Of course, he sent the Ole Miss fans sitting in right field into a frenzy, with a national championship on the cusp. There’s still a long road ahead to get to the end but the Rebels can feel it in Omaha.
You can watch the full play here.
Since the solo home run, Oklahoma has been able to answer with two runs, meaning Ole Miss has work to do at the plate. It’s been slow for the Rebels outside of Gonzalez’s moment of magic. Playing a winner take all Game 3 would be stressful for everyone involved but pressure would be on more for the SEC squad after having a 1-0 lead.
Ole Miss head coach discusses performance of Hunter Elliott
After taking care of Oklahoma on Saturday night, the Rebels have a chance to win it all on Sunday afternoon. Head coach Mike Bianco decided to give the nod to freshman pitcher Hunter Elliott and thus far, it’s paying off.
Elliott has thrown five scoreless innings, keeping Ole Miss in the game as they still attempt to get their bats rolling. Bianco was asked how Elliott is handling the big moment so well and he said sometimes you can’t know they are thrown into the fire.
“I wish I knew because we’d get everybody to do it,” Bianco joked. “There are special ones occasionally — the stage is never too big for them. Hunter, we knew he was talented but sometimes you don’t know until you put him on that stage. Especially through postseason, he’s been terrific for us.”
Elliott has been throwing strikes all day, getting ahead in the count against Oklahoma hitters. Bianco say that’s the key to facing the Sooners, making sure strikes are on the board as they are more selective.
“Really good,” said Bianco. “And one of the keys to Oklahoma — because they are so selective at the plate, you have to pound the strike zone and he’s done that today.”