The Ole Miss offense is firing on all cylinders, putting the Rebels on the brink of history

OMAHA, Neb. — The Ole Miss baseball team’s offense got its groove back in South Beach earlier this month and has been on fire throughout the NCAA Tournament. That same offense is set to propel the program into the history books.

Ole Miss just has to outscore an opponent one more time this weekend in Omaha to capture its first national championship after beating Oklahoma 10-3 in game one of the College World Series final.

The recipe for success if Ole Miss (41-23) was to hoist some hardware at Charles Schwab Field started with getting to the Oklahoma ace Jake Bennett.

Mission accomplished as the left-hander was shaky to start, along with a shaky defense, and Ole Miss scored two runs in the first inning. Tim Elko got a two-out base hit followed by an RBI-single from Kevin Graham.

Graham later scored off a fielder error by Sooner shortstop Peyton Graham when he booted a ball hit by Kemp Alderman.

“I thought the first inning was huge,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “Bennett is so good, and a big-leaguer out there, and to draw him in the first game of the championship series I think is a tough challenge for the offense.”

Ole Miss tacked on a run in the second and third innings but then Bennett settled in and pitched 3.1 scoreless innings.

Oklahoma (45-23) scratched two runs across in the sixth inning to cut its deficit in half and tightened the game up. Though it could have been a much bigger inning for the Sooners but Mason Nichols worked out of a bases loaded jam and gave up only two runs.

The game broke open in the eighth inning from possibly one of the more unlikeliest of sources, but started a historic inning.

TJ McCants came in off the bench and hit a home run — his second this postseason — which started a chain of back-to-back-to-back home runs. Calvin Harris and Justin Bench followed behind McCants.

Those were the first three consecutive home runs hit in a College World Series game since 1998 when LSU did it against Mississippi State. Saturday’s three-straight home runs were the first inside the current stadium used for the CWS.

The trio of long balls from McCants, Harris and Bench blew the lid off the game and took the air out of Oklahoma’s sails.

“I think we knew we needed to get a couple more runs,” Elko said. “They’ve got a good offense and we were holding them at bay, but it would have felt a lot better to get a couple more runs.

“You know, whenever TJ hit that ball out, it felt like momentum shifted to us. Then, you know, Calvin followed with one and J.B. followed with another. It was great to get those runs in and huge hits by those guys.”

Elko was responsible for a home run himself, hitting a solo shot into the right field bullpen to lead off the third inning.

After getting into the NCAA Tournament, Ole Miss has outscored its opponents 78-23 in the month of June.

Not only were the home runs cause for the Rebels to relax in the later stages of Saturday’s game, but it also helped keep an inning going that looked to be prematurely ending.

The eighth inning started off with singles from Alderman and Peyton Chatagnier. Then a bunt attempt by Dunhurst went awry followed by a double steal attempt that saw Chatagnier out at third.

From there, McCants, Harris and Bench made sure the inning did not go to waste.

“Everybody will talk about the three homers, but the first one was huge because we kind of screwed up an inning not getting a bunt down,” Bianco said. “We got for a steal. Their catcher makes a perfect throw to third and they get Peyton. It looks like we’re going to kind of just wreck an inning that it looked like we were going to be able to score.”

Those have been the moments where Ole Miss would have bungled a beautiful scoring opportunity earlier in the season. But throughout the postseason when it has mattered the most, nearly every game, the Rebel bats have found a way to come through.

The bats just have to find a way to do it one more time.