By: Jacob Thimjon
June 26, 2022; Omaha, NE, USA; The Ole Miss Rebels celebrate with the national championship trophy after their victory against the Oklahoma Sooners at Charles Schwab Field Steven Branscombe, USA Today Sports
OMAHA, Neb.- From beginning the season as the preseason No. 1 team to doubting if the team would make the NCAA tournament to being the last team standing in Omaha, there was one word instilled into the Ole Miss Rebels, and that word was belief.
“We just had to keep believing,” Ole Miss first baseman Tim Elko said. “We kept believing and fighting, and we won a national championship for Ole Miss.”
The Ole Miss Rebels defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 4-2 in Game Two of the Men’s College World Series Championship Series to clinch the team’s first MCWS title in school history.
Game Two started as a pitchers duel as both freshman starters, Cade Horton for Oklahoma and Hunter Elliott for Old Miss, surrendered three hits combined through the first five innings.
The Rebels threatened to score in the bottom of the fourth after shortstop Jacob Gonzalez led off the inning with a single to right field and a hit-by-pitch from Horton to left fielder Kevin Graham. Two strikeouts by Horton to Rebel’s first baseman Elko, designated hitter Kemp Alderman and a groundout by right fielder Calvin Harris got Horton and the Sooners out of the fourth inning jam.
Elliott continued his strong outing on the mound for Ole Miss allowing no runs and one hit and recording five strikeouts through five innings pitched.
Oklahoma initially took a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth when right fielder John Spikerman reached first base with a sacrifice bunt and scored second baseman, Jackson Nicklaus from third. However, after a challenge by Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco, Spikerman was called out for interference in the throwing lane when Elliott threw to Elko on the sacrifice.
Bianco said he initially didn’t see Spikerman running out of the baseline until seeing the replay of the sacrifice bunt on the jumbotron.
“Thank God for the jumbotron,” Bianco said. “I looked up at the jumbotron, and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s out of the running lane.’”
Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson said Ole Miss exceeded their time limit if they wanted to challenge the call at first base.
“The rule says that you have to do it within 30 seconds and not be able to look at the video board,” Johnson said.
Despite the challenge being granted to Ole Miss past the 30-second time limit Johnson said the “human element” is part of the game of baseball.
“If we take out the human element of the umpires, this game is not ever gonna be good; if we mess with the fabric of the game by getting computer umpires, I think I’ll just go fishing,” Johnson said.
The next batter, Sooner shortstop Peyton Graham flew out to right field to keep the game scoreless going into the bottom of the sixth.
In the next half inning, Gonzalez gave Ole Miss a 1-0 lead hitting his 18th home run of the season, a 394-foot solo blast to right-center field.
Oklahoma responded with a run of its own to tie the game at 1-all in the top of the seventh when Nicklaus delivered his 11th double of the season to shallow right-center field just beyond the glove of Gonzalez to score catcher Jimmy Crooks from second base. Ole Miss reliever Mason Nichols hit Sooner pinch hitter Sebastion Orduno to load the bases with two out. Nichols walked Sooners left fielder Kendall Pettis the next at-bat with the bases loaded to give the Sooners a 2-1 lead.
Ole Miss reliever John Gaddis relieved Nichols and came out of the bullpen to strike out Spikerman with the bases loaded to escape the jam to keep the Rebels within a run.
Ole Miss center fielder TJ McCants, who was a part of the three straight home runs hit in Game One of the Finals, walked to begin the bottom of the eighth for the Rebels.
Horton was then relieved by the Sooner bullpen after allowing four hits and recorded 13 strikeouts, a Men’s College World Series finals record for most strikeouts in a single game.
“I’m just taking things one pitch at a time; I just wanted to put my team in a position to win,” Horton said.
Horton, a Norman, Oklahoma native who missed last season due to Tommy John surgery, said he will never forget his first season as a Sooner.
“It’s just a dream come true for me,” Horton said. “I just wanted to represent the university as best as I could.”
McCants scored after Gonzalez delivered a run-scoring single to right field to tie the game at 2-all in the bottom of the eighth. The Rebels then took a 4-2 lead when the Rebels scored on back-to-back wild pitches scoring third baseman Justin Bench, who reached earlier in the inning with a single to right field, and Gonzalez, who reached earlier with a single to the right side of the infield earlier in the inning.
Ole Miss closer Brandon Johnson pitched a one-two-three inning in the top of the ninth to seal the Rebel’s 4-2 win and secure the national championship.
“It was a dream come true,” Johnson said.“Ever since you’re a little kid, you dream of being on the mound in those situations.”
The Rebels were a team wondering if they would even play in the NCAA tournament after being selected as the last at-large bid in the NCAA tournament after finishing their season 37-22 going into the NCAA tournament. Ole Miss played their best baseball at the right time, however, going 10-1 in the postseason and finishing with an overall record of 42-23.
“This story of our season is going to be told for years to come,” Elko said. “This is the best Ole Miss baseball team in history.”
The Sooners finish their season (45-23) after winning the Big-12 tournament title in 2022 and defeating the Liberty Eagles, the Florida Gators and the Virginia Tech Hokies in the NCAA before losing to the Rebels in the MCWS finals in Omaha.
Despite falling short of the team’s goal, Horton said there is confidence in Oklahoma baseball in the future.
“We’ll be back,” Horton said. “I know that because this team laid the foundation for Oklahoma baseball.”
Bianco said the team legacy for the Rebels is resiliency.
“I’m just so proud to get to this point,” Bianco said. “You know at the end what you’re made of.”