OMAHA, Neb. – The last team to participate in the NCAA baseball tournament was the last team standing.
Ole Miss scored twice in wild fields in an eighth inning of three runs and the Rebels won their first national baseball title, sweeping Oklahoma in the college World Series finals with a 4-2 victory Sunday.
The Rebels (42-23) became the ninth national champion since 2009 to emerge from the Southeastern Conference and third in a row, and the trophy will remain one more year at Magnolia State. Mississippi State won last year.
Ole Miss benefited from an interference call from the runner who pulled off an Oklahoma run (45-24) in the sixth inning. The Rebels also surpassed a spectacular pitching performance from Cade Horton, who set a CWS final record with 13 strikeouts.
Brandon Johnson put the winger in a ninth 1-2-3 inning, with receiver Hayden Dunhurst running up the pile to hug and then tackle Johnson after Sebastian Orduno turned and missed in the final throw. .
The national title is first for an Ole Miss men’s team and second for the school. The women’s golf team won the NCAA Championship in 2021.
It was an unlikely trip for the Rebels and 22-year-old coach Mike Bianco was under fire when his team sat 22-17 overall and 7-14 in the SEC game on 1 May.
Ole Miss won in the state of North Carolina for the final general offer and had to go on the road for regionals and superregions. The Rebels finished the season with a 20-6 run, including 10-1 in the national tournament.
His only loss to the CWS was Wednesday 3-2 against Arkansas. The next day, Dylan DeLucia threw a four-hit whitewash to beat the Razorbacks and send the Rebels to the final. DeLucia was named CWS’s most outstanding player after allowing a run to win, pulling out 17 and not walking any in 16⅔ innings.
Ole Miss, who won the opening CWS final 10-3, fell 2-1 in the eighth inning on Sunday. Trevin Michael eased Horton with an out, and Jacob Gonzalez made a single from the right to propel in the tiebreaker.
After that, Michael (4-2) uncorked the wild throws that brought Justin Bench to the running back and another to take Gonzalez.
Ole Miss became the first team to win a championship game when they fell behind after seven innings from LSU in 2000 against Stanford. Sunday’s contest was also the first match of this year’s Men’s University World Series to feature multiple leadership changes.
Hunter Elliott dispersed three hits while allowing two runs in 6⅓ innings. Mason Nichols and John Gaddis (4-2) got the game to Johnson in the ninth.
Horton allowed four hits and didn’t walk any during an excellent 107-throw performance.
Oklahoma appeared to have taken a 1-0 lead in the sixth, but the streak was eliminated when John Spikerman, who put a touch of pressure, was called in by runner interference to prevent first baseman Tim Elko as he tried catch Elliott’s throw.
Jackson Nicklaus had been hit by Elliott at the head of the inning and finished third after a sacrifice and a wild throw. He returned home with Spikerman’s touch, but Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco called for a video review when Spikerman was called safe at first.
Spikerman removed Elko’s glove as he passed first, with the ball ending up in foul territory. The call was canceled, with Spikerman ruled he had been inside the baseline as he ran through the bag, requiring Nicklaus to return to third base.
It was the first MCWS final to end with a sweep since 2017, when Florida defeated LSU.
ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.