Ole Miss Claims First Men’s College World Series Title in Win Over Oklahoma

Last one in. Last one out.

After facing a 2–1 deficit entering the eighth inning, Ole Miss completed its magical College World Series run Sunday with a comeback victory over Oklahoma to win the national championship. The Rebels stormed back thanks to a three-run showing in the bottom of the inning and held on to secure the two-game sweep.

Ole Miss junior Dylan DeLucia was named College World Series MVP, becoming the third consecutive pitcher to win the award. DeLucia logged a pair of masterful outings against Auburn on June 18 and Arkansas five days later. The right-hander allowed one run and struck out 10 versus the Tigers before pitching a four-hit shutout with seven strikeouts against the Razorbacks to send his team to the CWS finals.

The Rebels, fresh off an emphatic 10–3 win in Saturday’s Game 1, clinched the program’s first-ever CWS title after senior pitcher Brandon Johnson struck out Sooners redshirt sophomore Sebastian Orduno in the top of the ninth.

After barely making the tournament as the last at-large team invited, Ole Miss and coach Mike Bianco have stunned the college baseball world once again by running the gauntlet in Omaha. The team entered Sunday motivated by a chance to make history; a lucky runner-interference call that erased an OU run in the sixth inning may have provided the players and their fans with enough energy to push to the finish line.

An RBI single by Rebels sophomore Jacob Gonzalez evened the score at two and helped build some needed momentum after managing one run through seven innings. A pair of wild pitches from reliever Trevin Michael helped bring Justin Bench in for the go-ahead run and, eventually, Gonzalez, who made it to third base after advancing on the second errant pitch and a Tim Elko ground out. The surge proved to be enough to secure a historic victory.

In addition to overcoming the deficit, Ole Miss also weathered a standout showing from starting pitcher Cade Horton, who missed last season with an elbow injury. The redshirt freshman set a CWS finals record with 13 strikeouts and allowed only four hits in 107 pitches. 

After becoming the SEC’s eighth national champ since 2009, Ole Miss finishes the season with a 42–23 record overall. As for Oklahoma, the Big 12 champions ended their year with a 45–24 mark—their best full-season record since 2013.