Rebels Rally to Defeat Miami in Coral Gables Winner's Bracket
MIAMI -- It wasn't Hunter Elliott's strongest performance of the season, but it was enough to keep Miami at bay for a late rally by Ole Miss on Sunday afternoon to advance to the regional final.
Elliott walked five men on the day and struck out eight, and he exited the game in the sixth inning with runners at the corners and no outs. Mason Nichols came in and allowed a sacrifice fly for Miami's only run of the game.
"I thought it was a tremendous baseball game on both sides," Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said. "Type of baseball game you don't see much these days, especially in college baseball. We knew we were going to have our hands full with their lefty, but proud of our guys for hanging in there.
"It certainly wasn't [Elliott's] best day, but results were terrific. Don't know many freshman who can handle what he handled today."
Elliott escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first inning by striking out the side, and he danced around trouble at times throughout the game to keep the Rebels in it.
"Just trusting my stuff," Elliott said. "Coach [Bianco] always tells me my stuff is good enough to compete anywhere against anybody, so that's what stuck in my head the entire time. I couldn't find anything early, but you can continue to go, and in the fifth, I kind of figured it out."
It was the bottom of the seventh inning when Ole Miss was finally able to break through. The Rebels stranded the bases loaded in the sixth, but two-out singles from Justin Bench and Jacob Gonzalez in the seventh set the stage for a two-RBI double from Tim Elko to put his team out front.
"My approach is always looking fastball and adjusting," Elko said. "They tried to ice me a little bit and talk to the pitcher before, but I just stuck with my approach. I was a little fired up after J.B. and Gonzo had those big at-bats, so I just put a good swing on it."
The offensive fireworks were few and far between for both teams on Sunday, combining for just nine hits. Still, Elko and the Rebels were focused on weathering the storm until they were able to find the scoreboard in the late innings.
"Just got to stick with it," Elko said. "Their starter is really good. Hats off to him, but hats off to our guys as well. When those opportunities came to get those runs, we were able to do it."
With the win, Ole Miss is now 2-0 in the Coral Gables Regional and will face the winner of tonight's elimination game between Arizona and Miami tomorrow in the finals. First pitch is slated for noon CT.
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