Rebel Offense Comes Alive, Claims Game One of CWS Finals
OMAHA, Neb. -- The Ole Miss Rebels are now one win away from winning the national championship after capturing game one of the College World Series finals 10-3 over the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday.
Jack Dougherty drew the start for Ole Miss on the mound and had a perfect game bid entering the sixth inning before he ran into some trouble on the base paths. The Rebel right-hander was credited with two earned runs on his line, but Ole Miss never trailed in the game and held a 4-2 lead after six.
The Rebels drew first blood in Saturday's game with two runs in the top of the first inning and another run in the second. The offensive highlight of the game, however, came in the top of the eighth when Ole Miss hit back-to-back-to-back home runs to extend its lead to 8-2. T.J. McCants, Calvin Harris and Justin Bench were responsible for the big flies.
The Rebels would also push across two more runs in the ninth. Tim Elko led Ole Miss in hits, going 4-for-5 at the plate in the win. McCants and Bench led the way in RBIs with two apiece.
Out of the bullpen in relief of Dougherty, Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco went with Mason Nichols and Josh Mallitz in the final four innings. Nichols inherited a 4-1 ballgame in the sixth with the bases loaded and no outs. Although he walked in a run, he limited the damage in the inning to two runs from Oklahoma and preserved the Rebel lead.
With the win on Saturday, Ole Miss now holds a 1-0 lead in the CWS finals, and one more win will give it its first baseball national championship in school history. First pitch for game two of the series is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT on Sunday on ESPN.
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