College Baseball

Mississippi is one win away from the program's first national championship after defeating Oklahoma 10-3 on Saturday in Game 1 of the 2022 men's College World Series finals.

The Rebels pounced early, scoring four runs across the first three innings. The Sooners, who hadn't lost yet in Omaha, clawed back to make it a 4-2 game after six innings, but the Rebels were ready with an answer. Justin Bench, Calvin Harris and T.J. McCants hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning, effectively putting the game out of reach.

If Oklahoma wants to win the program's third national title, they'll have to win two do-or-die games in a row at Charles Schwab Field. Ole Miss can snap up the title on Sunday.

Here's a look at the remaining schedule for the best-of-three series.

Men's College World Series Final Schedule, TV Info

Game 1: Mississippi 10, Oklahoma 3

Game 2: Sunday, June 26 at 3 p.m. ET, ESPN

Game 3 (if necessary): Monday, June 27 at 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

Ole Miss hasn't had much success as a program in the College World Series, but this weekend could change all that. The offense was in fine working order in Game 1, as the Rebels amassed 16 hits, four of them home runs. Senior first baseman and captain Tim Elko led the hit parade, going 4-for-5 with a home run and three runs scored. He crossed the plate twice in the first three innings.

While Elko took care of the early proceedings, his teammates provided the fireworks late. Bench and McCants, part of the home-run bonanza in the eighth, each had two RBI, while second baseman Peyton Chatagnier notched three hits and an RBI of his own.

On the mound, the Rebels got an incredible performance out of Jack Dougherty, who retired the first 15 batters in order before he was pulled from the game with bases loaded in the sixth.

“Obviously, Jack had a tremendous day. I thought [he had] super fastball command, super slider command. He just lived ahead in the count,” head coach Mike Bianco said, per the Oxford Eagle's Jake Davis.

In Game 2, Ole Miss will call upon freshman lefty Hunter Elliott to start on the mound. Elliott is 5-3 with a 2.70 ERA this season. He's coming off a strong outing against Arkansas on Monday, where he pitched 6.1 innings and gave up three runs (one earned) with four strikeouts. Catcher Hayden Dunhurst, a seemingly unflappable backstop who is ranked No. 152 in MLB.com's top prospects, will be guiding the freshman from behind home plate.

With the championship on the line, the Sooners will have to counter with someone other than ace pitcher Jack Bennett, who took the loss in Game 1. The likely option is Cade Horton, who has been excellent over his past four starts.

The bats are also due to pick back up, as the Sooners scored 24 runs in their first three games of the CWS and hadn't even trailed when Ole Miss stunned them in the first inning. The team's first five batters in the lineup, which includes prospects Peyton Graham and Jimmy Crooks, went a combined 1-for-18 with two RBI and two walks on Saturday.

“We don't give up,” Sooners first baseman Blake Robertson said, per the Oklahoman's Justin Martinez. “We go pitch to pitch, and we don't give up. We're going to fight to the last out. It's just an unfortunate loss for us, but it doesn't define us as a team.”

Elliott has been excellent for the Rebels this season, but it's unlikely he can repeat Dougherty's performance against this loaded lineup. Look for Oklahoma to make this a much more competitive game on Sunday with its season on the line.

Mississippi is one win away from its first national title after a 10-3 victory over Oklahoma in Game 1 of the 2022 men's College World Series finals.

Jack Dougherty made his first start in three months and was fantastic for the Rebels. The right-handed sophomore was perfect for five innings. He did show signs of fatigue in the sixth, as Oklahoma broke through with three consecutive hits, a walk and a run before getting pulled.

Dougherty finished the game with six strikeouts and one walk on 72 pitches. It was the second time all season he has pitched at least five innings in a game (March 19 at Auburn).

Ole Miss head coach Mike Blanco did tempt fate by letting Dougherty stay in as long as he did. The Sooners had the bases loaded with no outs when Mason Nichols came into the game.

Nichols nearly escaped the inning unscathed with back-to-back strikeouts of Peyton Graham and Blake Robertson. He walked Tanner Tredaway to allow a run score before getting Jimmy Crooks to ground out to end the threat.

The top six hitters in the Sooners lineup combined to go 1-for-21 with eight strikeouts. Oklahoma's lone extra-base hit was a double by Sebastian Orduno with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

Oklahoma starter Jake Bennett overcame some early struggles to turn his own solid performance with 10 strikeouts over 6.1 innings. He got the first two outs of the game on six pitches before things took a turn.

Tim Elko, who finished 4-for-5, got the rally started with a single. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and came around to score on Kevin Graham's RBI single. After Graham advanced to third on a steal and wild pitch, Peyton Graham's error on a routine grounder at short allowed him to score.

Justin Bench made it a 3-0 game in the top of the second with an RBI single. Elko added a solo homer in the top of the third. Bennett only allowed two more singles after that before getting lifted with one out in the top of the seventh.

Clinging to a 4-2 lead, Ole Miss added some insurance in the top of the eighth with back-back-to-back homers off Chazz Martinez. TJ McCants got it started with a pinch-hit two-run home run, followed by solo blasts from Calvin Harris and Bench.

The top of the ninth saw the Rebels put the cherry on top with an RBI double by Peyton Chatagnier (3-for-5 overall) and a sacrifice fly by Hayden Dunhurst.

Saturday was the second time in the past four games that Mississippi has scored at least 10 runs.

This marks the first time that Oklahoma has faced elimination since the super regional against Virginia Tech. The Sooners lost Game 2 of that series 14-8 before rebounding with an 11-2 victory the next day.

In five previous appearances in the College World Series, the Rebels only advanced to the semifinals twice (1956, 2014). They have two opportunities to win one more game and capture the first College World Series title in program history.

Game 2 of the series will be played on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

Ole Miss took down Arkansas with a 2-0 shutout victory on Thursday to advance to the Men's College World Series final for the first time in program history.

It's just the sixth appearance in the MCWS for the Runnin' Rebels and second since 1972. Ole Miss is now 8-1 in this year's tournament after amassing just five all-time MCWS wins.

The Rebels will take on the Oklahoma Sooners in the MCWS final, which is a best-of-three series beginning on Saturday.

Here's a deeper look at how things played out on Thursday.

Thursday Results

Ole Miss 2, Arkansas 0

College World Series Finals Schedule - Oklahoma vs. Ole Miss

Game 1: Saturday, June 25, at 7 p.m. ET

Game 2: Sunday, June 26, at 3 p.m. ET

Game 3 (if necessary): Monday, June 27, at 7 p.m. ET

Full bracket available at NCAA.com

Ole Miss 2, Arkansas 0

Rebels starting pitcher Dylan DeLucia powered Ole Miss on Thursday, pitching a complete-game shutout with seven strikeouts, no walks and just four hits allowed. The junior right-hander punctuated the day with a strikeout to end the game:

DeLucia kept the stress level at a minimum for Ole Miss, as Arkansas managed only one player to make it into scoring position when Cayden Wallace reached second base in the first inning. DeLucia's performance earned him some substantial praise online:

With DeLucia pitching the way he did, one run was all the Rebels needed to earn a victory. Kevin Graham got Ole Miss on the board in the fourth inning with a double that brought home Justin Bench.

Calvin Harris added an insurance run in the seventh with an RBI single that plated Tim Elko.

Razorbacks starter Connor Noland did his best to keep up with DeLucia, pitching eight innings with two earned runs and seven strikeouts. But Arkansas' bats fell silent against DeLucia, who was supported by some strong defense behind him.

Ole Miss had a brief stint as the No. 1 team in the nation this spring until a steep fall from grace due to injuries and a tough run in SEC play. The Rebels were bounced from the SEC Tournament after just one game and were the last team added to the NCAA tournament field.

Now, Ole Miss will have the chance to complete its improbable Cinderella run with a national title.

For one of Texas or Texas A&M, the dreams of winning a national championship will have to wait another year.

The Longhorns and Aggies lost their opening contests of the 2022 College World Series to set up a dramatic elimination contest Sunday in Omaha, Nebraska.

Notre Dame and Oklahoma will have more of a buffer when they battle for a semifinal berth.

Sunday Results

No. 5 Texas A&M 10, No. 9 Texas 2

Oklahoma 6, Notre Dame 2

Full bracket is available at NCAA.com

Sunday Recap

Texas A&M 10, Texas 2

A four-run second inning propelled Texas A&M to a 10-2 win over Texas, thus extending the Aggies' stay in Omaha.

The Longhorns drew first blood and were up 2-0 entering the bottom of the second. By the time the inning ended, though, starting pitcher Lucas Gordon had been chased from the game.

With runners on first and second and one out, Brett Minnich doubled to left to halve A&M's deficit. Jordan Thompson stepped to the plate next and singled to score another run and tie the game at two.

On the 11th pitch of his at-bat with two outs, Trevor Werner plated two more runs with a single to put the Aggies in the lead.

Little by little, Texas A&M padded its advantage, adding one run apiece in the third and fourth before the lineup manufactured two more in the fifth. After a scoreless sixth, the Aggies plated another two runs before the onslaught ceased.

Thompson was one of the top offensive performers, going 2-for-2 with two walks, two RBI and two runs scored. His production came in handy as Werner, Jack Moss and Dylan Rock were a combined 2-of-13 from the top three spots in the order.

Micah Dallas did the heavy lifting on the mound. He allowed six hits and two runs—one unearned—and struck out three in five innings of work. Jacob Palisch and Brad Rudis combined to pitch the final four innings and held the Longhorns to one hit.

Oklahoma 6, Notre Dame 2

Oklahoma is still undefeated at the 2022 College World Series.

The Sooners beat Notre Dame 6-2 in Sunday's contest at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska. Both sides were looking to remain without a loss in Bracket 1 after Oklahoma defeated Texas A&M in its first game and the Fighting Irish beat Texas in their first contest.

Notre Dame now has to face Texas A&M in an elimination game on Tuesday after the Aggies eliminated the Longhorns in Sunday's first game.

The Sooners wasted little time seizing momentum by knocking Notre Dame starting pitcher Austin Temple out of the game after just 1.1 innings. They put two runs on the board in the third inning with RBI singles from Tanner Tredaway and Wallace Clark and then busted it open with three runs in the fifth.

Two of those runs scored on an error, and Jackson Nicklaus drove in the other with an RBI single.

Even when David LaManna got Notre Dame back within striking distance with a two-run homer in the sixth, the Sooners bounced right back with another RBI single from Tredaway. That was more than enough for Oklahoma's pitching, with starter Cade Horton allowing two runs and striking out 11 in six innings of work.

The bullpen combination of Jaret Godman and Trevin Michael shut the door from there as the Sooners moved a step closer to a national title.