Ole Miss Baseball won both games in the Auburn Super Regional by two runs each — in drastically different ways — to advance to the College World Series. The pitching staff continued to dominate and middle of the order lefties came through in crunch time. Through its five playoff games, Ole Miss has established a formula for success that can be used in Omaha, Neb.
Overall, the roster is mentally prepared for a deep run in the CWS. The Rebels will begin their run to a second national championship against No. 5 North Carolina on Friday, June 12 at 6 p.m. at Charles Schwab Field Omaha.
Lefty-lefty matchups
The biggest moment of the weekend was Will Furniss’ game-winning, two-run home run in the eighth inning on Saturday. Two innings prior, Judd Utermark had tied the game with a two-run double — setting up Furniss with the go-ahead run on second — and chased Auburn’s starter from the game.
Tiger head coach Butch Thompson brought in left-handed reliever Jackson Sanders into the game to face two lefties, Furniss and Tristan Bissetta. Sanders got Furniss to pop-out on one pitch — a high slider — and Bissetta out on a grounder to strand Utermark.
The three and four spots are a crucial junction in the Rebel lineup. It is a good point of attack for opposing teams who can bring in a left-hander to face two lefties, giving them a higher probability of working out of the inning.
Lefty-lefty matchups are difficult for batters. Breaking balls move away from the batter, southpaws are less common than righties and the release point is different.
The next time around, Furniss made an adjustment, got in a favorable account and won the super regional for the Rebels off Sanders. Furniss was 0-for-8 on the weekend until that homer. Bissetta made it back-to-back homers with a no-doubter for insurance, 5-2 Rebels.
Putting Furniss and Bissetta, two great left-handed hitters who have opposite strengths back-to-back in the order, can be dangerous, yet it works for Ole Miss. Rebel fans saw the low point — getting attacked by a good southpaw — but they also saw the high point: two homers.
Unlocking the full potential of the offense requires the heart of the order to hit lefties, which it is capable of doing. It may not always be pretty (with some of Bissetta’s swings in particular), but it gets the job done.
Pitching
The success and importance of the Rebel bullpen has been well documented this season, and it was no different against the Tigers. Walker Hooks, Hudson Calhoun and JP Robertson are a big reason for Ole Miss’s run to the College World Series.
They are the only Rebel relievers to pitch in the regional and super regional. Hooks got the save in both games against Auburn, while Calhoun and Robertson bridged the gap from the starter to Hooks in games one and two, respectively.
It was especially refreshing to see Hooks pitch efficiently on back-to-back days. He threw 32 pitches in two innings on Friday and 23 in one inning on Saturday. He may not have had his nastiest stuff, but he ended both games.
For Ole Miss to succeed in the College World Series, Calhoun, Robertson and Hooks will certainly have to pitch in back-to-back games, particularly in high-leverage innings. Calhoun and Robertson did so in the Lincoln Regional and Hooks did it several times in the regular season.
Landon Waters, who only threw six pitches in the regional, did not appear against Auburn. Wil Libbert also did not pitch. His last outing was a masterful, hitless three innings against Arizona State on Sunday, May 31. Landon Koenig has not pitched in the postseason yet.
Starter Taylor Rabe threw seven innings on Saturday, good for the longest outing by a Rebel starter all season. Rabe has been other-worldly in recent weeks. He has only allowed three earned runs in his last three starts.
Hunter Elliott did not have his best start on Friday, but Ole Miss still won. He pitched 4 ⅓ innings on 76 pitches and gave up two earned runs. He wiggled out of a couple jams, including a bases-loaded, one-out pickle.
The 1-2 lethal punch of Elliott and Rabe can get the Rebels into and through the winners bracket of the College World Series.
Cade Townsend did not have to pitch on Sunday. The righty has been on his heels as of late, so the Rebels will need him to return to his normal-self. His earned run average was 1.73 in the middle of SEC play and is now at 3.94. Now is the right time to turn it around.
Resilience
Ole Miss scored first for the first time this postseason on Friday. They have come back to win four of their five postseason games. The team’s ability to clawback and stay in ballgames reached its apex on Saturday when they went hitless through four innings and were down by two runs.
Bissetta walked in the fifth to give Ole Miss its second base runner, then Hayden Federico singled to put Bissetta on third. Federico attempted to sneakily take second, but he was thrown out trying to get back to first.
That was the lowest point of the Rebel postseason so far. They were down 2-0, just got their first hit to get something going and immediately squashed the opportunity. Yet, they stayed in the game. Rabe locked down the Auburn bats and the Ole Miss offense finally got to the Tiger starter in the sixth.
The Rebels trailed Arizona State 2-0 after the first inning of the regional, 1-0 against Nebraska through five innings and 3-0 to ASU again early in the final. Still, they fought and swept that regional.
The Auburn Super Regional was no different. They struck first on Friday, but nothing came easy. They were no-hit for several innings in game two yet never wavered.
“We handle hard well. They did it last weekend in a very difficult regional in Lincoln, Neb., and just a great opponent, great atmosphere here. Our guys continued to handle it,” head coach Mike Bianco said in a press conference on Saturday, May 6.
Of course, Federico’s game-saving catch in the eighth inning should not be forgotten. His ability to move past his critical base running mistake earlier in the game exemplified the entire team’s resilience.
No matter how hard they have been punched, Ole Miss has gotten back up this postseason — a trait they need for the College World Series. Staying focused and mentally checked in, despite mistakes and hard times, is key.
