CORAL GABLES, Fla. — As always seems to be the case, the road to Omaha runs through Mississippi in 2022.
Ole Miss (35-22) swept the Coral Gables Regional to advance to the super regionals for the third consecutive postseason. Now the Rebels head to Hattiesburg to face No. 11 national seed Southern Miss (47-17), a familiar foe and in-state rival they’ve already played twice this year and a team the Rebels eliminated from the postseason last year.
One year after Mississippi State won the College World Series, another Mississippi school will have a chance to take the crown. Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco knows how big of a deal that is for the state.
“There’s a population of about 3 million people in our state,” Bianco said Monday after beating Arizona 22-6 on Monday in the region final. “There might be 3 million people in Miami and we’ve only got 3 million in our entire state. So it’s really cool.”
In two midweek matchups earlier this season, Ole Miss and Southern Miss played about as evenly as possible. The Rebels scored 11 runs, put 23 runners on base and struck out 25 batters. The Golden Eagles scored 11 runs, put 28 runners on base and struck out 24 batters.
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Bianco said he has nothing but respect and admiration for Southern Miss coach Scott Berry and the program he’s built, calling it one of the best in the country and adding it deserves more national respect than it gets despite playing in Conference USA.
On May 11, Ole Miss traveled to Hattiesburg and won 4-1 in front of 6,346 fans — the largest crowd in Pete Taylor Park history. The Wednesday crowd was stacked to the brim with Golden Eagles fans, a feat Bianco doesn’t expect to repeat itself.
“Obviously they have a great fanbase,” Bianco said. “I think we broke the attendance record last time we were there about a month ago. We don’t have a lot of our fans show up on a (Wednesday) night but I’m thinking a lot will show up this weekend when we get there.”
Last summer, Southern Miss was the underdog in the Oxford Regional. This year, the Golden Eagles figure to be the favorite. Southern Miss has one of the best and deepest pitching staffs in the country, one that allowed it to withstand a trip through the losers bracket in this weekend’s regional, and a fearsome lineup that’s already smacked seven extra-base hits against the Rebels.
Ole Miss, meanwhile, is a team discovering itself at the right time. Before the Rebels’ May 11 trip to Hattiesburg, they were NCAA Tournament longshots. They barely snuck in with the last at-large bid and then made the committee look good with three decisive wins in the Coral Gables Regional, including a 22-6 bludgeoning of Arizona in the regional final.
“If you would’ve asked us two weeks ago who we wanted to play, I don’t think it would’ve mattered,” second baseman Peyton Chatagnier said. “It’s really cool that we get to play Southern Miss. I think it’s going to be great. But at the end of the day, it’s just another team that we have to beat and keep moving forward.”
No one is entering Super Regionals hotter than Ole Miss’ senior first baseman Tim Elko. Elko hit 7-for-9 with three doubles, three home runs and five walks in the regional, which isn’t new for him. He won Oxford Regional MVP last year for a dominant showing, including hitting 3-for-6 with two home runs and six RBIs in two games against Southern Miss.
Five years into his college career, the only thing Elko hasn’t achieved is a College World Series berth. He’s excited for another chance to make that happen, and in his adopted home state no less.
“I think it’s cool that it’s going to be in Mississippi because I think we’re going to have a good crowd there, a good Ole Miss fanbase showing,” Elko said. “And I think it’ll be a really cool series. We’re just excited to keep playing and keep writing our story.”
Contact Nick Suss at 601-408-2674 or [email protected]. Follow @nicksuss on Twitter.
