Mike Bianco, Ole Miss players discuss facing elimination for first time in NCAA Tournament
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Ole Miss finds itself in unfamiliar territory. After going 5-0 through the Lincoln Regional and Auburn Super Regional, the Rebels face NCAA Tournament elimination for the first time after a 6-2 loss to North Carolina in the opening round of the College World Series.
Troy or Ole Miss will be the first team sent packing from Omaha on Sunday, the dreaded “0-2 and ‘cue” departure from the College World Series. Taylor Rabe is confident that the Rebels will bounce back and stay alive.
Like our coverage? Make SDS a preferred source in your searches!
“I think we’ve played in a bunch of series this year, where we had the Sunday game as a rubber match,” Rabe said after Friday night’s game. “So it’s a similar feel to that. And you don’t really need to do anything differently, I think. You just play your game and make pitches and things like that. But I feel if you do something more, I don’t think you’re going to get the result you want in the end.”
Rabe won’t be a part of Sunday’s elimination game after throwing 108 pitches over 5.2 innings on Friday. Ole Miss home run king Judd Utermark, though, figures to be key to keeping the Rebels in the CWS.
“I think the human nature may be to tighten up or to stress during situations like that,” Utermark said, agreeing with Rabe’s assessment. “I think that our team is in a good position because we’re a kind of light-going group of guys. So I think it plays to our advantage, put a little fire under our butt. And getting ready to go ultimately to the final.”
RELATED: Looking for the best apps for daily fantasy sports? Be sure to check out our Underdog promo code and Dabble sign-up bonus!
Mike Bianco liked what we heard from his players. The Ole Miss coach sees it as a two-part approach. Refresh after an emotional loss, and then focus on playing better baseball.
“You’re still in it. You’ve got 24 hours to kind of reset, get a good practice tomorrow, and another 24 hours to come out and play better baseball,” Bianco said.
“And so I think that’s what the plan is. That’s how you flip the script. That’s how you do this thing, is get back and play a better baseball game.
“Somebody else asked, what do you do? You don’t do anything. You play better. So that’s what the hope will be, and practice tomorrow and then getting back out here on Sunday.”
Who will win it all? Predict this year’s college baseball national champion today on Kalshi!
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
