Ole Miss faded in the late innings and lost its College World Series opener to North Carolina on Friday night in Omaha.
The Rebels can’t afford another fade on Sunday afternoon in their elimination game against Troy, or it will be a very short visit to Nebraska for Mike Bianco’s club. Ole Miss (41-22) and Troy (38-31) will square off in a 2 p.m. ET start on ESPN, with the winner surviving into Monday and the loser heading home with 0 CWS victories to show for it.
For Ole Miss, it’s do-or-die time, and on Saturday afternoon Bianco confirmed who will be his starting pitcher for the all-important game. It’ll be a left-hander who goes all the way back to that magical 2022 season, when he helped lead Ole Miss to a national championship as a freshman. It’ll be Hunter Elliott, who went 4.1 innings while giving up 2 runs in his last start in the Super Regionals conquest over SEC rival Auburn.
Bianco is turning to Elliott, who has a wealth of playoff experience going all the way back to that 2022 national title run. Taylor Rabe got the start in Friday’s loss to UNC, going 5.2 innings while giving up just 1 run, but the offense didn’t do enough and the bullpen wasn’t sharp as the Tar Heels earned the 6-2 victory.
The hope for Ole Miss is that Elliott can save the bullpen a bit and also save the day for the Rebels, who’ll be facing an equally desperate Troy team that lost to West Virginia in its opener on Friday afternoon.
Elliott will have his work cut out for him on Sunday, with Troy not only facing elimination but also carrying a solid .291 team batting average into the showdown.
Ole Miss will be fighting to stay alive on Sunday against Troy, as the Rebels hope their national championship pursuit continues into next week. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the 8 teams that are still standing and what their odds are to be holding that national title trophy when the dust settles in Omaha:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
