Razorbacks to square off against red-hot Rebels

OMAHA, Neb. — Ole Miss lost two of three games at Arkansas during a series April 29-May 1.

The Rebels haven't lost much since.

Ole Miss (38-22) is 14-3 since leaving Fayetteville with play that resembles when the team was ranked No. 1 nationally in March. The Rebels enter today's College World Series game against the University of Arkansas on a six-game postseason winning streak during which Ole Miss has outscored its opponents 51-12.

At Fayetteville, the Rebels were on the verge of missing the SEC Tournament. A 4-3 loss to the Razorbacks on May 1 dropped Ole Miss to 24-19 overall and 7-14 in SEC play.

“We were kind of at the all-time low in Arkansas,” Ole Miss catcher Hayden Dunhurst said. “We just all kind of looked at each other and … the season was going to be over after that weekend if we didn't start winning. We were like, ‘We're just going to keep playing our baseball and see what happens.' We ended up getting in and we've just been playing good baseball, at least recently.”

The Rebels defeated the Razorbacks 4-2 in the series opener in Fayetteville behind seven strong innings from starting pitcher Dylan Delucia. Ole Miss lost 6-3 in the second game of the series when Arkansas freshman pinch-hitter Kendall Diggs hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Razorbacks won 4-3 the following day when freshman closer Brady Tygart stranded the bases loaded in the ninth inning with the Rebels' top hitter, Tim Elko, at the plate.

It was the third consecutive series Ole Miss lost when it won the opening game.

“We were so close,” Ole Miss Coach Mike Bianco said. “[It was] another kick in the gut to walk out of another series not being successful and lose two out of three, especially winning on Friday.

“We knew we were close, but still at that time we just didn't know which way we would go.”

Ole Miss second baseman Peyton Chatagnier indicated the Arkansas series was the Rebels' last they did not feel like they had to win.

“Ever since then we've been basically playing super high-pressure, do-or-die, must-win games,” Chatagnier said.

Ole Miss, which is at the College World Series for the first time since 2014, defeated Auburn 5-1 in its opener in Omaha on Saturday. The Rebels outhit the Tigers 11-4 and got 7 2/3 innings of strong work from Delucia, who took a perfect game into the fifth inning.

Freshman left-hander Hunter Elliott is expected to start today against Arkansas. He pitched six innings at Baum-Walker Stadium on April 30 but took a no-decision in the 6-3 loss.

Bianco called BaumWalker Stadium the toughest environment in which Elliott has pitched. The Razorbacks announced an attendance of 11,736 for the game he started.

“Obviously a tough environment at Baum,” Bianco said, “and to have success there and pitch it well, even though he didn't come away with the

win, I think that probably matters more than the opponent, because he'll see them again.”

Elliott has pitched into the seventh inning in three of five starts since Fayetteville. His best start to date came last week at Southern Miss when he pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings, allowed 3 hits and struck out 10 in the game that sent the Rebels to Omaha.

Over his last 5 starts, Elliott has allowed 7 runs and 18 hits, and struck out 39 in 30 innings. He struggled with command in starts against Texas A&M and Miami, and walked five in both games.

Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn compared Elliott to left-hander Doug Nikhazy, a unanimous All-American for Ole Miss who was selected in the second round of last year's MLB Draft.

“He's a strike thrower, he's mature, strong for his age,” Van Horn said. “He has been really good.”

Ole Miss was one of the final four at-large teams chosen for this year's tournament, according to the selection committee, but is the only team that has yet to lose a game during the NCAA postseason.

As the No. 3 seed at the Coral Gables (Fla.) Regional, the Rebels defeated No. 6 national seed Miami and won the regional championship with a 22-6 victory over Arizona.

Ole Miss followed that with an impressive super regional sweep on the home field of in-state rival Southern Miss, the No. 11 overall seed in the tournament. The Rebels shut out the Golden Eagles in both games, winning 10-0 and 5-0.

Chatagnier said players are buying into an underdog mentality.

“We've been underdogs for a long time now,” Chatagnier said. “I think it helps us out. We've been playing pressure games for a long time, so I think it prepares us a lot for this week.”

Van Horn said the Rebels are a difficult matchup.

“Our comment has always been that if they get it going, they're as good as anyone in the country,” Van Horn said. “I mean, this team was preseason ranked really high, top five. They got off to a good start and then moved into the No. 1 spot. They played elite outside competition, and then they just went into a bit of a slump. I know they lost a player or two as far as injuries for a while and got them all back."