Mississippi, Oklahoma to battle in CWS finals

Dylan DeLucia scattered four hits in his first shutout for Mississippi, Kevin Graham’s run-scoring double in the fourth held up and the Rebels advanced to the College World Series finals with a 2-0 victory over Arkansas on Thursday in Omaha, Nebraska.

The Rebels (40-23), the last team picked for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament, bounced back from a 3-2 loss to the Razorbacks on Wednesday to reach the finals for the first time. They’ll face Oklahoma in a bestof-three series that starts Saturday.

DeLucia (8-2) outdueled Connor Noland in a matchup of aces and turned in his second straight dominant CWS performance.

Golf: Rory McIlroy and J.T. Poston each shot an opening-round 8-under 62 to share a one-stroke at the Travelers Championship near Hartford, Conn. McIlroy, No. 2 in the world rankings, finished in a tie for fifth at the U.S. Open on Sunday a week after winning the Canadian Open . ... Two-time major champ In Gee Chun shot an opening-round 8-under 64 to take a record-tying five-stroke lead at the Women’s PGA Championship in Bethesda, Md. Chun birdied seven of eight holes during one stretch on a wet Blue Course at Congressional. ... Jay Haas and Australia’s Mark Hensby each shot an opening-round 4-under 67 to share a one-stroke lead at the U.S. Senior Open in Bethlehem, Pa. Among the group one back at Saucon Valley Country Club was 2019 tournament winner Steve Stricker.

NFL: Hugh McElhenny, the Hall of Fame halfback who starred in the 49ers’ “Million Dollar Backfield” in the mid-1950s, died June 17 of natural causes. He was 93. McEhlenny was the NFL’s rookie of the year in 1952 (before the award became official) and made two All-Pro teams, six Pro Bowls and the NFL’s All-Decade squad of the 1950s. He also played for the Vikings, Giants and Lions.