College World Series finalists Ole Miss and Oklahoma are unseeded wonders

OMAHA, Neb. - Less than a month ago, Ole Miss baseball players and coaches didn't know if they would make the NCAA tournament.

This weekend, the Rebels will play for the national championship.

Next up is Oklahoma in the College World Series finals. The Sooners also had doubts about whether they would make the 64-team field until they got hot in the second half of the season and won the Big 12 tournament for the conference's automatic NCAA tourney bid.

The best-of-three title series begins Saturday night at Charles Schwab Field, and it won't include any of the 16 teams that were national seeds for the NCAA bracket. An unseeded team will leave Omaha with the championship for the first time since Coastal Carolina in 2016.

"We've always thought we were this good," Ole Miss pitcher Hunter Elliott said Friday. "I think at one point we were ranked No. 1. ... We were scuffling there for a while, but we just continued to believe and knew we were good enough, and we ended up here."

As No. 2 regional seeds, Ole Miss (40-23) and Oklahoma (45-22) had to go on the road for regionals and super regionals. At the CWS, Oklahoma went 3-0 in double-elimination bracket play to make the finals, while Ole Miss went 3-1, beating Arkansas in a bracket final that required a second game.

"In a lot of ways they're similar to us," Oklahoma center fielder Tanner Tredaway said of the Rebels. "They do a lot of small things well. They've got power in the lineup. They're a really good ballclub. They've been playing with a chip on their shoulder, just like we have. They were in question for a regional, and they're here to make a statement, just like we are."

The Ole Miss pitching staff entered the NCAA tourney with a 4.68 ERA but ranked 11th nationally at 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings. The Rebels posted back-to-back shutouts while sweeping a super regional at Southern Miss, and they have allowed seven earned runs in 36 innings (1.75 ERA) while striking out 38 batters in Omaha.

No one has been better than Dylan DeLucia, who tossed a four-hitter in Thursday's 2-0 win over Arkansas. He has surrendered just one earned run in 16 2/3 CWS innings.

Kemp Alderman, Justin Bench, Kevin Graham and Calvin Harris have provided most of the Rebels' offense in Omaha, combining to bat .397 (25-of-63) and drive in 15 runs. Tim Elko, who entered the CWS with 22 homers this season, hit a three-run shot in a 13-5 win over Arkansas but otherwise has been mostly quiet.

As they were in the regular season, the Sooners have been led at the plate by Tredaway and Peyton Graham at the CWS. Tredaway is batting .500 (7-of-14) and Graham is hitting .545 (6-of-11). Jimmy Crooks has hit two homers.

The Sooners have used only four pitchers, and they've combined to allow 11 earned runs in 27 innings (3.67). Meanwhile, Ben Abram, Carson Atwood, Carter Campbell and Chazz Martinez all have made at least 20 appearances this season, but they haven't been in game situations for two weeks.

"They're not going to lose any rhythm," Oklahoma coach Skip Johnson said. "They've been in their own bullpens. Every time we practice, we throw bullpens. It's different. We've got to go through a process of trying to make the bullpen game-like."

Oklahoma will start Jake Bennett (10-3) on Saturday and Cade Horton (5-2) on Sunday, but Johnson said he didn't know who would start Monday if a third game is necessary. Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said he and his staff hadn't determined a pitching plan as of Friday.

Looking back, Bianco said there was an uncomfortable feeling in the room where the team was watching the NCAA selection show on May 27. Then the Rebels received the last at-large bid over North Carolina State, changing the mood to one of joy.

"We weren't the 64th team. I try to say that," Bianco said. "We were a good baseball team, and I think everybody would vouch for that.

"There are 31 automatic bids and 33 at-large bids. Now, were we the 33rd at-large bid? Maybe. We felt sitting in that room we deserved to get in. You just don't ever know. We're really glad they let us in."

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