Two wins.
That’s all Ole Miss needed to put itself in complete control of the Lincoln Regional.
After surviving a weather-delayed marathon against Nebraska, the Rebels woke up Sunday morning, finished the ninth inning, secured a 2-0 regional start and positioned themselves one win away from a Super Regional berth.
Now, the conversation isn’t just about surviving Lincoln.
It’s about how far this team can go.
The Sixth Inning That Changed Everything
Long after the regional ends, Ben Garrett and Brad Logan believe Ole Miss fans will remember one sequence above all others. The sixth inning against Nebraska.
With the crowd roaring and momentum shifting toward the Cornhuskers, starter Taylor Rabe found himself battling through his toughest stretch of the season.
Mike Bianco could have pulled him. Instead, he trusted his starter. The gamble worked.
“The decision to stay with Taylor Rabe and not pull him in the sixth, that’s stuff of legends,” Logan said.
When Rabe escaped the inning, the hosts felt the game had effectively been won.
History Is On Ole Miss’ Side
The significance of starting 2-0 in regional play can’t be overstated. According to a statistic cited during the show, Ole Miss has advanced to a Super Regional eight of the ten times it has opened a regional 2-0.
The only failures came in 2012 against TCU and another regional in which the Rebels eventually fell out of contention.
Even more impressive? At the time of the show, Ole Miss was the only No. 2 regional seed in the entire NCAA Tournament sitting undefeated at 2-0. That reality speaks to both the difficulty of the Lincoln Regional and how well the Rebels have played.
The Unsung Heroes
Ole Miss received contributions from nearly everyone during its first two games. Hudson Calhoun emerged as a regional MVP candidate after recording the biggest outs against Nebraska following the overnight weather delay.
Austin Fawley continued proving why many inside the program consider him one of the nation’s elite defensive catchers, repeatedly blocking difficult pitches and preventing Nebraska from creating extra opportunities.
Braden Randle once again delivered in a clutch moment, adding another game-changing hit to a growing collection of timely performances throughout the season, and perhaps nobody generated a bigger smile than Owen Paino.
The former elite recruit has endured an uneven journey in Oxford, but his extra-inning hit against Nebraska became one of the defining moments of the weekend.
“To see it on the biggest stage when they needed him the most was a really neat thing to see,” Garrett said.
Defense Has Become a Strength
For much of the last two seasons, defense was one of Ole Miss’ biggest weaknesses. Not in Lincoln. The Rebels played 23 consecutive innings without committing an error during the regional’s opening weekend.
That level of clean baseball stood in stark contrast to Nebraska, which entered the tournament among the nation’s leaders in fielding percentage but repeatedly hurt itself with defensive mistakes.
Ole Miss may still strike out more than fans would like, but when the Rebels pitch and defend at a high level, they become a much different team.
Hosting a Super Regional Is No Longer a Dream
The other storyline unfolding simultaneously sat nearly 800 miles away in Auburn. Milwaukee’s shocking run through the Auburn Regional suddenly opened a path for Ole Miss to potentially host a Super Regional for the first time since 2009.
A lot still had to happen.
Ole Miss still needed another win in Lincoln. Auburn still needed to survive its own regional, but for the first time in years, Rebel fans could realistically envision postseason baseball returning to Oxford in June.
Built for This Moment
Garrett pushed back on the idea that a Super Regional appearance would represent overachievement. This roster wasn’t built merely to make the NCAA Tournament. It was built to contend for Omaha.
The Rebels played one of the toughest schedules in the country all season and repeatedly showed flashes of elite potential. Now those flashes are becoming more consistent.
“We’re sitting here talking about how tough this is,” Garrett said. “What we’re shortchanging is how good this team, when it’s right, is.”
