Win or go home: Ole Miss faces Troy in College World Series elimination game

OMAHA, Neb. (WLBT) - Ole Miss’ College World Series stay did not start the way the Rebels hoped — dropping their opener to fifth-seeded North Carolina, 6-2, Friday night at Charles Schwab Field.

The Rebels (41-22) outhit the Tar Heels (51-12) eight to five, but six walks from Rebel pitchers and two North Carolina home runs proved to be the difference. Ole Miss led 2-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh before North Carolina rallied for five unanswered runs to close out the game.

Taylor Rabe was sharp early, striking out seven Tar Heels over 5.2 innings while allowing just one earned run.

North Carolina tied it in the sixth on a solo home run from Owen Hull, then took the lead for good in the seventh on a sacrifice fly and a single. Colin Hynek delivered the knockout blow — a three-run homer in the eighth — to seal the 6-2 final.

Dom Decker was a bright spot for Ole Miss, going 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI. Brayden Randle also doubled and scored. Judd Utermark drove in the Rebels’ second run with a single in the seventh.

Now, Ole Miss’ time in Omaha is on life support — unless they win Sunday.

Troy also falls in opener

In the other opening-round game Friday, Troy dropped a back-and-forth battle to No. 16 West Virginia, 7-5, in front of a crowd of 24,154 — the first game of the 2026 College World Series.

The Trojans (38-31) made it a fight from the start. Sean Darnell went 2-for-4 with two doubles and Sun Belt Player of the Year Jimmy Janicki delivered a solo home run in the seventh to tie the game at 5-5. But West Virginia’s Tyrus Hall — who finished with four RBIs — chopped a two-run single in the eighth to give the Mountaineers the lead for good.

Janicki’s homer was his 20th of the season, making him the first player in Troy history with a 20-double, 20-homer season. His 86th RBI of the year tied for second-most nationally.

The Trojans are making their first College World Series appearance and are the second Sun Belt team to reach Omaha in consecutive years — the first non-autonomy conference to be represented in back-to-back College World Series since the Big West in 2016 and 2017.

Rebels turn to Elliott

The Rebels take on Troy in an elimination game Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN. One loss and the season is over. One win and the Rebels keep their championship dreams alive.

Ole Miss will hand the ball to the man they trust most in moments like this — Hunter Elliott.

The Rebels have been here before — backs against the wall, every pitch heavier than the last. And if there is one reason to believe Ole Miss is not ready to go home, it is the arm they are trusting to keep them alive.

Elliott does not just pitch in big games — he owns them. Ole Miss has never lost a postseason game he has started. Over three postseasons, he has given up just 11 earned runs in 46 innings — a kid who was just a freshman on the 2022 championship squad, and one of only three Rebels ever to reach 300 career strikeouts.

“I don’t think the mindset is going to change much,” Elliott said. “I think that’s why a lot of people sometimes fail in win-or-go-home situations — because they think they’ve got to change what they’ve been doing all year or change what’s gotten them here. I think it’s just sticking to my process, sticking to the things that make me really good, and just going out there and competing like the season’s on the line — because it is.”

Offense must deliver

Surviving will not fall on one arm alone. This is a lineup that outhit one of the nation’s best just a day ago — and Hayden Federico has been right in the thick of it, hitting .400 in the NCAA Tournament coming into the College World Series. The bats have been alive. Now, it is whether they can string together nine full innings when it matters most.

“This group’s resilient,” Federico said. “We’ve handled hard well all year, and that’s nothing different than what we have to do now. At the end of the day, it’s just playing baseball games and winning baseball games one at a time — and everything else will take care of itself.”

Bianco’s championship experience

Through it all, the man setting the tone has seen Omaha from every angle — as a player, an assistant and a champion. Head Coach Mike Bianco knows exactly what this moment asks.

“You hope that when you get to this point, the teams that win, the teams that do the best, are their best in those big moments,” Bianco said. “There’s no secret sauce, but what you hope is all that you’ve went through to this point has prepared you for this. I know our guys are excited to get another opportunity. We played well last night, but not good enough against a really good club. At the end, it comes down to a couple pitches, a couple good at bats, and they had more than us last night. Hopefully, we’ll bounce back from that. This team’s always answered a bell, and I assume they’ll answer the bell tomorrow too.”

The decision to put Elliott on the mound was simple. There is no better player built for a situation like the Rebels will face on Sunday.

“You know, he’s an ace in every sense of the word,” Bianco said of Elliott. “The true aces are the guys that just win — when you run them out there, they seem to have success, even when they don’t have their best stuff, even when things maybe don’t go their way. They find a way to make pitches, get off the field and give your team a chance to win the baseball game. And Hunter’s done it in his career as much as anybody.”

Troy presents challenge

“Don’t be fooled by the 38 victories. I think it’s the number one strength of schedule in the country,” Bianco said. “Not only do they play in a good conference in the Sun Belt, but they’ve really challenged themselves outside the conference. You win in Gainesville — you know how difficult that is. Obviously a big test for us.”

Elliott added his own scouting report on the Trojans.

“The Troy baseball team is a really good baseball team, whether they’re last four in or whatever that bracket says,” Elliott said. “They showed that by going into Gainesville, beating Florida, hosting a Super Regional, winning that in two in really dominant fashion and playing a really good game yesterday with West Virginia. We know they’re really good. We know it’s going to be a dog fight — and we just got to be ready for it.”

History not on Rebels’ side

Only 12 teams in College World Series history have come back to win after losing their opening game. The last time a team made it out of the losers bracket to win it all was Oregon State in 2018. Ole Miss would need to win four straight to claim the national title.

But Elliott — who was a freshman on the 2022 national championship team — said the Rebels have been on four-game win streaks before.

“We’ve been on plenty of four-game win streaks this year,” Elliott said. “We just came off a five-game win streak in Regionals and Supers. So I don’t see why not.”

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