This one was close for most of the game, but the Ole Miss Rebels padded their lead late to win. Let's take a closer look at some of the earlier action to see exactly what went down.
In the bottom of the third, Louisiana Lafayette started the scoring when Ryan Leonards had a leadoff double, and was later able to score unearned on a sacrifice fly by Tyler Girouard. The run was unearned because there was a fielding error with 1 out in the inning, and if the Rebels could have completed that out, then they would have gotten the third out of the inning on the fly ball. But the Rebels would quickly respond with power, in the top of the 4th, when third baseman Austin Anderson and first baseman Sikes Orvis both hit home runs, to take them from a one run deficit, to a two run advantage.
Louisiana Lafayette tied the game up in the bottom of the 4th though, with help from right fielder Dylan Butler who hit a double to put runners on second and third. Because he and first baseman Chase Compton would score on RBI's from Catcher Michael Strentz and Ryan Leonards. This tied the game up 3-3.
Then, in the top of the 5th, Braxton Lee was hit by a pitch, took both second and third on two different wild pitches, and scored on a passed ball. He wasn't done yet though, because he scored in the next inning too, after walking to get on base, centerfielder Auston Bousfield hit a double to bring him home and give the Rebels a 5-3 edge.
Louisiana Lafayette scored another run in the bottom of the 7th inning when Seth Harrison doubled down the left field line, bringing home Tyler Girouard but some excellent defense got Caleb Adams out at the plate with the relay throw going through Rebels shortstop Errol Robinson. The Rebels added a few more runs, and they just were completely exhilirated to know they had moved past the Rajun Cajuns and will play in Omaha on Sunday against the Virginia Cavaliers. Just look at pitcher Josh Laxer after he recorded the final out, they are reaching their goals, and nothing feels better than that.
This will be the Rebels 5th trip to the College World Series, but they haven't been there since 1972. Ole Miss will be hoping for their first title, just like most of the teams that are going to be in Omaha. It will definitely be an exciting event in Omaha, with games starting this Saturday, and even though Ole Miss is the last team to make it to the College World Series, they are definitely not the least. They are a number 1 seed from Regionals, and are one of the most qualified teams remaining, since there are only 1 of the 5 remaining number 1 seeds remaining.