Now that Ole Miss finally dumped its hard-luck reputation, you can bet it won’t take another 42 years to get back to Omaha.
Ole Miss made it to the College World Series for the first time since 1972 — going 2-2 before falling 4-1 last Saturday to Virginia, which finished second to Vanderbilt.
The Rebels hadn’t won a game in Omaha since 1969.
It was the kind of deep postseason run Rebel fans had been waiting on for a long time, the kind that gives coach Mike Bianco some room to breathe.
Under Bianco, Ole Miss came oh so close to reaching the College World Series from 2005-2007 and again in 2009, but lost in super regionals each time.
Losses like that hurt when you are on Omaha’s doorstep and the pressure mounts with every near-miss. It hurt even more at a school like Ole Miss that was just beginning to embrace baseball and pumping a lot of resources into the program and needed to see some dividends.
That’s why this CWS run was so important.
The pressure is gone and all the Omaha jokes can be put to bed. You can expect Ole Miss back in the CWS sooner rather than later.
The 2014 season was by far the most successful one in Ole Miss baseball history. The Rebels won the SEC West, hosted a regional, made it to the Final Four in Omaha and tied a school record for wins with 48.
And how the Rebels did this is just as impressive as what they did.
Ole Miss won back-to-back elimination games in its super regional at Louisiana-Lafayette to earn a CWS berth. Then after a gut-wrenching 2-1 walk-off loss to Virginia in its first CWS game, Ole Miss won back-to-back elimination games to hang around in Omaha.
This year’s team, picked sixth in the preseason in the SEC West, showed a lot of fight throughout the season and has shown the path for future Rebel teams to follow.
A return trip to Omaha may not come in 2015 since Bianco will likely have a pretty big rebuilding project next season after having nine players taken in the MLB draft.
The underclassmen battling the stay-or-go decision are: starting pitchers Chris Ellis (10-3, 2.55 ERA) and Christian Trent (9-0, 2.05 ERA), outfielders Braxton Lee (30 stolen bases) and Auston Bousfield (.336, 50 RBIs).
Closer Josh Laxer (6 saves, 1.47 ERA) is signing with the Detroit Tigers after being taken in the ninth round.
I am guessing Trent stays after the Los Angeles Dodgers picked him in the 29th round and takes over the ace role for Ellis, who was selected in the third round, 88th overall, by the Los Angeles Angels.
Laxer’s departure hurts the bullpen since relievers Aaron Greenwood and Jeremy Massie have graduated.
Other tough senior losses include catcher Will Allen (.339, 64 RBIs) and third baseman Austin Anderson (.323, 41 RBIs) are also gone.
The Rebels have a good nucleus of young players in shortstop Errol Robinson and outfielders J.B. Woodman and Colby Bortles.
Many are predicting Woodman as Ole Miss’ next big star. The freshman put up some impressive numbers in league play with a .325 batting average with 12 RBIs and just eight strikeouts in 80 at-bats.
Bianco has said this year’s group will “go down as the best team that ever played at Ole Miss.”
With the way he recruits and coaches, coupled with Ole Miss facilities and fan support, it might not be long before Bianco can say that again, and mean it.
