Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma
Projected Starting Pitchers & Head-to-Head Projections
- Saturday, June 25: Jake Bennett (Oklahoma) v Hunter Elliott (Ole Miss)
- Sunday, June 26: John Gaddis (Ole Miss) v Cade Horton (Oklahoma)
- Monday, June 27 (If Necessary): David Sandlin (Oklahoma) v Dylan DeLucia (Ole Miss)
Editor's Note: Jack Dougherty is set to pitch for Ole Miss in Game 1 against Oklahoma instead of Hunter Elliott.
Even though the Ole Miss campus in Oxford sits just east of the wet delta that is the Mississippi River, a dry run of championships has hit the University of Mississippi.
Sure, the Ole Miss cheer squad won the national title back in January of this calendar year, but for the big three sports, it has been as dry as the Oklahoma panhandle.
Speaking of the 46th state, Oklahoma has enjoyed plenty of success in multiple sports on the national stage. While the women’s softball team has won six national titles, including each of the past two, the baseball team has been in a draught.
This year's Sooners look to become the university’s third champion after winning it all in 1951 and 1994.
The story is always the same heading into the College World Series championship round. Both teams have great pitching and timely hitting.
While most journalists will expand on how great the teams have been with clutch hitting and quality starting pitching, bettors are forced to look at advanced statistics from Omaha to pick a winner.
Our projections for each individual pitching matchup are based on season-long ERA and WHIP numbers, along with the bullpen element.
The real story is that Dylan DeLucia may not be available for this series after defeating Arkansas on Thursday and hurling 114 pitches in a complete-game shutout. That leaves a bevy of left-handed pitching that will dominate the narrative in the championship round.
Oklahoma’s Jake Bennett is the southpaw in the Sooners’ starting pitching rotation, and he’s accompanied by Carter Campbell in the bullpen. Ole Miss will look to lefty Hunter Elliott to start the first game, while fellow southpaw John Gaddis will start Game 2.
The key to most College World Series sits upon each starter’s ability to locate, bullpens that shut games down and lineups that can hit left-handed pitching.
Oklahoma has lost only two games since postseason play began on May 25 — an offensive slugfest against Virginia Tech at English Field in the Super Regional and a loss to Florida in the Gainesville Regional.
The loss to the Gators is of most importance, as lefty Timmy Manning was quickly taken out in favor of lefty Carsten Finnvold. At the time, Finnvold had pitched just nine innings on the season and owned an ERA and FIP over 7.50.
CARSTEN FINNVOLD! 9 INNINGS OUT OF THE PEN. GATORS FORCE GAME 7 pic.twitter.com/s3KJZO5OBA
— 11Point7: The College Baseball Podcast 🎙 (@11point7) June 6, 2022
Finnvold recorded all 27 outs in relief, limiting the Sooners’ right-handed hitters to a 2-for-23 performance.
There could be plenty of reasons for the Sooners’ demise, with the best explanation being that head coach Skip Johnson didn’t prepare for a member of the Florida staff who was rarely used.
The better explanation may be the struggles against left-handed pitching.
Oklahoma's other loss in the past month came against Virginia Tech in the Regionals. While plenty of runs were scored in the game, the Hokies threw left-handed reliever Jonah Hurney for four innings. Hurney allowed one earned run and recorded seven strikeouts.
That completes a theme: The Sooners can’t hit left-handed pitching.
Ole Miss will have its hands full with Oklahoma ace Jake Bennett, but no one can deny that this is the hottest team in college baseball.
The Rebels managed to post an earned run in five innings against Arkansas’ Hagen Smith, another lefty hurler. In previous bouts against left-handed pitching, Ole Miss throttled Arizona’s Eric Orloff and generated four walks in a victory over Miami’s Carson Palmquist.
The opening game featuring Ole Miss’ Elliott against Oklahoma’s Bennett should be an automatic play on the under, but the Rebels’ ability to draw walks and rack up timely hits against lefties is the difference.
In Game 2, Oklahoma starter Cade Horton would be an underdog to any pitcher head coach Mike Bianco puts on the mound.
Because two lefty starters are scheduled for the first two games, the edge in this series goes to the Rebels. If Oklahoma forces a Game 3 on Monday, an opportunistic spot would emerge with DeLucia on short rest.
With the lack of left-handed pitching on the Sooners’ staff, Ole Miss will claim its first national championship in Division I baseball.
Pick: Game 1 Under 11 or Better · Ole Miss to Win Series
