Ole Miss slugs its way past Arizona in Coral Gables regional

Peyton Chatagnier got his chance to make a difference on Saturday and didn’t flinch.

After a game-tying home run in the seventh inning, Chatagnier ripped a bases clearing double in the eighth to put the Rebels up 7-4, which was good enough to hold off the Arizona Wildcats. What a gosh dang night.

The win advances Ole Miss to a game against the host Miami Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon, currently scheduled for 2 p.m. CT.

Dylan DeLucia kept Ole Miss in the game against Arizona with 12 strikeouts in six plus innings of work, but he surrendered four runs in the process. Josh Mallitz and Brandon Johnson came in to slam the door on the Wildcats and did not allow any runs in relief. The pitching trio combined for 20 strikeouts total in the game setting a new program postseason record.

Jacob Gonzalez cranked a two run home run of his own in the fourth inning to tie up the game at the time, 2-2. Arizona clubbed its way to a 4-2 lead before Chatagnier’s aforementioned home run tied things up.

Truly this team showed Saturday why it was selected to the tournament. There may be fans still on the outs with this team, but it’s postseason baseball y’all - anything can happen. The wins mean more now, and while the Rebels still have long odds to escape this regional, the numbers look a little better Sunday morning.