Man, what a night. Arizona State and Ole Miss went toe-to-toe for 14 innings in a classic baseball game that lasted four-and-a-half hours. The Rebels came out on top in a walk-off thriller. Hunter Elliott spotted the Sun Devils a couple of early runs, maybe three, before he really found his groove and settled in. We had chances to win it several times before we finally did.
I had a little watch party going at the house—nothing crazy, but by the later innings only a two of us were still hanging in there. The rest tapped out and headed to bed around the time most normal people call it a night. Can’t blame them. This one did not want to end.
Walker Hooks was outstanding last night in my humble opinion. He came in way earlier than his usual spot in the bullpen and just shut it down for the most part. Hudson Calhoun did the same—stepped up and held the fort down when the game could have gone either way. Those two, along with Elliot, were just good enough. I’ll put our pitching up against anyone in the country game in and game out.
Offensively, it wasn’t fireworks every inning, but it was good enough. Big hits came when they mattered and the biggest finally came in the 14th. Braden Randall delivered the hero moment, walking it off to send the Rebels into the winners bracket. I had David Kellum synced up with the TV, and the whole scene reminded me so much of that wild Arkansas 7-overtime football game back in the day—same kind of marathon.
The Rebel pitching is legit. Hitting is doing what it needs to although the strikeouts are frustrating. This Rebel team just keeps fighting. Game 2 is tonight at 7 pm against the hosting Huskers. Let’s see if they can stay in the winners bracket.Â
