Ole Miss baseball announces starting rotation for College World Series finals vs Oklahoma
OMAHA, Neb. — Ole Miss baseball has announced which pitchers will be on the mound for the first two games of the College World Series.
The Rebels (40-23) begin their quest for a national championship in a best-of-three series against Oklahoma (45-22) on Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN). Sophomore right-hander Jack Dougherty will start Game 1 of the series before the Rebels give the ball to freshman left-hander Hunter Elliott in Game 2.
Dougherty (3-3, 5.08 ERA) hasn't started a game since March 26 against Tennessee. He began the year as one of Ole Miss' top relief options before moving into the starting rotation for a month, where he struggled. He has since re-emerged as one of Ole Miss' most dominant pitchers; he's thrown 12 scoreless innings with 13 strikeouts against 10 hits and five walks in five appearances since the start of May.
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Elliott (5-3, 2.70 ERA) has been Ole Miss' most dependable starter down the stretch. The Rebels have won his last six starts and in three NCAA Tournament starts he has a 0.96 ERA across 18⅔ innings. Elliott last started the Rebels' win over Arkansas on Monday, meaning he'll be on five days rest for Game 2.
The Rebels did not announce a starter for the if-necessary Game 3 on Monday. Ace Dylan DeLucia would only be on three days of rest Monday and left-hander John Gaddis, who spot started on Wednesday, would be on four days of rest.
This is the first time Ole Miss has ever played for the national championship in baseball.
Contact Nick Suss at 601-408-2674 or nsuss@gannett.com. Follow @nicksuss on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss baseball announces College World Series starting pitchers
