Ole Miss baseball fans gather for unexpected College World Series party: 'It's been a rollercoaster'
OXFORD — Stephanie Vail planned to wait until the winter to surprise her husband Bryan with his Christmas present, but doing it in front of Swayze Field ahead of a Saturday's College World Series watch party was more fitting.
Ole Miss baseball was the final team to crack the NCAA Tournament and now sits two wins away from a national title, so a sudden change of plan in late June is nothing new to Rebels fans.
"I'm going to buy him season tickets next year for baseball," Stephanie told the Clarion Ledger. "So, Merry Christmas."
"Wow," Bryan responded while wearing a white long-sleeve Ole Miss shirt with a bucket hat atop his head. He's been sporting the same shirt since Ole Miss played Southern Miss in super regionals.
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Bryan has been an Ole Miss fan since football's 2001 seven-overtime loss against Arkansas. He brought Stephanie, a California native, into the fandom 13 years ago.
With their daughter Jessie, the Vail family joined about 500 fellow Rebels at Swayze Field for their team's championship series opener against Oklahoma.
The crowd featured a plethora of families who couldn't make the trip to Omaha but wanted to be inside a ballpark to witness Ole Miss' first attempt at a national title. Current students such as Will Higgason, a Greenwood native living in Oxford, joined as well.
Higgason, sporting a red baseball jersey with script "Ole Miss" written across his chest, plans to graduate next May. While many Rebels never anticipated this season's team making the turnaround to get to late-June, plenty in Higgason's class weren't sure if a gathering like this would be possible in their time as students.
They were freshman when COVID-19 sent students home unexpectedly in 2020. They watched as crowds were limited across college baseball last season. Regardless of Ole Miss' results, Higgason was excited to be back at Swayze Field this season to watch the crowd in full force.
That includes returning to the ballpark to watch a game on the left field big screen.
"It gives us a whole new appreciation. With COVID, quarantine and everything, it was kind of a blow to morale," Higgason said. "Being able to appreciate the opportunities we have to support our athletic programs as well as academic is a revitalization of the motivation to grow holistically."
Higgason said his faith in this season's team never faltered, but many can't say the same.
"It's been a rollercoaster," Stephanie said. "It's Ole Miss sports. It's what we're used to."
Cain Young drove to Oxford from Jackson for the game Saturday. He won't be watching from Swayze Field, but he wanted to be in The Square.
Young grew up near Starkville in a Mississippi State family but came to Ole Miss as a pre-pharmacy student in 2012. He was a student during the Rebels' 2014 run to the College World Series.
Young had high expectations for that team which fell short, and he had similar hopes for this year's squad as it was once the top-ranked team. But as the struggles came, Young's expectations dwindled.
"For some reason, things weren't clicking," Young said. "I'm really proud to see how they've fought back."
The hopes for Ole Miss baseball are uniform now. At the series' end, Rebels fans expect the national championship trophy to make the 700 mile trip from Omaha to Oxford because they want the next gathering at Swayze Field to feature hardware.
Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @skrajisnik3.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss baseball fans gather at Swayze Field for College World Series
