Ole Miss is one win away from advancing to a super regional. The Rebels survived a weather-induced postponement and a late scare versus host Nebraska in a 6-3 win to advance to the Lincoln Regional final.
The game began at 7 p.m. on Saturday, and after eight innings of work, a bout of lightning and rain prompted officials to postpone action on the diamond until noon on Sunday. Ole Miss boasted a 6-3 lead going into the final inning of work, and the score held after a fruitless top of the ninth, with the Rebels failing to take advantage of a leadoff walk.
Things got a little scary for Mike Bianco’s club in the final frame. Rebel pitcher Landon Waters walked his first two batters, putting the tying run at the plate. Bianco quickly pulled the Grenada native and turned to reliable bullpen arm Hudson Calhoun to close out the contest. The Tupelo native was quickly aided by his infielders turning a double play, and after walking the fourth batter of the Cornhusker rotation, Calhoun forced a groundout to secure the win for the Rebels.
Ole Miss (38-21) was led by Taylor Rabe’s (5-3) dominant pitching performance. The right-hander logged nine strikeouts while only surrendering one run on four hits in six innings. Calhoun got the save by holding Nebraska scoreless in the bottom of the ninth. Offensively, Will Furniss was the club’s work horse with three hits, while Owen Paino was most effective with three RBI. Hayden Federico notably had two hits.
Nebraska (43-16) struck first blood with a Jett Buck solo shot in the bottom of the fourth. The run appeared to be a major gut punch delivered to the red and blue, which struggled against Cornhusker pitcher Ty Horn. The right-handed strike thrower held Ole Miss scoreless for five innings, effectively carving through the Rebel lineup until the top of the sixth.
With two outs in the frame, Paino, who had a rough night at the plate in the regional opener, sent a pair of runners home with a single. Randle, following up heroics from an extra-innings win over Arizona State, added to the tally with a single that scored another run. Ole Miss led 3-1.
The Cornhuskers threatened in the bottom of the sixth by loading the bases. But Rabe, with well over 100 pitches on the night, forced a groundout to hold the host club at bay. And instead of Nebraska capitalizing on an opportunity to rally behind its raucous crowd, it was the visiting team that stole all of the momentum.
Fire us up @RabeTaylor! pic.twitter.com/SBB5R5i4Y8
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 31, 2026
Self-inflicted wounds plagued Nebraska in the top of the seventh, as Cornhusker pitchers walked a pair of runners into home with bases loaded, along with infielders being unable to secure an infield popup that narrowly drifted foul near third base. In the top of the eighth, Buck, the left fielder, had an errant throw off a Furniss single knocked deep, allowing Decker to scoot home from first base and putting the Rebels up 6-1.
Nebraska, despite a suboptimal turn of events, still had life. Max Buettenback sent a two-run shot over the center field wall to cut the deficit to 6-3. Then the inclement conditions followed, and when the teams returned to the field, Ole Miss was able to walk away victorious, but not without plenty of drama.
Horn (3-3) was the engine for Nebraska, fanning three batters while surrendering three earned runs on six hits in 5.2 innings. He was the only Cornhusker pitcher to go longer than 1.1 innings. Offensively, Joshua Overbeek had a team-best two hits, while Buettenback was most impactful with his long ball accounting for two runs.
Next up
Ole Miss will not play again until 7 p.m. CT on Sunday. The Rebels will take on the winner of an elimination matchup between Nebraska and Arizona State, which begins at 2 p.m. CT.
