Two former Ole Miss baseball Rebels were back in their Mississippi stomping grounds Thursday night.
It was as if they’d never left.
Now-two-time teammates Jacob Gonzalez and Tim Elko both came up big for the Birmingham Barons in a 5-4 win over the Biloxi Shuckers. Gonzalez scored twice, including the go-ahead run on the second of two hits from Elko in extra innings.
Gonzalez hit second and manned his customary shortstop. He finished 1 for 4 with a walk and is up to .500 with his overage and 1.319 with his OPS in three games since earning his AA promotion this week.
Gonzalez was the No. 15 overall selection of the Chicago White Sox in the 2023 MLB Draft. He has a homer, double and three RBI for the Barons so far.
Elko, an all-time program great and former 10th-rounder, was a three-time Rebel captain and famously said, ‘Don’t let the Rebs get hot,’ which became a postseason rallying cry for Ole Miss in the title-winning summer of 2022. Elko started every game that year and led the team in slugging percentage (.642), RBI (75), home runs (24) and total bases (154). He set a new single-season program record for home runs.
Then-sophomore Gonzalez clubbed a career-high 18 round-trippers. He led the Rebels in runs (73), walks (50) and triples (3). Gonzalez was 3 for 4 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in the second of a two-game sweep of Oklahoma in the College World Series finals.
However, the Rebels have finished with a sub-.500 record and missed the postseason entirely in each of the last two seasons. Still, head coach Mike Bianco is returning for his 25th campaign as head coach in 2025.
OLE MISS GOLFER CAITLYN MACNAB NAMED ALL-AMERICAN
Ole Miss’ Caitlyn Macnab, on Friday, was honored as an All-American for the third straight season by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association.
Macnab is coming off a career year in which she led the Rebels to their first-ever regional title. She currently ranks No. 22 in the nation, according to Clippd.
Macnab, a junior, most recently tied for the individual championship at the NCAA Bermuda Run Regional. It was her third career medalist finish. She also holds a team-leading (and career-best) season stroke average of 70.92, the second-lowest by a Rebel in history.
She finished in the Top 10 seven times in 2024. Her aggregate 203 (-10) at the Cougar Classic tied the lowest all-time 54-hole score by a Rebel.
OLE MISS WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD SECURES FOUR MORE NATIONAL TICKETS
Four Ole Miss track and field women’s throwers secured berths to the national meet on the second day of the 2024 NCAA East Regional on Thursday.
Three are freshmen, including Akaoma OdelugaandMensi Stiff, who each qualified in the shot put, a first for the program. Odeluga came in fifth, while Stiff was seventh. Stiff was already in the Top 5 of Ole Miss record books.
Odeluga took home bronze at the SEC Championships two weeks ago. Her throw of 18.11m/59-5 leads the world in the under-20 category. Actually, she trails only Raven Saunders, herself a former Rebel, as well as a two-time Olympian.
Stiff’s the first Rebel freshman in history to qualify in both indoors and outdoors. Ole Miss received additional national berths, both in the hammer, from Jalani Davis and Skylar Soli. Soli is the first Rebel freshman to do so.
The Rebels, as a team, went 5 for 6 on the track side to advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals. The Ole Miss men are back in action Friday afternoon. Arvesta Troupe is scheduled to compete in the high jump at 1 p.m. CT.
The rescheduled women’s pole vault started the day. Rebel senior Samara McConnell represented Ole Miss.
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