SUPER REBS! Tim Elko Blasts Three Bombs, Rebels Sweep Coral Gables Regional
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Tim Elko set the single season home run record with three bombs, Kemp Alderman cranked a grand slam, and Ole Miss ran away with the Coral Gables Regional Championship 22-6 over Arizona.
With the win, Ole Miss locks up a berth in the Super Regionals in Hattiesburg next weekend.
QUICK-STRIKE OFFENSE
In the top of the first, Jacob Gonzalez drew a one out walk and that paved the way for The Captain, Tim Elko, to do what he does best.
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— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) June 6, 2022
But Arizona wouldn’t let Ole Miss get off that easy.
In the bottom half, Daniel Susac would single and Tanner O’Tremba would answer Elko’s blast with a two-run blast of his own to tie the game back up at two apiece.
Have yourself a weekend, OT 👏 #BearDown
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— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) June 6, 2022
But then in the top of the second, Hayden Dunhurst would lead off with a walk and Peyton Chatagnier, who was on fire in the regional, continued his hot streak with yet another two-run bomb.
BACK IN FRONT!
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— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) June 6, 2022
That would end the day for Arizona starter Chandler Murphy. He would be replaced by Eric Orloff.
In the bottom half, Arizona responded with a solo shot from Blake Paugh to make it 4-3 to keep the offensive onslaught going.
But in the top of the third, the absolute legend Tim Elko did it yet again.
HOME RUN NO. 21! TIM TIES THE SINGLE-SEASON RECORD!
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— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) June 6, 2022
The blast was Elko’s 21st of the season, which tied the Ole Miss record for single-season home runs and extended the lead to 5-3.
The bottom of the third would be the first half inning without at least one run, as Derek Diamond would work around a one-out single from O’Tremba to get out of the inning.
CATS FIGHT BACK
After Diamond didn’t allow a run in the Arizona third, he allowed a leadoff single to start the fourth, but then got two outs and looked like he might work around it again, but a two-run homer by Blake Paugh tied the game up again at five apiece.
That would end Diamond’s day and Jack Dougherty would replace him. Dougherty would get out of the inning with no further damage, but it was a new ballgame yet again.
REBELS ANSWER IN A BIG WAY
After Arizona tied the game, Ole Miss wasn’t going to go down easy in the fifth.
Garrett Wood worked an 11-pitch walk that was followed by a Justin Bench single and a Jacob Gonzalez fly out that moved Wood up to third.
The Wildcats would replace Eric Orloff with George Arias Jr., who would proceed to walk Tim Elko and load the bases. Kevin Graham then hit a soft grounder that scored Wood, and Graham would beat the throw to first to keep the bases loaded and give the Rebs a 6-5 lead.
That set the stage for Kemp Alderman. And boy did he deliver.
KEMP!!! GRAND SLAM!!!!!
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— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) June 6, 2022
After a Hayden Dunhurst strikeout and Peyton Chatagnier single, the ‘Cats would go to the bullpen yet again, bringing in Holden Christian. Christian would get Calvin Harris to fly out to end the frame, but the Rebs had a 10-5 lead after the big inning.
THE WILDCATS GIVE ‘EM A SCARE
In the home half of the fifth, the Wildcats loaded the bases with two outs after back-to-back walks by Dougherty.
Tommy Splaine hit a soft ground ball that looked like it might turn into an infield RBI single, but Jacob Gonzalez yet again showed off his defensive skills, throwing him out and ending the threat with the Rebels’ lead in tact.
RUNNING IT UP
The Rebels would put ducks on the pond yet again in their half of the sixth in front of Tim Elko.
After the Wildcats made a pitching change, new pitcher Chris Barraza would walk Tim Elko to give Ole Miss an 11-5 lead. Kevin Graham would follow with an RBI single to make it 12-5. After Hayden Dunhurst walked to load the bases again, Jonathan Guardado would come on in relief out of the Arizona bullpen.
Things did not go well for him.
In order for the Rebels: a Chatagnier two-RBI double, a Harris RBI double, a Wood strikeout, a Bench RBI double, and a Gonzo strikeout. By the time it was over, the Rebels had an 18-5 lead and were in total control.
TOUCHDOWN, REBELS!!!
SEVEN runs in the sixth after @Calvin_Harris33 drives in two more. pic.twitter.com/7MMTw5EtOY
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) June 6, 2022
No. 8 makes it 8 runs in the sixth!
18-5, Rebs. pic.twitter.com/96LYJtHudp
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) June 6, 2022
BUILD THE STATUE
In the Ole Miss seventh, Tim Elko came to the plate to lead off the inning, and hit his third home run of the game to set the single season record for Ole Miss with 22.
The blast gave the Rebels a 19-5 lead with just nine defensive outs left.
Ok then, Tim.
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— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) June 7, 2022
Elko talked about the weekend and his performance.
“I was just trying to put good swings on good pitches this weekend and it was working well for me. But it’s a lot easier to do well when you’ve got such a good support system around you and such other good hitters around you in the lineup. It makes hitting a lot easier when there’s so many good guys around you. Props to the whole team for doing such a great job this weekend and our pitching staff did an amazing job as well.“
Ole Miss captain Tim Elko
SUPER REBS
The Wildcats would push a run across in their half of the seventh with John Gaddis on the mound, but Gaddis would allow nothing more.
Ole Miss would tack on three more runs in the ninth with a Kemp Alderman RBI single and Peyton Chatagnier RBI double, and the Rebels would punch their ticket to the super regional round in Hattiesburg with a 22-6 victory.
Final numbers for Tim Elko and Peyton Chatagnier in the regional look like this:
Elko: .778 AVG, .857 OBP, 2.111 SLG, 3 HR, 7 RBI’s, 5 BB.
Chatagnier: .583 AVG, .615 OBP, 1.333 SLG, 2 HR, 10 RBI’s, 1 BB.
Five Ole Miss Rebels would be named to the all-regional team: Tim Elko, Peyton Chatagnier, Jacob Gonzalez, Hunter Elliott, and Brandon Johnson. Tim Elko would bring home regional MVP honors as well.
Coach Mike Bianco talked about what it meant to have the recognition for his players after the regional.
“It’s really cool. The reason that you won is because you played well, and the reason that you played well is because the guys had great tournaments like those guys… We had a lot of guys play well and that’s the reason we had success.“
Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco
LOOKING AHEAD
The Rebels’ Super Regional matchup with Southern Miss will begin next weekend in Hattiesburg, after the Golden Eagles defeated LSU in their regional on Sunday.
Ole Miss and Southern Miss have already met twice this season, with USM winning the first matchup, 10-7, in Pearl and the Rebels taking the second game, 4-1, in Hattiesburg.
The Super Regional will either begin on Friday, June 10th or Saturday June 11th. Stay tuned to The Rebel Walk for updates.
The Rebels are two wins away from Omaha! The Captain tried to warn everyone.
Don’t let the Rebs get hot… 🤫
— Tim Elko (@TimElko) May 30, 2022
Hotty Toddy!
(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)
Austin Eldridge
Austin has more than ten years in sports media, including sports talk radio, play-by-play broadcasting and journalism. He has followed Ole Miss athletics for his entire life and has covered the Rebels and the rest of the SEC while working in the Memphis media market. Outside of sports media, Austin is a musician and outdoorsman. Before a serious accident forced him to be medically discharged, he was a multi-media journalist with the Mississippi National Guard.
