TRANSCRIPT: Mike Bianco, Brayden Randle, Hudson Calhoun After Ole Miss’ 14-Inning Win Over Arizona State

LINCOLN, Neb. — Nearly five hours after first pitch, after 14 innings, 24 combined hits, countless tense moments, and enough momentum swings to fill an entire weekend, Ole Miss was still standing. Brayden Randle’s walk-off single finally delivered a 7-6 victory over Arizona State in one of the most dramatic NCAA Tournament games in recent Rebel history, sending Ole Miss into the winner’s bracket and setting off a celebration that was equal parts relief and exhilaration.

Following the marathon victory, head coach Mike Bianco, hero Brayden Randle, and reliever Hudson Calhoun reflected on a game that demanded resilience from every player who stepped onto the field.

Coach Bianco’s opening statement:

You know what? An unbelievable game by both teams. And, you know, the old cliche, probably nobody deserved to lose that game. But, super proud of our guys and when you have a game like that, there’s several stars and stuff that gets lost, you know, in it, but just proud of the way we played, proud of the way we competed, proud of the way we took some some big punches by a very good Arizona State team and hung in there to finish it off. And obviously the two guys sitting next to me — what a finish by Hudson Calhoun and then certainly Brayden Randle, you know, twice, you know, really did his job. Unfortunately, they make an unbelievable play, you know, a few innings before, but, you know, he was able to sneak one through there in the final.

Question for Brayden Randle:  Brayden, I guess what was going through your mind on the hit? And then also, what was it like in the dugout throughout extra innings? The intensity just keeps kind of ratcheting up.

Brayden: Throughout the dugout it’s just constant resilience, you know, credit to the pitchers for going out there and giving us a zeros. Hudson came out there and was lights out for us, kept us in the game when most of the time we wouldn’t deserve it as hitters. We had so many chances tonight, but credit to Hudson and Hooks and Elliot for pitching great tonight and just giving us the opportunity to win.

Question: Coach for you. Talk about the pitching. Three of your pitchers gave you the amount of length that they did for these fourteen innings.

Coach Bianco: Well, yeah, they were outstanding. And as Brayden said, you know, we don’t win without those guys. And you know, you know, starting with Hunter, pitching against, you know, a very good offense in Arizona State and he had some, some, you know, not trying to take any credit away from them, but, you know, had Elliott had some bad fortune, some balls, found some holes in the first, uh, some, you know, ground balls. And they were able to, you know, squeak a run or two across. But, I thought after the home run, he really kind of settled in and gave us a little bit of length anyway, And then of course, what Hooks did. And that was really the goal was to just, you know, see if we could just go that route and really bypass, you know, some of the guys like Hudson and save those guys for the rest of the weekend. Unfortunately, that didn’t quite turn out that way. But the guys were terrific on the mound.

Question for Hudson: What was working for you in all those situations?

Hudson Calhoun: I mean, to be honest, like (pitching coach) Joel Mangrum would call the pitch and I have so much belief in his pitch calling. I have so much belief in Fawley that if it was a slider down, like I’m comfortable spiking that pitch because I know he’s going to block it. So it just gives me so much freedom to be able to throw the baseball. But to be honest, the cutter was there and the changeup was there. That probably got the most outs. The fastball got hit around a little bit, but it found people and I have a great defense behind me. So that was kind of the strategy.

Question for Brayden: What was your approach in that last at bat? Three guys on the right side of the infield. What was going through your mind as you came up?

Brayden Randle: Well, to be honest, I didn’t even know they brought in the centerfielder, and I saw them when the pitch was being thrown. And, you know, the guy was throwing me curveball, slider, whatever it was all night and I knew he was going to be in the zone. And the first pitch, it was there and I was a pretty good swing on it and found a hole.

Question for Mike: What does it say about a guy like Brayden who was just kind of staying ready for that moment?

Coach Bianco: You know, it’s one of those unwritten things that people don’t think about that he’s been a big part of this all year long and still is. But, tonight was a different role for him, you know, to come off the bench in a situation. And we sit down, Clem and I before the game and write the lineup out. But then as we go into the reserves and the possible pinch hitters, we write out, you know, names, who are going to be the best match for the certain relievers that may may come in a game. And, and certainly when his, his guy came in — the Schaefer guy –we put him in the game and like I said, I thought he did did a good job the at bat before, you know, they just made a, made a hell of a play. And then he was able to get one through.

Question for Coach Bianco: You bought yourself a little time on this thing with the win — what do you hope the next 15 hours kind of look like? How do you treat the 15 hours?

Coach Bianco: Would that include the game? One of the things, the message to the players is we’ve been through this before. We’ve been through it with Georgia and didn’t play well the next day. And, so there’s a lot of people out there who’ll tell you how tired you’re supposed to be and how draining, you know, this can be. Or you can kind of spin it the other way and let this kind of energize you and let the positivity kind of take you through. And so, you know, we got plenty of time. They have plenty of time to go back and eat and hydrate and rest and be ready for tomorrow. And they will be. You know, it’s postseason baseball. So I’m not worried about that.

Question: Do you know who will throw the next game?

Coach Bianco: Taylor Rabe

The celebration was well-earned, but as Bianco reminded everyone afterward, the postseason offers little time to enjoy a victory, no matter how memorable. With Nebraska waiting less than 24 hours later and Taylor Rabe set to take the ball, the Rebels quickly shifted their focus to the next challenge.

Yet regardless of what happens the rest of the weekend, Ole Miss showed Friday exactly why postseason baseball is unlike anything else in sports. It took 14 innings, three outstanding pitching performances, and a clutch swing from a player ready for his moment, but the Rebels survived and advanced — and in postseason baseball, that’s all that matters.