Brandon Johnson addresses how Ole Miss pitching turned around its season to win CWS title
Ole Miss pitcher Brandon Johnson couldn’t be more proud of the way the bullpen pulled through on its way to claiming the College World Series title. Johnson was a big part of that push, pitching 4.2 innings mostly in relief throughout the NCAA Tournament.
That included Sunday in the deciding game against Oklahoma, in which Johnson entered in the ninth inning to earn the save. He wasted no time recording the final three outs, striking out all three batters he faced to end the game and clinch the championship.
“We knew we were the staff from the beginning of the year, even in the fall, we saw how competitive it was,” Johnson said postgame. “When we were going through that 7-14 time with the struggles, we knew that wasn’t us.
“Being able to get the recognition that the staff deserves, really from the starting standpoint, Dylan and Elliott took off, and in the bullpen we pitched to our ability. We always knew we were capable of doing what we have done for the past month or so. It just feels great to actually see the work that we put in, go out and be successful.”
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Hunter Elliott got the start again Sunday and pitched 6.2 innings giving before giving up a pair of runs in the seventh. John Gaddis later entered the game to pick up the win after Ole Miss scored three runs in the eighth to pull away for good.
As for Game 1 on Saturday, Jack Dougherty got the start and picked up the win after giving up a pair of runs and striking out six through five innings. Ole Miss had several other great pitching performances across the NCAA Tournament, including back-to-back shutouts from Elliott and Dylan DeLucia in the Super Regional against Southern Miss.
Ole Miss was one of the last teams in the tournament and thus played its entire path to Omaha on the road. Despite this, the Rebels persevered to claim the first CWS title in program history. It’s obvious to Brandon Johnson that Ole Miss never would have accomplished that feat if not for the effort from its bullpen.