Brandon Johnson hilariously reveals how CWS title win changed his postgame routine
Ole Miss closer Brandon Johnson would probably tell you his immediate reaction to throwing the final out to win the team’s first College World Series – if he could remember it. The senior from Cottondale, Ala., told reporters he blacked out between seeing the ball hit his catcher’s glove and the dogpile on the mound.
“There was no emotion,” Johnson said after the game. “I kind of blacked out. Usually, after a game, I usually have something — not choreographed, but I know what I’m going to do after the game. And there, I had no emotion.
“It was a dream come true. Ever since you’re a little kid, you dream of being on the mound in those situations. And when it happened, you just let go of yourself because you realize that you did do it. And it didn’t hit me until probably 20 minutes after it happened after the last pitch happened what was going on. So when it happened, the emotions were true, because there was none.”
Johnson struck out Oklahoma‘s Sebastian Orduno for the final out on Sunday after the Rebels went nearly undefeated in the NCAA tournament. Although he hadn’t pitched much since Coral Gables, with Ole Miss up 4-2, Mike Bianco called Johnson up. He delivered three strikeouts to end it in a picture-perfect fashion.
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Ole Miss dogpiles after winning College World Series
Ole Miss last made the College World Series back in 2014, marking a long stretch between appearances in Omaha. For such a historic program, it was getting frustrating not making it college baseball’s most desired venue. Especially after watching in-state arch-rival, Mississippi State win the national championship last season.
The journey began back in the Coral Gables Regional, where the Rebels swept their way through. In the Super Regional, in-state program Southern Miss hosted, however, it was Ole Miss that needed just two games to advance to the College World Series.
On their side of the bracket, Ole Miss had to deal with multiple SEC West teams, and took their first loss, before making it to the final. As they did for much of the postseason, the Rebels swept Oklahoma and are now national champions.