Tim Elko explains the feeling when Ole Miss hit three consecutive home runs in CWS Game 1

Ole Miss is in the driver’s seat for the College World Series title after defeating Oklahoma on Saturday. As part of their big win, the Rebels busted the game wide open in the eighth inning with THREE straight home runs. TJ McCants, Calvin Harris and Justin Bench sent the ball over the fence in consecutive at bats to put Game 1 out of reach.

Their teammate, Tim Elko, shared his thoughts on the monumental momentum swing that sealed the deal for the Tigers.

“I think we knew we needed to get a couple more runs. They’ve got a good offense, and we were holding them at bay, but it would have felt a lot better to get a couple more runs,” Elko said Saturday. “You know, whenever T.J. hit that ball out, it felt like all the momentum shifted to us. Then, you know, Calvin followed with one, and J.B. followed with another. It was great to get those runs in and huge hits by those guys.”

Elko then went on to explain how awesome the moment was — for his team to do something that crazy in the championship series.

“Morale was real high. We’ve done that before. We hit three homers in a row at home, but definitely trumps it hitting here. It was really, really cool to watch,” Elko said. “I think I was in the hole for the last one. Just taking in all the fans going crazy in the outfield, and it was a really cool experience. Like you said, just helped to carry us there at the end of the game for the win.”

Carry them to the win the homers did indeed. So far, Oklahoma had stormed through Omaha. They faced little resistance on their way to the title series and handled No. 5 national seed Texas A&M in just one game to secure their spot in the final. Though they weren’t nationally seeded (and neither is Ole Miss, by the way), Oklahoma was playing the best baseball of anyone in the tournament heading into this weekend.

It’s hard to respond to back-to-back-to-back home runs in the penultimate inning, though. The Rebels poured it on late on Saturday, but the Sooners have plenty of chance to respond on Sunday to keep the season alive.

First pitch at 3 p.m. ET on this fine Sunday afternoon. Ole Miss looks to close it out.