‘Wouldn’t be here without him’: The Biancos had a moment on Sunday. And this time they didn’t have to travel far.
A few years ago Mike Bianco and his brother made the long trip north to Conrad (Delaware) High School to see their father, Ron, inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame.
Jim Sherman at the time was the head coach at nearby University of Delaware. Ron Bianco, in the 60s, played baseball and football for the Blue Hens, but he hadn’t been on campus much, if at all, in years.
Plenty had changed, and Mike Bianco was hoping Sherman could set up a tour.
Sherman quickly agreed. Actually, rather than send a graduate assistant or innocuous off-the-field staffer to meet them once they arrived, Sherman showed up himself and proceeded to walk them around campus for some three hours.
“I said, ‘Hey, if you ever want to come to Oxford and play three games, let us know.’ He said, ‘Yeah, I’ll come whenever.’ That’s how it all happened,” Bianco said.
Fast-forward to this weekend at Swayze Field.
Plenty, again, has changed for both Ole Miss and Delaware. The Rebels are the defending college baseball national champions. The Blue Hens are in their first season under new head coach Greg Mamula.
But the teams met for three season-opening games — just as Bianco had suggested and Sherman had agreed to as they were helping Ron Bianco re-live some of the most memorable moments of his decades-ago playing career.
Ole Miss — which is currently ranked as the nation’s No. 4 overall team — dispatched of Delaware with relative ease, outscoring the Blue Hens 35-6.
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The Rebels run-ruled them in each of the last two games.
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Special, however, was what came before the series finale on Sunday.
Ron Bianco threw out the first pitch. On the receiving end was Mike, now one of the winningest and most accomplished head coaches in Ole Miss history.
Bianco has delivered 18 postseason appearances in his 22 seasons leading the program. Last season was obviously his crowning achievement. The Rebels, as the last team named to the NCAA Tournament field, reeled off 10 wins in 11 postseason games en route to the Ole Miss’ first-ever baseball title.
This time, though, Mike Bianco didn’t have to travel far to share another special life moment with his dad.
He just had to make his usual, quick stroll from the Ole Miss home dugout.
“Really cool,” Bianco said. “I wouldn’t be here without him. We all have people who help us throughout our lives — mentors, parents, coaches. So much is said about (all-time great LSU) coach (Skip) Bertman, which is certainly deserving.
“But my dad was my first coach. That was the first guy I learned the game from and how to coach.
“So pretty cool. Pretty cool.”
