The 2022 Men's College World Series finals kicked off Saturday with Ole Miss bursting on the scene, defeating Oklahoma 10-3.
The Rebels opened the game fast with two first inning runs coming with two outs. Ole Miss' two-out success continued in the second inning as another run came home to push the lead to 3-0 after the top of the second.
COMPLETE COVERAGE: Updates from the Men's College World Series finals
In the third inning, Ole Miss' Tim Elko homered 352 feet to right field to pushed the lead to 4-0.
While the batters were tallying up runs, Ole Miss pitcher Jack Doughtery put on a show on the mound to open the game. Doughtery had a perfect game bid entering the sixth inning before Oklahoma's Jackson Nicklaus opened the inning with a single. It was the longest perfect-game bid in the MCWS since the NCAA tournament expanded in 1999.
SCHEDULE: Click here for 2022 Men's College World Series finals schedule
Nicklaus' hit kicked off Oklahoma's scoring as he would become the Sooners first run to score after an errant throw. An Oklahoma walk with the bases loaded would cut the lead to 4-2 after six innings.
Ole Miss' TJ McCants, Calvin Harris and Justin Bench broke the game open in the top of the eighth, hitting back-to-back-to-back home runs. It was the first time since LSU achieved the feat in 1998 that three consecutive home runs were hit.
The trio of home runs were enough to put the game out of reach for Oklahoma. Even with the Sooners scoring an eighth inning running to make the score 8-3, the Rebels never felt threatened. Ole Miss even brought home two runs in the top of the ninth as icing on the Game 1 cake.
STATS: Click or tap here for complete stats from Game 1
Ole Miss held on to win 10-3, continuing its magical postseason run. In the win, Tim Elko became the sixth player with 4 hits in MCWS Finals game and the first since 2009. Ole Miss' 16 hits are the most since 2008.
The MCWS finals return Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. If Ole Miss wins, it will be crowned 2022 champions. If Oklahoma wins, it will force a winner-take-all game three on Monday.
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