Dougherty, bombs help Ole Miss past Oklahoma in College World Series on Saturday

Ole Miss's spectacular pitching continued on Saturday, with four players adding home runs. 

Jack Dougherty, Mason Nichols and Josh Mallitz held down the powerful Oklahoma offense, as Ole Miss moved within a game of a national title with a 10-3 win over the Sooners in a 10-3 win at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb., on Saturday night at the College World Series. 

Tim Elko, TJ McCants, Calvin Harris and Justin Bench all homered for the Rebels, who had 16 hits to Oklahoma's five. Elko's four hits led the Rebels, with Peyton Chataginer adding three. 

It doesn’t matter who the Rebels put on the mound these days, it just works out. Daugherty entered the game with a 5.08 ERA and threw more than 3 2/3 innings just once (a five-inning, two-run start at Auburn on March 19) but the sophomore mowed down the Sooners from the beginning. 

Daugherty didn’t allow a base runner until OU’s Calvin Harris led off the sixth with a single to center. 

Meanwhile, the offense struck early, with Kevin Graham driving in a first-inning run, stealing second, taking third on a wild pitch and scoring on an error to put the Rebels up 2-0.

Bench added an RBI single in the third and Elko blasted a solo homer in the fourth to make the advantage 4-0. 

The Sooners hit a ball hard off Dougherty in the fifth, when Wallace Clark smashed one that glanced off Dougherty. But it went right to shortstop Jacob Gonzalez at short and he threw to first just in time to keep the perfect game alive.

It fell apart quickly for Daugherty in the sixth as he gave up four consecutive runners to start the inning, but the bullpen picked him up. 

Nichols started with a strikeout Peyton Graham on a letter-high slider to keep the lead at 4-1. After noting but sliders to start his appearance, he fanned Blake Robertson with a letter-high fastball for the second out before he walked Tanner Treadaway as Oklahoma cut the Rebel lead in half. Finally, a ground ball from Jackson Nicklaus back to the mound ended the inning. 

OU added a single off Mallitz to score one in the eighth, but the Rebels answered with two in the bottom of the inning. 

Ole Miss broke the game open in the eighth, when, with two outs, McCants, Harris and Bench hit consecutive home runs.

The teams play again at Sunday at 2 Central.