MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2023 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Michel, Boyd, Hopson, Turner-Ford, Carter, Sparks, Parks, Fillingane, Younger, Kirby, Blackwell, Chassaniol, DeBar, Blount, McLendon, England, Caughman, McCaughn, Williams, Suber, Barnett, Butler (38th), Hill, Hickman, Jackson, Moran, Norwood, Simmons (13th)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION CELEBRATING AND CONGRATULATING THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI "OLE MISS REBELS" BASEBALL TEAM AND HEAD COACH MIKE BIANCO, INCLUDING THE ATHLETES, COACHING STAFF, ADMINISTRATION, FACULTY, STUDENTS AND ALUMNI, FOR WINNING THE 2022 NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION DIVISION 1 BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP.
WHEREAS, Coach Mike Bianco's "Rebels," once 7-14 in their own league, defeated the Oklahoma "Sooners" 4-2 to sweep the Best-of-Three Championship and win the College World Series on Sunday, June 29, 2022; and
WHEREAS, these "Rebels" never quit hoping or believing or working. "Life is tough and there's bad things that happen to everybody," Bianco said postgame. "These guys have worked really hard and I think they've shown a lot of people that you can fall down, you can stumble and you can fail, but that doesn't mean you're a failure. If you continue to push and you continue to believe, as Tim (Elko) said, you can accomplish anything"; and
WHEREAS, by becoming national champions, the "Rebels" have realized college baseball's ultimate goal. They have worked their way back from 22-17 on May 1, 2022, to a final record of 42-23, including a remarkable 10-1 run through the NCAA Tournament. The team that lost at home to Southeast Missouri 13-3 on April 19 claimed the National Championship on June 26, defeating the mighty Oklahoma "Sooners," undefeated in the College World Series before they ran into Ole Miss; and
WHEREAS, this was no easy road. Ole Miss, the last team to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, had to run the gauntlet as a low seed through Miami, then Hattiesburg, then Omaha; and
WHEREAS, in Omaha, the "Rebels" did not lack support and encouragement. Roughly, 20,000 Ole Miss fans were present at Charles Schwab Field, often standing, screaming and waving towels at all the right moments. The crowd fed off the "Rebels'" energy, and the "Rebels" fed off the crowd's. Afterward, the winners circled the field, high-fiving joyous fans. There were Ole Miss fans reaching over one another to lean over the fence in every section of the stadium. Nearly an hour after the game had ended, Ole Miss fans still stood and cheered; and
WHEREAS, Ole Miss had many heroes, including shortstop Jacob Gonzalez, who was responsible for three of his team's six hits. He hit a solo home run for the game's first run in the sixth and then knocked in a crucial, tying run with a sharp single in the eighth. Freshman Hunter Elliott, who is 19 years old and pitches as if he is 29, started on the mound and pitched 6.2 innings of two-run, three-hit baseball. Senior John Gaddis pitched the "Rebels" out of a seventh inning mess and gave his team 1.1 innings of nearly perfect pitching, and that set the stage for closer Brandon Johnson, who went right at the "Sooners" and recorded three straight strikeouts on 14 pitches to save the victory in the ninth inning. "It was a dream come true," Johnson said. "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 you did do it"; and
WHEREAS, Coach Bianco deserves much of the credit as well, and not only for keeping his team's spirits up during the bad times earlier in the season and making all the right strategy calls in the College World Series. There were still more Ole Miss heroes; TJ McCants got the three-run, eighth inning rally started with a ringing single to center, and ever-dependable Justin Bench then moved him all the way to third with a line-drive single to right field. Of course, some of the loudest postgame cheers were for Elko, the captain and spiritual leader of these National Champions. Said Elko, "There's just so much to be said about how much we overcame this year, how much we had to fight through, how much we had to pick each other up and never let ourselves get too down. This story of our season is going to be told for years and years and years to come"; and
WHEREAS, the members of the 2022 National Collegiate Baseball Team are: Peyton Chatagnier, Derek Diamond, Hudson Sapp, Knox Loposer, Reagan Burford, Jacob Gonzalez, Justin Bench, Hayden Leatherwood, Kemp Alderman, Hayden Dunhurst, Tim Simay, TJ McCants, John Kramer, Mitch Murrell, Matt Parenteau, Calvin Harris, Drew McDaniel, Max Cioffi, Josh Mallitz, Jackson Kimbrell, Tim Elko, Hunter Elliott, John Gaddis, Banks Tolley, Luke Ellis, Noah Magee, Ben Van Cleve, Riley Maddox, Kevin Graham, Brandon Johnson, Logan Savell, Jack Dougherty, Garrett Wood, Cole Baker, Dylan DeLucia, Mason Nichols, Brayden Jones, Blake McGehee, Tywone Malone, Wes Burton and Jack Washbuurn; Head Coach, Mike Bianco; Assistant Coaches, Mike Clement and Carl Lafferty; Volunteer Assistant Coach, Chris Cleary; Coordinator of Operations - Internal Affairs, Chris Goudoras; Coordinator of Operations - External Affairs, Sam Slavik; Senior Athletic Trainer, Joshua Porter; Strength and Conditioning Coach, Zach Boone; Assistant Director of Academic Support, Sheila Padgett; Student Managers, Nathan Bledsoe, Blaine Calcagno, Jacob Melendez, Hayden Scarbrough, Charles Spencer and John Ross Swaim; and
WHEREAS, the 2022 University of Mississippi Baseball Team has brought great pride and honor to Ole Miss loyal fans of the University of Mississippi and to the entire State of Mississippi:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby celebrate and congratulate the University of Mississippi "Ole Miss Rebels" Baseball Team and Head Coach Mike Bianco, including the athletes, coaching staff, administration, faculty, students and alumni, for winning the 2022 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Baseball Championship.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That we do hereby recognize the University of Mississippi for its excellence as an institution of higher education.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the Chancellor of the University of Mississippi, Glenn F. Boyce, the Athletic Director of the University of Mississippi, Keith Carter, the Head Coach of the Ole Miss Baseball Team, Mike Bianco, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.