Ryan Olenek admittedly had not had his best day at the plate when he stepped into the box with two runners on and Ole Miss trailing 5-2 in the ninth inning.
“My previous at-bats throughout weren’t exactly great,” The freshman outfielder said. But it was his resiliency, coupled with a message head coach Mike Bianco that helped make his final at bat in the 9th the most important of the game.
“He said ‘I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but be ready for this pitch and put a good swing on it,” Olenek said. He did one better, and deposited Ben Bramer’s first pitch fastball into the crowd in left field for a game trying three run home run to tie the game at five.