OXFORD (AP) — Grae Kessinger hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning and host Ole Miss held on in a wild ninth to advance to the final of the NCAA Tournament’s Oxford Regional with a 9-8 victory over Tennessee Tech on Sunday night.

Kessinger’s two-out liner down the line in left field scored speedy pinch-runner Anthony Servideo from first base for a 6-5 lead after the eighth inning was kept alive on a wild pitch following a strikeout.
Each team scored three runs in the ninth before Houston Roth struck out Alex Junior with the tying run at third for the sophomore right-hander’s first career save.

Roth was the third pitcher of the inning for the Rebels (48-15), who are seeded fourth nationally and will have two chances if needed to advance and host a Super Regional. They’ll play either Tennessee Tech or Missouri State Monday at noon. If Ole Miss loses, it will play again at 6 p.m.

Nick Osborne hit two solo homers for the second-seeded Golden Eagles (49-10), who lead the nation in wins but had to play an elimination game against Missouri State immediately after the loss late Sunday night.
Missouri State beat Saint Louis 9-8 in an elimination game earlier Sunday.

Two of the Rebels’ ninth-inning runs scored on a bases-loaded walk to Servideo when Will Golsan scored from second on a wild pitch.

Parker Caracci (5-2) pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in a 5-5 tie in the seventh but came out after loading the bases with one out in the ninth. Greer Holston got Osborne to pop out as the potential tying run with the bases loaded before walking in a run and giving up Collin Harris’ two-run single.