Mississippi's baseball program has been among the nation's elite in terms of fan support and facilities for the better part of a decade.

Now the Rebels finally have some results on the field to match.

Ole Miss (48-21) made it to the College World Series for the first time since 1972 — and even hung around Omaha for a while — before falling to Virginia 4-1 on Saturday.

It was the deep postseason run Ole Miss fans have been craving for a long time. The Rebels came close to reaching the CWS in 2005, '06, '07 and '09, but lost in the super regional round each season, giving the program a hard-luck reputation tough to shed.

Now that label is gone and more trips to the CWS will be expected.

Meanwhile, the scene is set for the start of the CWS championship final. Virginia and Vanderbilt have played themselves into the best-of-three series, which starts Monday in Omaha.

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