#4 - 2009 Baseball Heartbreak

     Number 4 on my "worst of the worst" list involves the Rebel Baseball team.  Anybody who's anybody knows that sitting in the outfield of Oxford-University Stadium is an excellent way to spend a Spring afternoon or evening here in Oxford, MS.  One can drink cheap beer legally (if it's in a cup of course), talk to pretty girls, and watch the Rebels play a sport we have been consistently good at for a long period of time.  It's a win, win, win situation usually.
     In 2009, the Rebels were on a roll.  We won a share of the SEC regular season title and were selected to host a regional tournament in Oxford.  Luckily, I had made the wise decision to enroll in an Summer School class so I was able to witness all of the excitement first-hand.
     The Rebels rolled through their regional opponents Missouri and Western Kentucky which meant that The Super Regional Tournament would be hosted in Oxford also.  The excitement level and hysteria for the baseball team were at an all time high.  The Rebs were up against a very good University of Virginia team, but everybody and their Momma seemed to think we were destined to finally escape the Super Regional round with a victory and earn a trip to the College World Series in Omaha (a feat that the Rebels had never accomplished).
     Things started off exceptionally well.  Matt Smith hit a walk-off home run to beat the Cavaliers in Game 1 of the 3 game series.  (Here is a very blurry video of the home run and the celebration)

Full cups were thrown in the air, people were hugging strangers, and everyone was yelling the words to Hotty Toddy as loud as humanly possible.  It was honestly the greatest sporting event I've ever been to in my life.  As the celebratory suds rained down on all in attendance, the reality set in that all we had to do was beat Virginia one more time in the next 2 days and we were headed to the World Series.  Easy right?
     Well it didn't turn out to be so easy.  We lost...  Both games 2 and 3...  Both of them...  I won't get into the details here because, although its been almost 3 years, the wounds are just too fresh.  To go from winning game 1 on a walk-off to choking two days in a row was an emotional roller coaster that I wouldn't wish on anyone, and to make matters worse, to this day we still have not earned a trip to the College World Series.  That my friends is how the 2009 baseball season earned the #4 spot on my "worst of the worst" list.