OMAHA, Neb. - For the second year in a row, Northwest will be represented in the championship round of the Men's College World Series, thanks to Ole Miss advancing past Arkansas in the semifinals.

Hayden Leatherwood, Ben Van Cleve and Ole Miss (40-23) will take on Oklahoma in the championship series this weekend, as the duo looks to be a part of the Rebels' first baseball national championship team. Game 1 is scheduled for 6 P.M. on Saturday, June 25, with the second game set for Sunday, June 26 at 2 P.M. If necessary, the third and decisive matchup will be held Monday, June 27 at 6 P.M.

Locally, all three games can also be heard on the Ole Miss Radio Network on WTNM-FM 93.7 (Oxford) or WHBQ-AM 560 (Memphis).

Despite being the last team to squeeze into the national tournament field, Ole Miss has gone on a tear in the postseason, rattling off an 8-1 record and winning both the Coral Gables Regional and the Hattiesburg Super Regional. Along the way, the Rebels knocked off sixth-ranked Miami, No. 10 Southern Miss, No. 7 Auburn and third-ranked Arkansas.

Though not a part of the current starting lineup, both Leatherwood and Van Cleve have seen substantial action this season and throughout their Rebel careers. A native of Collierville, Tenn., Leatherwood has earned 38 starts in 51 games played, batting .250 with seven doubles, a triple, five home runs and 17 RBIs. The Indianola native Van Cleve has seen action in 35 games at the plate, batting .302 in 43 at-bats, tacking on five doubles and four RBIs.

Northwest has been featured prominently in Omaha during recent years. Last season, the Mississippi State trio of Tanner Leggett, Brayland Skinner and Parker Stinnett helped the Bulldogs to their first-ever national championship, with Leggett and Skinner combining for the walk-off hit and winning run in a semifinal victory against Texas.

In 2019, former Ranger pitcher Peyton Plumlee helped guide Mississippi State to the Men's College World Series and a 52-15 record to finish the season. Northwest alums Jeremy Massie (Ole Miss) and Taylor Walker (Southern Miss) have also guided their respective teams to Omaha, with Massie doing so in 2014 and Walker helping the Golden Eagles to the program's first College World Series appearance in 2009.