Mike Bianco wanted to do it on Saturday but couldn’t put the pen to paper on that line. He went above it one spot, still sending a message about what he thought of his true freshman shortstop.

A day later, after seeing Jacob Gonzalez handle things well defensively and get the first hit of his career in the win over TCU, Bianco went ahead with it and put him in the third spot in the lineup.

It was worth a laugh a few hours later, as Gonzalez’s third-inning at-bat broke the ice and kickstarted the five-run inning that held up in the Rebels’ 5-4 victory over No. 3 Texas Tech on Sunday in Arlington. Ole Miss tries to beat its third top-10 in as many days on Monday when it closes the tournament with No. 9 Texas at 3 p.m.

The Rebels have won 18 straight dating back to last season, a school record.

“I see him as a middle of the lineup guy and I just didn’t have enough guts on opening day to bat him third so we waited a day and we’ll continue to move the lineup around,” Bianco said. “He’s going to continue to be in the middle for quite some time.”

Whether you're an analytical seamhead who sees the most value in the No. 2 spot or the No. 3 spot that traditionalists love, it's clear Bianco wants Gonzalez hitting high in the lineup.

Trailing 2-0 with a runner on first and two outs in the third inning, Gonzalez yanked a 2-2 offspeed pitch from Tech starter Micah Dallas into the first row of seats in right field. It tied the game, kept the inning going and led to four more Rebels reaching base in a row. Texas Tech committed two errors in the inning.

“I thought he was going to catch it, so I was hoping it got some grass,” Gonzalez said.

The Glendora, California, native was the only Rebel with multiple hits, and he handled everything that came his way defensively. A day after Bianco said Gonzalez “is going to be a superstar,” the head coach admitted some surprise with what he’s seen from him since he got to campus.

“To be honest with you, we knew he was a good hitter and a good player but we weren’t sure if he would be a Division I shortstop,” Bianco said. “It’s unfair to him. Nothing he’d done, but he’s a physical, big kid that looks like (former shortstop Grae) Kessinger did in year three. He’s more physical than Grae was as a true freshman and he has great hands and moves around and gets good wings off.”

Gonzalez, the No. 132 player nationally in his class, is 6-foot-2 and looks like a third baseman in the middle infield, but he’s shown excellent hands through intrasquads and this weekend in Texas. Kessinger won the 2019 Brooks Wallace Award, given to the nation’s top shortstop, so any comparisons to him are high praise.

Gonzalez is the third true freshman opening day starter for Ole Miss at shortstop in the last eight years — Kessinger in 2017 and Errol Robinson in 2014.

He hit from the first practice in the fall and controlled the shortstop battle throughout preseason practice. The emergence allowed Justin Bench to fully focus on center field, an important move for Ole Miss to organize its defensive lineup as Bianco wants.

Gonzalez got his first taste of late-inning drama on Sunday, when Texas Tech scored a run and loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth inning before Braden Forsyth survived a fly ball a few feet in front of the right-field wall for the final out.

Max Cioffi, who threw a shutout eighth inning, started the ninth and had two strikeouts and two walks before exiting with arm soreness. Bianco said there’s no injury concern with Cioffi moving forward. True freshman Luke Baker gave up a single to the one batter he faced in his collegiate debut, and Forsyth walked the first batter he faced before the fly out.

“Everyone is going to be a little nervous, but I had complete confidence,” Gonzalez said.

Ole Miss starter Gunnar Hoglund was excellent as expected in his season debut, giving up two home runs for the only blemishes to his 11-strikeout outing that lasted 5.1 innings. He threw 95 pitches and left after a solo home run in the sixth inning. Nate Rombach hit the two-run home run following a walk with two outs in the second inning.

Hoglund walked three batters and gave up three hits while throwing 61 strikes.

“I thought he was terrific against a really good offense that makes you work,” Bianco said. “It wasn’t his best stuff day — a great fastball today — but the slider was nonexistent and he located the fastball today. I’m proud of him. We needed that effort today.”

Austin Miller finished out the sixth for Hoglund and pitched a scoreless seventh inning.

Gonzalez’s home run was Ole Miss’ only extra base hit of the day.