Jake Morgan pitched with a broken nose; Matt Smith hit a walk-off homer.  (AP)

Their closer was pitching with a broken nose, and the Ole Miss Rebels needed someone to deliver a knockout punch. Matt Smith was happy to oblige.

Smith's solo home run in the bottom of the 12th inning Friday sent the Rebels to a 4-3 victory over Virginia in the opener of the NCAA baseball Super Regionals, sending the home crowd into a super tizzy and rewarding a gutsy effort by closer Jake Morgan.

ROUND 1 PICKS
Follow every pick
  1 WAS: S. Strasburg
  2 SEA: D. Ackley
  3 SD: D. Tate
  4 PIT: J. Sanchez
  5 BAL: M. Hobgood
  6 SF: Z. Wheeler
  7 ATL: M. Minor
  8 CIN: M. Leake
  9 DET: J. Turner
10 WAS: D. Storen
11 COL: T. Matzek
12 KC: A. Crow
13 OAK: G. Green
14 TEX: M. Purke
15 CLE: A. White
16 ARI: R. Borchering
17 ARI: A. Pollock
18 FLA: C. James
19 STL: S. Miller
20 TOR: S. Jenkins
21 HOU: J. Mier
22 MIN: K. Gibson
23 CWS: J. Mitchell
24 LAA: R. Grichuk
25 LAA: M Trout
26 MIL: E. Arnett
27 SEA: N. Franklin
28 BOS: R. Fuentes
29 NYY: S. Heathcott
30 TB: L. Washington
31 CHC: B. Jackson
32 COL: T. Wheeler
36 LAD: A. Miller
72 NYM: S. Matz
75 PHI: K. Dugan

MORE COVERAGE
• Draft falls into place after No. 1
• Follow Draft on Twitter
• New tech helps clubs spot talent
• Bodley: Nats must be patient

"The place just went nuts," Smith said after his eighth homer of the year lit the fuse. "I don't remember much after that. I kind of remember coming home and I was on the ground with the team on top of me."

But if not for Morgan pulling one of the best bloody mound performances this side of Curt Schilling's sock, Smith's hazy memory might not have been possible.

Morgan allowed one hit and struck out three over three shutout innings for Mississippi -- and he did it with a broken nose suffered on an errant throw in pregame warmups. Morgan pitched with gauze stuffed in his nose and two black eyes.

"He looked like Rocky out there, but he pitched like Rocky as well," Rebels coach Mike Bianco said.

For Mississippi's two Friday heroes, the First-Year Player Draft awaits next week. As redshirt sophomores, they're both eligible to be selected, and Friday's efforts couldn't have hurt their standing.

There's a different goal in mind now, though. With one more win, the Rebels would reach the College World Series for the first time since 1972. Mississippi (48-16) will meet Virginia (43-13-1) again on Saturday, when all eight best-of-3 Super Regionals will be in action.

If the opening day of Super Regionals was any indication, the quest for the College World Series won't lack for drama. Friday's action also included a nine-hour game delayed three times by rain, a late-innings slugfest and a three-hit shutout.

In the end, four teams -- Mississippi, Arkansas and LSU of the SEC and perennial threat Cal State Fullerton -- moved to within a victory of reaching the College World Series, starting June 13 in Omaha, Neb.

Arkansas took the early advantage in its matchup with Florida State, outlasting the host Seminoles 7-2 in a contest that featured three rain delays, including one for four hours, 22 minutes. Mike Bolsinger pitched five shutout innings for the win in relief, and the Razorbacks (38-22) broke a tie by scoring three runs without a hit in the fifth and two off three FSU errors in the eighth. The Seminoles (45-17), who defeated Ohio State 37-6 last Sunday, stranded 14 baserunners in this one. The two teams will meet again Saturday.

LSU fell behind early as Rice scored three unearned runs, but starter Anthony Ranaudo stayed steady through the errors and pitched into the eighth inning of a 12-9 victory at Baton Rouge, La. Ranaudo struck out nine and allowed one earned run in 7 2/3 innings, Ryan Schimpf hit a three-run homer to put the Tigers (50-16) in the lead for good. Rice (43-17) rallied for five runs after Ranaudo's departure, but it wasn't enough, and the Owls will be facing elimination on the road Saturday.

Cal State Fullerton's Daniel Renken hadn't pitched a shutout in his college career, but he picked a good time for his first -- allowing just three hits in the Titans' 12-0 victory over Louisville at Fullerton. Josh Fellhauer homered, and Jared Clark drove in four runs for the No. 2 national seed Titans (46-14), now a victory away from their 16th CWS appearance, their third in four years. It was only the second shutout of the season suffered by Louisville (47-17), which will need a victory Saturday to force a deciding game Sunday.

The other Super Regional action on Saturday will feature TCU (39-16) vs. Texas (44-13-1) in Austin, Texas; Florida (42-20) vs. Southern Miss (38-24) at Gainesville, Fla.; Arizona State (47-12) vs. Clemson (44-20) at Tempe, Ariz.; and North Carolina (45-16) vs. East Carolina (46-19) at Chapel Hill, N.C.