From Special Reports
OXFORD — Behind six strong innings from freshman Ryan Rolison, Ole Miss beat Missouri 3-1 in Southeastern Conference baseball action Saturday at Swazye Field.
Rolison and two relievers combined on a three-hitter. Missouri broke up the shutout with a home run in the ninth inning.
Friday night, Ole Miss jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but it was Missouri that claimed a 9-3 win in the series opener.
The Rebels (24-15, 8-9 SEC) out-hit the Tigers (27-13, 8-9 SEC) 10-7; however, a complete game from last-minute starter Cole Bartlett (5-0) helped the visitors take game one of the conference set.
Junior right fielder and New Hope native Will Golsan went 3-for-4 with two runs to pace the Ole Miss bats, recording his team-leading 12th multi-hit game of the season. Colby Bortles added two singles as each of the first five batters in the lineup recorded at least one hit.
Ole Miss starting pitcher James McArthur (2-3) only allowed three hits and one walk, but two of those hits were home runs. He also left the game with a Tiger on base that ended up scoring, and his night ended with four runs surrendered through 6.0 innings.
Bartlett was a late addition to the lineup card as Missouri ace Tanner Houck was a scratch just minutes before the start of the contest. In the nine-inning performance, Bartlett gave up three runs (two earned) on 10 hits. He did not issue a walk and only struck out three, but the righty forced four double plays throughout the night to prevent any rallies by the Rebels.
At the plate for Missouri, Brett Bond hit a two-run homer on a night where he reached base four times. Connor Brumfield added a dinger and scored three runs as the team’s leadoff hitter. Brian Sharp knocked in a pair of Tigers and tallied two hits as well.
McArthur retired the side in the first, and the Rebels quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead with the help of three straight hits. Tate Blackman went opposite field for a single to start the game before he rolled into third on a perfectly executed hit-and-run by Golsan. With runners on the corners, Bortles singled to left to plate Blackman and keep the momentum going. An attempted double steal allowed another run to cross the dish.
n Southern Miss splits with Old Dominion: At Hattiesburg, No. 16 Southern Mississippi broke open a tie game with a six-run third inning in defeating Old Dominion 10-2 at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Friday night in the first of a three-game Conference USA series.
ODU evened the series with an 13-11 win Saturday.
The Golden Eagles (30-11 overall, 13-4 C-USA) increased their league lead to two games over Florida Atlantic, who lost 9-6 at UTSA, and three games over the Monarchs (27-12, 11-5).
Southern Miss got two hits each from Mason Irby, Matt Wallner, Matthew Guidry and LeeMarcus Boyd in their 12-hit attack.
With the score tied at 2-2 in the third, Irby led off the inning with a single. Following a pair of outs, Wallner collected the first of two doubles down the rightfield line to put runners at second and third. After a walk to Jake Viaene to load the bases, Donaldson drove in the go-ahead run with a walk of his own off of ODU starter Sam Sinnen.
Guidry then doubled over Darrius Gillus’ head to clear the bases and give the Golden Eagles a 6-2 advantage.
After Boyd singled in Guidry, he later got into a run down after being picked off of second base. Boyd eluded Sinnen in the rundown and the throw to get him at third was wild allowing him to score on the play in upping the lead to 8-2.
Southern Miss added another run on a Wallner double in the fourth and then completed the scoring one inning later with a RBI single to center by Dylan Burdeaux. The senior from West Monroe, La., extended his hitting streak to 17 games with the hit.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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