No. 13 Ole Miss Baseball Sweeps Grambling State, Improves To 15-1

OXFORD, Miss. (Ole Miss Athletics) – On Sunday afternoon, the No. 13 Ole Miss baseball team took both seven-inning games of a doubleheader against Grambling State at Swayze Field. The Rebels (15-1) claimed game one, 7-3, before completing the series sweep with a 6-1 win in game two.

With three wins over the Tigers (4-9) this weekend, Ole Miss has recorded three-game sweeps in three of its first four weekends of the season. The Rebels also increased their winning streak to 10 games.

Colby Bortles and Will Golsan tallied five hits apiece in the two seven-inning contests. The duo combined to go 10-for-14 with three doubles, five runs and five RBI. The Ole Miss bullpen was lights out once again as well, pitching 5.1 innings without allowing a run.

Game One: No. 13 Ole Miss 7, Grambling State 3

In game one, Ole Miss scored five runs in the second inning en route to a 7-3 victory. Junior right-handed pitcher Chad Smith (2-1) earned his second win of the season, allowing three runs on seven hits in five innings of work. Late in the game with the tying run on base, Wyatt Short (4) headed to the mound to save the game. Short’s save in game one marks his fourth of the season and his 17th career saves. 17 saves places him at fifth on the all-time list.

At the plate, junior Bortles had a standout game going 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI and his second home run of the season. Golsan and Tate Blackman added two hits, one run and one RBI apiece. Freshman Ryan Olenek also ripped the first home run of his Ole Miss career.

Grambling mustered nine hits in game one as four Tigers chalked up two hits each. First baseman Tray Ball went 2-for-3, knocking in two of the three runs.

The Tigers put up the first two runs of the day. In the second inning, Wesley Drain scored on Bell’s RBI single up the middle. Later in the inning, left fielder Malcom Boyce executed a squeeze bunt, and designated hitter Darien Brown safely reached home plate to send Ole Miss into an early hole. However, the Rebels dug themselves out when it was their turn at the plate in the bottom half of the inning.

Ole Miss responded with a five-run inning to give the Rebels the lead. Bortles started off the inning with a stand-up double, his seventh of the season. Blackman followed with a RBI single. Henri Lartigue’s flyout allowed Blackman to tag up and reach third base. Blackman then tied the game when he scored on Michael Fitzsimmon’s groundout. Olenek followed the run with a solo homer to give the Rebels a 3-2 lead, but they weren’t done yet. J.B. Woodman’s bases-loaded walk plated Cameron Dishon. With four runs and bases loaded once again, Bortles was hit by a pitch and sent the fifth run across the dish.

In the bottom of the third, two Rebels were walked before Golsan sent a RBI single through the left side. Olenek scored on the single to give Ole Miss a 6-2 lead.

Bortles tallied the final Ole Miss run of the game during the fourth inning. His solo home run shot flew over the left field wall, extending the Ole Miss lead to five runs.

During the top of the sixth inning, the Tigers tried one more time to rally back. With two runners on, left-handed pitcher David Parkinson entered the game for Ole Miss. The sophomore picked up an out, but an RBI single scored the third run of the game for Grambling. With the tying run on base, Short took over the mound.

Short executed his job as a clutch closer and got the Rebels out of the jam before retiring the side in the final inning to secure the win and earn his fourth save of the season.

Game Two: No. 13 Ole Miss 6, Grambling State 1

In game two, the first four hitters in the lineup combined to go 11-for-14 with five runs and five RBI to lead Ole Miss to a 6-1 victory. Bortles, Golsan and Errol Robinson each recorded three-hit games, and Woodman went had a 2-for-3 contest that included his team-leading third home run of the season.

Redshirt junior Sean Johnson started on the mound for the Rebels and tossed 3.2 innings, allowing only three hits and one unearned run. Right-handed pitcher Brady Feigl (1-0) took over in the fourth inning and picked up his first career win by tossing 1.1 scoreless frames. Sophomore Will Stokes (2) pitched the final two innings to earn his second save of the 2016 campaign.

For the eighth time this season, the Rebels scored a run in the first. After back-to-back leadoff singles by Golsan and Robinson, the two runners were on the corners. During Woodman’s at-bat, Robinson was caught stealing second, but Golsan crossed the plate on the play to give Ole Miss the 1-0 advantage.

After a scoreless second inning, Woodman ripped a solo shot, the third home run of the day for the Rebels. The homer put Ole Miss ahead of Grambling 2-0.

During the top of the fourth, the Tigers tallied its lone run of the contest. Third baseman Daniel Barnett reached base on a fielding error, before scoring on Bell’s sacrifice fly to cut the Ole Miss lead in half.

With the help of four Rebel singles during the bottom of the fifth inning, Ole Miss added two more runs. Bortles’ RBI single to center field scored Robinson before Holt Perdzock’s RBI single scored Woodman.

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Will Stokes headed to the mound in the top of the sixth inning. Stokes threw two scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and striking out four.

Dishon earned another run for Ole Miss during the sixth inning. After being walked, the senior stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. Golsan took advantage of the runner in scoring position and sent an RBI double down the left field line. As the next batter, Robinson scored his fellow infielder with his third hit of the day.

Following the five-game homestand, the Rebels will hit the road for five matchups away from Swayze Field next week. First, Ole Miss will make the trek to Birmingham, Alabama to battle the Blazers of UAB in a midweek series, March 15-16. Then, the Rebels will open up Southeastern Conference play with a three-game tilt against Tennessee, March 18-20. The first contest of the week will take place Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. CT against the Blazers. All five games can be heard on the Ole Miss IMG Sports Network.

QUICK HITS

The Rebels have won 10 straight games, their longest winning streak since Feb. 27-March 15, 2013 (12 games).
Bortles, Olenek and Woodman each homered in today’s doubleheader; Olenek homered for the first time in his career.
Wyatt Short picked up his fourth save of the season, passing Jake Morgan for fifth all-time in career saves with 17.
Brady Feigl earned his first career win.
Colby Bortles and Will Golsan increased each of their hitting streaks to eight games.
In game two, Ole Miss’ first four hitters went a combined 11-14 with five runs and 5 RBI.
Ole Miss is 8-0 when scoring a run in the first inning, outscoring opponents a combined 26-6 in the frame this season.