Rebels drop finale to UGA

Published 12:01 pm Monday, May 9, 2016

ATHENS, Ga. — A pair of five-run innings by Georgia doomed No. 7 Ole Miss in a 13-2 series finale setback Sunday afternoon at Foley Field. The Bulldogs (23-25, 8-16 SEC) hit three homers and recorded seven RBI with the bases loaded to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Rebels (36-13, 14-10).

Errol Robinson was one of seven Rebels with a base knock, increasing his hitting streak to 14 games. Kyle Watson belted his first career home run in pinch-hit fashion, while Henri Lartigue doubled and scored the Rebels’ other run. Ole Miss pinch hitters went 3-for-4 at the dish.

Making his 10th start, freshman James McArthur (5-1) suffered the first loss of his Ole Miss career. Fellow classmate Andrew Lowe finished the game on the mound for the Rebels, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings.

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Michael Curry, Skyler Weber and Nick King all hit home runs for Georgia. King hit a grand slam, and Curry knocked in four runs as well. Starting pitcher Heath Holder (3-3) allowed one run on three hits in 7.0 innings to earn the victory.

The first three innings were a pitcher’s duel with both teams failing to score. Holder kept Ole Miss hitless, while McArthur tallied five strikeouts through the three frames. In the bottom of the fourth, Georgia broke open the floodgates with a five-spot. After three hits led to a pair of runs, Adam Sasser’s 3-RBI double cleared the bases and forced McArthur out of the game. With the help of back-to-back fine defensive plays by Ryan Olenek and Tate Blackman, Andy Pagnozzi got the Rebels out of the inning. However, the damage was done as the Bulldogs found themselves ahead 5-0 after four complete.

Georgia doubled its lead with another five-run inning thanks to back-to-back homers. In the bottom of the sixth, King’s grand slam and Weber’s solo shot brought the Bulldogs their first runs against the Rebel bullpen and made it 10-0.