Eighth-ranked Ole Miss rallies past No. 6 ECU

No. 8 Ole Miss baseball team used two clutch late-inning hits as well as masterful relief pitching to claim a 3-2 victory No. 6 over East Carolina at Swayze Field on Saturday afternoon. After trailing 2-0, the Rebels (2-0) scored one run in the sixth and two in the seventh to take the lead for good and clinch the series versus the top-10 program.

The Rebel bullpen turned in a solid performance, allowing just two baserunners over 4.2 scoreless innings. Andy Pagnozzi (1-0), a 2016 Freshman All-American, made his 2017 debut and earned the win with 2.2 scoreless frames. The sophomore recorded eight outs over seven batters, which included forcing a pair of double plays.

Another sophomore, Dallas Woolfolk, appeared for the first time this season and struck out two of the three batters he faced for a perfect inning of work. For the second-straight game, Will Stokes earned the save by tossing a scoreless ninth inning.

Ryan Olenek and Will Golsan continued their hot starts to the season, recording two hits apiece at the top of the Ole Miss lineup. Golsan delivered the game-tying double in the seventh before scoring the winning run on a sacrifice fly by Colby Bortles. The senior third baseman, Bortles, drove in two of the team’s three runs, including a solo blast in the sixth for the 18th home run of his career.

For ECU (0-2), starting pitcher Jacob Wolfe pitched 5.0 scoreless frames. The Pirates mustered just five hits on the offensive side, with Luke Bolka’s homer the only one that went for extra bases.

The Ole Miss bats were quiet for the first five innings of the afternoon contest, leaving the task of keeping the game within reach on the shoulders of the Rebel pitchers. Sophomore right hander James McArthur got the nod after a freshman campaign that saw him earning Freshman All-America honors and being the number three starter towards the end of the season.

McArthur's day started off smoothly through the first 1.2 innings as he struck out two while only giving up one hit. However, East Carolina snatched a run off the tall righty when Bolka blasted a solo home run to left field, making it a 1-0 ballgame.

McArthur went on to retire six of the next seven Pirate batters he faced. However, the fifth inning proved to be the end of the road for the Rebel starter when a walk, single and two hit batters brought a run across the plate.

With the bases loaded and one out, Pagnozzi entered the contest to try and get the Rebels out of the jam. The Fayetteville, Arkansas, native did just that, inducing an inning-ending groundball double play to keep the game within reach, 2-0.

Pagnozzi continued his dominance, adding an impressive double play in the sixth inning. The sophomore caught a line drive hit right back at him before tossing over to first to complete the turn. He followed the web gem with his first strikeout of 2017 to end the frame.

This story was originally published February 18, 2017 at 6:54 PM with the headline "Eighth-ranked Ole Miss rallies past No. 6 ECU."