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Golsan's Career Night Leads Rebels Past Tennessee, 10-7
4/3/2015 | Baseball
OXFORD, Miss. -- After falling behind 3-0 early, the Ole Miss baseball team rallied past Tennessee for a 10-7 win in the series opener on Friday night at Swayze Field. The Rebels (16-14, 5-5 SEC) finished with a season high for runs (10) and hits (13) in a Southeastern Conference game this season.
Junior left-hander Christian Trent earned the win to improve to 5-2 on the season. He went 6.0 innings strong, giving up three runs and scattering seven hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
After giving up three runs through the first two innings, Trent settled in, not allowing a run and holding the Volunteers (12-14, 2-8 SEC) to just two hits over his last four innings of work.
"When we got the three runs (in the second), (Trent) settled down a little bit, and he knew he could settle down and be comfortable," said freshman second baseman Will Golsan, who led the offensive barrage with a 3-for-5 game in the leadoff spot. "It was huge to erase that early lead."
At the plate, Ole Miss was paced by five multi-hit games from Golson, sophomore center fielder J.B. Woodman, senior first baseman Sikes Orvis, sophomore third baseman Colby Bortles and junior designated hitter Connor Cloyd, who recorded his first career multi-hit game.
Golsan tied a career high with three hits and finished with a career-high four RBI, three of which came with two outs. Senior catcher Austin Knight reached base in all four plate appearances, going 1-for-1 with three walks.
"He's been swinging it well for us at the top of the lineup, and he's had some big hits," said Ole Miss Head Coach Mike Bianco of Golsan. "It's not just getting on base, but he's coming through with some RBIs. He was huge tonight."
As a team, the Rebels were 6-for-14 with two outs, 7-for-20 with runners on and 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position, scoring five of their 10 runs with two outs in the inning.
Tennessee grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first on a two-run home run by Christin Stewart. The Volunteers added another run in the second, but Trent stranded the bases loaded with a flyout to left to limit the damage and end the threat.
Ole Miss tied the game 3-3 in the bottom of the second on back-to-back two-out, RBI base-knocks. Cloyd delivered with an RBI double down the left-field line and Golsan followed with a two-RBI single to center.
"A lot of times we don't get that timely hit, but it was a huge double for Cloyd," Bianco said. "We only get one run out of it, but it flipped the lineup over and gave Golson a shot, and he did a great job, hitting a ball well to right-center and we're back in the game."
The Rebels went ahead 5-3 in the third on a two-run blast by Orvis, his team-leading seventh home run of the seven, the 25th of his career.
Golsan collected his third RBI of the game with an double off the wall in left to extend their lead to 6-3, scoring later in the inning on a passed ball. The Rebels closed out the three-run fourth with a sacrifice fly to left by Bortles to make it 8-3 after four complete.
With two outs in the fifth, Golsan came through once again, with his third two-out RBI of the game his fourth RBI overall of the contest, with a double to left center to make it 9-3 in the favor of the Rebels. Tennessee added two more runs with a two-run home run to cut the Ole Miss lead to 9-5 in the seventh.
Down 10-5 entering the ninth, the first five batters reached base for Tennessee, drawing the Volunteers to within 10-6 and bringing the would-be, game-tying run to the plate. Sophomore left-hander Wyatt Short came on and pitched out of the bases-loaded jam, allowing just one of the inherited runners to score for the 10-7 final. The save marked Short's fifth of the season as the southpaw has nailed down the last three Rebel victories.
"That's why you have him," said Bianco of Short. "He's a guy you can bring in with the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate. He gets a big strikeout and a couple of ground balls. He's been huge for us."
Ole Miss and Tennessee continue their three-game weekend series Saturday with first pitch set for 4 p.m., followed by the series finale Sunday with first pitch set for 1:30 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on SEC Network+ and the Ole Miss Radio Network.
