Pirates Drop Series To Rebels, 3-2

Saturday, February 18

Oxford, Miss.

2:30 P.M.

East Carolina University

0-2

Ole Miss

2-0

East Carolina

Ole Miss

February 18, 2017 | Baseball

Box Score

Box Score (PDF)

OXFORD, Miss. – Colby Bortles sac fly in the bottom of the seventh scored Will Goslan helping No. 8 Ole Miss to a 3-2 series clinching win over No. 6 East Carolina Saturday afternoon at Swayze Field. With the win the Rebels improve to 2-0 on the season, while the Pirates dropped to 0-2.

Andy Pagnozzi (1-0) picked up the win tossing 2.2 innings of scoreless relief and Will Stokes notched his second save of the year allowing one hit in the ninth inning. Starter James McArthur allowed two runs (both earned) on three hits with a pair of walks and three strikeouts in 4.1 innings. Dallas Woolfolk retired the side in the eighth inning striking out two.

Sam Lanier (0-1) suffered the loss after being touched for three runs (all earned) on five hits with a strikeout in one inning of work out of the bullpen. Jacob Wolfe scattered four hits over five scoreless frames while issuing three walks and fanning five. Jake Agnos made his collegiate debut walking one and striking out one in two run-free frames.

Ole Miss out-hit ECU nine to five on the afternoon getting multiple hits from Thomas Dillard, Goslan and Ryan Olenek. Bortles led the club with two RBI, which included a solo home run and the game-winning sac fly in the seventh inning.

Five Pirates tallied hits in the contest with Luke Bolka belting his first home run of the season (sixth of his career). Spencer Brickhouse, Bryant Packard, Eric Tyler and Charlie Yorgen each added singles. T.J. Riles drove in his second run of the season in the fifth inning when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

How It Happened:
With the score knotted at two-all in the seventh and a Goslan standing on third, Bortles took a first pitch offering from Agnos to centerfield scoring Golsan, who doubled down the left field line two batters prior scoring Olenek from first for a 3-2 lead.

Bolka staked ECU to an early 1-0 lead with a solo blast to left-center with two outs in the second inning.

The Pirates extended their lead to 2-0 in the fifth when Riles was plunked on the knee by a McArthur pitch scoring Bolka, who walked to start the frame. Yorgen followed Bolka with a bunt single and Turner Brown loaded the bases when he was hit by a pitch. With the bases still juiced, Pagnozzi came in to relieve McArthur and got Tyler to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to get Ole Miss out of the jam.

Bortles pulled the Rebels within one, 2-1, in the sixth inning taking a 3-1 pitch from Lanier over down the left field line for his first homer of the year before Ole Miss plated a pair in the seventh to take the weekend series.

Both teams will close out the series on Sunday for game three with a first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. (ET). Freshman Trey Benton will take the hill for the Pirates on Sunday, while Brady Feigl will toe the rubber for the Rebels.