Georgia rolls over Ole Miss in finale

Published 8:53 am Monday, May 9, 2016

ATHENS, Ga. — Ole Miss has been red-hot lately, but on Sunday it most definitely was not.

Georgia hit three home runs — including a grand slam by Nick King — and scored five runs in both the fourth and sixth innings as it crushed Ole Miss 13-2 in their series finale.

Ole Miss (36-13, 14-10 Southeastern Conference) had a four-game winning streak snapped, and lost for just the third time in its last 13 games.

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Sunday was only the second time during that 13-game stretch that the Rebels scored two runs or less.

Georgia pitcher Heath Holder allowed one run on three hits over seven innings. He walked four batters and struck out seven.

Georgia (23-25, 8-16) snapped a five-game losing streak with its second win in the last nine games.

“It was a huge game for us. We needed to win. We put ourselves in this position where almost every game is a must-win for us to get to where we need to be, which is the postseason,” Georgia coach Scott Stricklin said. “This (Ole Miss) pitching staff, it’s tough to score runs. We got some big hits.”

Some long ones, too.

Adam Sasser broke the game open with a bases-clearing double in the fourth inning that gave Georgia a 5-0 lead. In the sixth, King came up with the bases loaded and sent a ball over the left field wall as the Bulldogs scored five more runs to make it 10-0.

It was Georgia’s first grand slam since 2014.

“The wind helped a little bit, thankfully,” King said. “I had been getting pitched the same way throughout the whole series. As soon as I saw the off-speed pitch — I had been looking for it — so as soon as I got it, I went after it.”

Skyler Weber followed King’s grand slam with a solo home run, and Michael Curry hit a three-run shot in the seventh inning.

Curry finished the game 2-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Weber also had two hits and scored two runs.

Kyle Watson led off the ninth inning with a pinch-hit home run for Ole Miss, and Henri Lartigue doubled and scored a run in the seventh.

Five Ole Miss relievers combined to allow eight runs on four hits and four walks. The runs Georgia scored in the sixth inning snapped a streak of 15 scoreless innings for the Rebels’ bullpen.

Ole Miss will open a three-game series with Kentucky Thursday night in Oxford.