ATHENS, Ga. – The Rebel offense got on track Saturday, exploding for six runs in the eighth inning as No. 25 Ole Miss (31-18, 12-11 SEC) rallied to pick up a 9-4 win over No. 8 Georgia (30-15-1, 16-6-1 SEC) at Foley Field and even the weekend series at a game each.

Six Rebels notched multiple hits on the afternoon and were paced by a trio of hitters as Jordan Henry (2-for-4; two RBI, two runs scored), Sean Stuyverson (2-for-4; two runs scored) and Brett Basham (2-for-4; RBI, two runs scores) led the offensive output.

Scott Bittle (4-1) picked up the win in relief as he worked 2.2 innings in relief of Drew Pomeranz. Bittle struck out six and allowed only one hit in his time on the mound after entering with the Rebels trailing by one and with a runner on base.

Nick Montgomery (1-1) suffered the loss for the Bulldogs as he worked 0.2 innings in relief and allowed four runs on four hits. Starter Stephen Dodson worked 6.1 innings, allowing three runs on six hits with a walk and two strikeouts.

“It really was a battle, just like last night but our defense was the difference,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “We had the big inning with two outs and were able to put up some runs. Georgia hit a couple of balls out of the park, but I thought as a whole our pitching was pretty good.”

Ole Miss got on the board in the first as Jordan Henry scored on a single to right center from Cody Overbeck. Henry opened the game with a single up the middle before moving to second on a ground out from Fuller Smith.

Georgia threatened in the bottom half of the inning as Ryan Peisel was struck out but reached on a wild pitch as he inadvertently kicked the ball out of the reach of Rebel catcher Brett Basham, allowing him to reach base safely as Basham couldn’t make the diving play to throw to first before Peisel crossed the bag. Matt Olson then singled through the right side to put two runners on before Pomeranz was able to coax a line out and back-to-back ground outs to get the Rebels out of the inning.

The Bulldogs took the lead in the third when Rich Poythress hit a three-run home run to left field, scoring Peisel and Beckham. Peisel opened the inning with a double to left field before moving to third on a groundout from Olson. The Rebels then intentionally walked Beckham to set up the double-play, but Poythress had other plans as he took the ball over the fence to get Georgia on the board. The Bulldogs led 3-1 after the third.

The Rebels cut into the lead in the fifth when Basham scored from second on a single down the left field line from Fuller Smith. Basham singled to left center before moving to second on a sac bunt from Henry. He then scored on the Smith hit to cut the lead to 3-2 in favor of Georgia.

Ole Miss tied things in the seventh when a throwing error on a grounder from Basham allowed Sean Stuyverson to score from first. Basham hit a sharp grounder to second behind the fielder who scooped and fell as he went to throw to second, sending the ball through left field and to the fence down the baseline. Stuyverson scored on the play to tie things at three, while Basham advanced to third. The Bulldogs then went to the bullpen for Alex McRee. McRee got the final out of the inning to end the Rebel rally.

Georgia reclaimed the lead in the bottom half of the inning as Peisel came up with a solo shot to left center to move the Bulldogs back ahead 4-3. Four straight pitches walked Olson in the next at bat as the Rebels turned to the bullpen and Bittle. Bittle then got Beckham to ground out and struck out Poythress to end the inning with Georgia leading by only one run.

Ole Miss took the lead back in the eighth as the Rebels pushed two runs across to go up 5-4. Logan Power walked before scoring on an Overbeck double to left center. Tim Ferguson then pinch ran for Overbeck, moving to third on a sac bunt from Matt Smith before scoring on a sac fly from Zach Miller. Back-to-back hits from Michael Hubbard and Stuyverson put two on before Basham doubled to left field, scoring Hubbard and giving the Rebels a 6-4 lead.

Georgia again turned to its bullpen, calling in Justin Earls to face Jordan Henry with two outs on the board and two men on. Henry doubled to right center, pushing two more runs across as Ole Miss moved out to an 8-4 lead. A wild pitch to Fuller Smith moved Henry to third before Smith singled to right field to score Henry and move the Rebels out by five. Logan Power reached on a throwing error from third as Smith moved to third, putting runners at the corners with two outs before the Bulldogs would get out of the inning with a grounder to short.

Bittle would then hold the Bulldogs off the board the rest of the way as Ole Miss picked up the win and evened the series at a game each.

 Ole Miss and Georgia will conclude the series at 1:00 p.m. CDT on Sunday at Foley Field.