OXFORD | The worst part of Ryan Rolison’s day came in the second inning when Alex Case singled up the middle, driving in a run and giving Saint Louis an early-two run lead that sent some nervousness through Swayze Field.

The four-seed Billikens had come out swinging, scoring twice because of two Rolison walks that came all the way around, and missed spots and not-enough movement made for hard contact from a lineup that didn’t come into the regional with any accolade and was missing its best hitter.

But moments later, Rolison caught Case leaning toward second base, and the inning ended with a pickoff. Ole Miss picked up six runs against Saint Louis ace Miller Hogan to break it open and restore order, but it also settled Rolison in, as he lasted a good deal longer in the Ole Miss 9-2 win that sent the Rebels to a winner’s bracket date with Tennessee Tech at 4 p.m. on Sunday.

"(Rolison) didn’t give us anything and gave us another gear after the second inning," SLU coach Darin Hendrickson said. "He went to a different level."

Rolison got sharper as the game went on and gutted through 115 pitches while piling up a career high 13 strikeouts, striking out the side in the seventh for a exclamation point final inning. Five straight shutout innings followed Ole Miss' big frame.

After Ole Miss picked up the six runs in the second, Rolison started a string of three straight innings of stranding runners and ending frames with strikeouts. He punched out the side in the fourth around a walk and limited trouble despite throwing 90 pitches through his first five innings.

"I got more directional to arm-side, to get glove side," Rolison said. "My strength is to pitch in to righties.

"I fed off the crowd. The fan base was awesome tonight, sends butterflies through you."

The ace effort saved the Ole Miss bullpen and set up the pitching well for the Rebels on Sunday. Freshman Max Cioffi threw two relief innings following Rolison.

Tennessee Tech fumbled through a four-run defensive inning to let Missouri State hang around, but the two seed Golden Eagles stayed in the winner’s bracket with a 6-4 win.

Starter Travis Moths, who guaranteed a regional victory earlier in the week, faced the minimum through five innings before errors and walks ran Moths and tied the game in the sixth inning. He struck out eight, walked two while allowing two hits.

Tech, who leads the nation with 49 wins, went to closer Ethan Roberts after Moths. Roberts threw 46 pitches and finished the game.

“I attacked them like (Moths),” Roberts said. “If you go at them then sometimes they will lay down, and that is what they did.”

The Eagles will send Marcus Every to the mound against Ole Miss on Sunday. Their typical second starter, Every is 7-0 with a 4.04 ERA and .229 batting average against. The right-hander has 81 strikeouts and 26 walks in 71.1 innings. He’s given up 10 doubles and 10 home runs on the season.

"We expect to see one of the best offenses in the country," Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. "They have some crazy offensive numbers, and it’s throughout the lineup."

Missouri State and Saint Louis play an elimination game at noon, and the winner faces the Ole Miss-Tech loser at 8 p.m. Sunday. The regional final and the if necessary game are scheduled for Monday.

When the Rebels closed the book on the Billikens Friday, it was the first Ole Miss NCAA Tournament win since eliminating TCU in the 2014 College World Series.

Ole Miss lost five straight NCAA games from the defeat to Virginia in 2014 to 0-2 showings in the Los Angeles Regional in 2015 and the Oxford Regional in 2016. The Rebels didn’t make the tournament in 2017.

Ole Miss improved to 16-5 in regionals in Oxford. The Rebels have won every regional that they have won at least one game during the weekend. The two times Ole Miss hasn’t moved on to the super regional round out of the seven previous hosted regionals they went 0-2 — in 2004 and 2016.

Grae Kessinger was questionable all week with a hamstring injury but started and scored once after a walk. Bianco said the hamstring kept Kessinger from going home on a single at one point but he was glad to have his presence in the lineup.