OXFORD — Ole Miss began its quest for a second consecutive trip to the College World Series in fine fashion on Friday.

Junior left-hander Christian Trent allowed one run and struck out six in five innings of work, Kyle Watson went 2-for-3 with two doubles, two runs scored and two RBIs, and Ole Miss beat William & Mary 9-4 on opening day at Swayze Field.

With the win, Ole Miss improved to 14-1 in season openers under Mike Bianco, who began his 15th season as head coach. The Rebels wrap up the three-game weekend series with a doubleheader today, beginning at noon.

“It was a pretty good first day,” Bianco said. “It wasn’t the cleanest game or the best game, but we played well. It was nice to see guys come out aggressive. It was a terrific day for Kyle Watson and other guys playing for the first time.”

The Rebels tied it up 1-1 in bottom of the first inning, taking advantage of two errors by William & Mary, and then went ahead 2-1 on a well-placed RBI bunt single by junior outfielder Cameron Dishon.

The Rebels added two more runs in the inning on an RBI single to right by Woodman, followed by a sacrifice fly to right by sophomore shortstop Errol Robinson.

William & Mary threatened in the fourth inning, loading the bases with nobody out, before Trent struck out the next batter and then got out of the jam on an unassisted double play by Robinson on a lineout to short.

The Tribe also got the first two runners on in the fifth, before Trent retired the next three in order to end the threat.

Trent left after five innings having allowed six hits and just one walk.