(Photo Courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics)
OXFORD, Miss. – With the temperatures dropping, the Ole Miss softball bats heated up as the Rebels swept Arkansas-Pine Bluff in a Tuesday doubleheader at a chilly Ole Miss Softball Complex.
After a tight first game in which Ole Miss (14-7) defeated UAPB 5-2, the Rebels wasted no time in taking an early lead and winning game two by an emphatic 17-0 (5) score.
“We were a little fatigued and you could kind of tell that in the beginning of the first game,” said Ole Miss head coach Windy Thees, referring to the Rebels’ altered travel schedule that had them arriving to Oxford at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. “I saw a little bit of that fatigue, but I also saw a lot of guts, because we did get down, but we came back against a solid squad and a really good pitcher who kind of had our number. Allison Brown led the way with a nice home run to tie things back up (in game one), and Londen Ladner had a really solid day at the plate, she was balanced and struck the ball well.”
In game two against UAPB, the Rebels wasted little time in establishing a lead and they never looked back. Ole Miss scored seven runs in the first inning against the Lady Lions, followed by three runs in the second inning and seven more runs in the bottom of the third. Ole Miss finished the second game with a dozen hits, compared to UAPB’s two.
Redshirt-freshman pitcher Emily Gaitan (3-1) got the win for the Rebels, allowing one hit in four innings of work. Freshman pitcher Emily Boyd then came on in the fifth inning to close out the game and instigated a game-ending triple play. With UAPB runners on first and second, Boyd caught a line drive and threw to Ladner, who tagged first base and then threw to Alyssa Invergo, who tagged second base, getting both Lady Lion runners out after they had left on contact.
Sophomore shortstop Haley Culley led Ole Miss at the plate in the second game by going 2-3 with a two-RBI double and a three-RBI triple. Freshman left fielder Miranda Strother also had a strong performance in Tuesday’s second game, going 3-4 with three runs and four RBI, highlighted by a three-run home run to center field.
Ole Miss will play again Friday when it opens Southeastern Conference play in Gainesville, Fla., against the No. 1 ranked Florida Gators (22-0) in a three-game series.
Ole Miss Tops Arkansas-Pine Bluff 5-2 in Game One of Doubleheader
Photo Gallery | Ole Miss v. UAPB (Game 1) – Box Score | Final Stats
Ole Miss got off to a slow start in the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader, but regrouped and finished strong to win 5-2 over visiting Arkansas-Pine Bluff at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
Sophomore pitcher Madi Osias got the complete game victory for Ole Miss, striking out a career-high nine batters and allowing zero earned runs.
Following a double to right-center field by senior Londen Ladner, Osias helped her own cause with an RBI single up the middle to give Ole Miss a 1-0 lead.
After UAPB took the lead in the top of the fourth inning with two runs, junior third baseman Allison Brown evened the score with a solo home run to left-center field on the first pitch she saw.
Ole Miss then took the lead in the bottom of the sixth with three runs on two hits and two UAPB errors. With RT Cantillo on third base and Haley Culley on second, senior Londen Ladner hit a two-RBI double to center field. Two batters later, senior Natalie Nimmo hit an RBI single to left field to put the Rebels up 5-2, which wound up being the final score after a one-two-three inning for Osias in the top of the seventh.
For all Ole Miss softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball and on Facebook at Ole Miss Softball.
