METZ CAMFIELD, ASSISTANT MEDIA RELATIONS DIRECTOR – OLE MISS REBELS (Photo Courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics)
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Ole Miss outhit Fordham on Friday morning at Patriot Point in Charleston, S.C., but could not bring enough base runners around and fell to the Rams 4-3 in the opening game of the College of Charleston Classic.
“Our pitching can’t give up free base runners. We can’t walk and hit people because they usually tend to score if we do that,” Ole Miss softball head coach Windy Thees said. “Every now and then a good hitter is going to win. That’s just going to happen. We need to make sure we keep the extra people off the bases. If we do that, we’re going to be a lot more successful.
“Offensively, we just really have to loosen up. Right now we’re starting to get a little tight. We haven’t gotten the wins that we wanted, so now our kids are trying to do a little too much. We need to relax a little bit; we’re right there. We’re still outhitting the opposing teams, we just need to drive for power. Our power numbers need to go up.”
Senior second baseman Marina Parra led the Rebels (2-4) offensively with two hits on three at bats, including a pair of RBI singles. Sophomore shortstop Haley Culley extended her hitting streak to seven games dating back to last season with a double down the left field line in the first inning.
Fordham (3-1) took an early lead in the game with a sacrifice fly to center field in the bottom of the first.
Ole Miss came back to tie the game on an RBI single by junior third baseman Allison Brown in the bottom of the third that scored freshman catcher Courtney Syrett.
The Rebels then took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth with an RBI single by Parra to center field.
Fordham came back to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run to left field. The Rams then regained the lead in the fifth with a two-RBI double to the center field fence that put them up 4-2.
Parra notched her second RBI of the game with a single in the sixth that scored sophomore designated player Madi Osias from third base. Ole Miss could not bring any more runs around though, and fell 4-3.
Ole Miss will close out its doubleheader Friday against Kansas at approximately 12:30 p.m. CT. The Jayhawks posted the top batting average (.345) in the country last season and has been led this year by sophomore pitcher Kelsey Kessler, who entered the weekend with 22 strikeouts in 13 innings of work with an unblemished 0.00 ERA.
