The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Jacksonville St
Rebels Drop Two at Home Tournament
2/16/2003 | Softball
Feb. 16, 2003
Nicholls State Box Score | Jacksonville State Box Score
OXFORD, Miss. -- Dana Brill pitched well and DeDe Justice homered, but Ole Miss still dropped a pair of home softball games Sunday in the final day of the Rebel/Easton Invitational. The Rebels fell to Nicholls State, 0-1, and Jacksonville State, 1-6.
In the early game against NSU, Ole Miss (3-5) got a strong outing from its freshman righthander. Brill, a native of Houston, Texas, made her second career start her first complete game, scattering six hits and striking out nine.
She surrendered the game's lone run in the third inning when Stephanie Sasser walked, advanced to second on a sac bunt and reached home on a Lindsey Yelverton RBI-single. Dione Meier made the lead stand for the Colonels (3-1), hurling an 11-strikeout, no-hitter.
The Rebel offense started to threaten in the late game against Jacksonville State, putting a runner in scoring position in three of the first four innings. However, it was the Gamecocks (4-0) who struck first as they plated a run in the fifth and four in the sixth. Annie Davis singled in two runs, and Allie Simons homered to bring in two more to key the JSU rally.
Ole Miss broke the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth on a Justice solo home run. It was the second long ball of the year and 13th of her career for the sophomore from Vero Beach, Fla.
Senior Lindsay Price suffered the complete-game loss but struck out 12. She has 26 Ks in her last two starts -- the most ever in a two-game span by a Rebel pitcher. Veronica Davis earned the victory for Jacksonville State, who knocked off Mississippi State, 9-1, earlier in the day to go 2-0 for the tourney.
Heavy rain in the Oxford area washed out most of the Rebel/Easton Invitational, canceling all but one game Saturday at Ole Miss Softball Complex and eliminating all weekend games at the tournament's other venue -- the Oxford Softball and Soccer Complex. Indiana State posted a 2-0 weekend mark with wins over UT-Martin, 3-0, and Nicholls State, 3-1. Mississippi State split a pair, falling to JSU but rebounding for a 15-4 blowout of Samford in SU's only tourney game.
Ole Miss next takes to the road for a month, beginning this weekend with a three-game series at Evansville. Saturday's doubleheader and Sunday's finale both begin at noon CST each day at Cooper Stadium in Evansville, Ind.
Nicholls State 1, Ole Miss 0 (Feb 16, 2003 at Oxford, Miss.)----------------------------------------------------------------------Nicholls State...........001 000 0 - 1 6 1 (3-1)Ole Miss.................000 000 0 - 0 0 0 (3-4)----------------------------------------------------------------------Pitchers: Nicholls State - Meier. Ole Miss - Brill.Win-Meier Loss-Brill(0-2) T-1:45 A-91
Jacksonville State 6, Ole Miss 1 (Feb 16, 2003 at Oxford, Miss.)----------------------------------------------------------------------Jacksonville State...... 000 014 1 - 6 6 0 (4-0)Ole Miss................ 000 001 0 - 1 5 1 (3-5)----------------------------------------------------------------------Pitchers: Jacksonville State - Davis, V.. Ole Miss - Price.Win-Davis, V. Loss-Price(1-3) T-2:00 A-43HR: JSU - Countryman; Simons; UM - Justice (2).
