The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Tennessee
Ole Miss Drops Season Finale with Tennessee
5/4/2003 | Softball
May 4, 2003
OXFORD, Miss. - Tennessee used a six-run fifth inning to spoil Ole Miss' softball season finale, 7-2, and take the rubber match of the three-game weekend series.
After three scoreless innings, the Lady Volunteers (43-23, 14-15 SEC) moved ahead 1-0 in the fourth inning when Kristen Hays reached home on Rebel throwing error to third base. UT sealed the series win an inning later with a six-run outburst, highlighted by an Angela Brewer grand slam.
The Rebels attempted a repeat of their game one comeback in the sixth inning, using singles by Jenny Cox and Brooke Turner to load the bases with no outs. Ole Miss picked up RBI-groundouts from DeDe Justice and Desiree Layman to narrow the gap to four, but the Rebels could get no closer.
On Ole Miss' Senior Day, fourth-year hurler Lindsay Price went the distance on the mound for her 16th complete game of the season. The Terry, Miss., native dropped to 11-13 on the season, although all seven runs allowed were unearned.
Stephanie Humphrey (18-15) worked five innings for the UT victory, and Stacey Jennings tossed two scoreless innings of relief.
In her final collegiate game, Phyllis Manley, a senior from Southaven, Miss., led the Rebels at the plate with a 2-for-3 tally for her second two-hit game of the series. Cox also notched her fifth baseknock of the weekend.
In addition to Price and Manley, Julie Baumann and Leslie Day were also honored in pre-game Senior Day ceremonies.
"This was my first recruiting class, so this is a special day," said Ole Miss head coach Candi Letts. "It's not about wins and losses but where you want the program to be, and these four individuals have been a big part of that."
In Saturday's doubleheader, Ole Miss took the series opener, 7-6, with seven unanswered runs, including five in the seventh inning, to tie the greatest comeback in Rebel fastpitch history. Cox, a junior from Germantown, Tenn., doubled in the final two runs to cap a career game with three hits and two RBI. Tennessee rebounded in game two, 12-2.
The Rebels wrap up their seventh year as a program with a 19-34 overall record and an 8-22 mark in SEC action. Ole Miss established a new single-season high for home runs with 32, led by Justice's individual record 15.
A sophomore All-SEC candidate from Vero Beach, Fla., Justice also set new school records for RBI with 45 and slugging percentage at .693, while posting a team-best .320 batting average.
The 2003 season also saw the Rebels turn in victories over No. 10 Georgia and No. 18 South Carolina, while also winning their first season series with Mississippi State since 1999.
"We found ourselves playing better the second half of the season against stronger conference opponents," Letts said. "We just started too slow. Hopefully the players realize in the future we need to play as well as we can all the time.
"Everyone in the conference knows that next year we won't just be competing to make the SEC Tournament but to win the conference."
Tennessee 7, Ole Miss 2 (May 04, 2003 at Oxford, Miss.)---------------------------------------------------------------------------Tennessee................000 160 0 - 7 9 0 (43-23, 14-15 SEC)Ole Miss.................000 002 0 - 2 5 3 (19-34, 8-22 SEC)---------------------------------------------------------------------------Pitchers: Tennessee - S. Humphrey; Jennings(6). Ole Miss - Price.Win-S. Humphrey(18-5) Loss-Price(11-13) T-1:40 A-297HR: UT - Brewer (8).S. Humphrey faced 2 batters in the 6th.
