The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Auburn
Ole Miss Splits Doubleheader With No. 25 Auburn On Saturday
3/19/2005 | Softball
March 19, 2005
Box Score
OXFORD, Miss. - It was a pitcher's duel all the way on Saturday as Ole Miss (21-10, 3-2 SEC) and No. 25 Auburn (28-7, 4-1 SEC) split the opening day of a three-game series with the Rebels claiming a 2-0 win in the first game and the Tigers taking a 4-0 win in the second game of the day.
Ole Miss and the 25th-ranked Tigers will conclude the series with a single game at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Dana Brill (6-5) suffered the loss for the Rebels in the second game as she gave up four runs on nine hits. The junior lefty struck out three and walked two on the day in the loss. It snapped a three-game win streak for the junior.
Holly Currie (13-4) picked up the win as she threw a complete-game one-hit shutout of the Rebels in the second game to even the series at one game a piece.
"We did a good job in the first game of doing what we needed to do to put ourselves in a position to win," said Ole Miss head coach Candi Letts. "We didn't do those things in the second game. Their pitcher (Currie) did a good job and they did what they had to do to win. We have to come back Sunday and find that drive tomorrow if we want a chance to take the series."
In the first game, Auburn threatened with runners at second and third with one out in the second inning, but the Rebels got out of the inning as Brill got two straight Tiger batters to ground out to end the threat.
The Tigers got a second shot in the top of the sixth when Kristina McCain led off the inning with a walk. McCain moved to second on a sac bunt from Currie. A ground out from Sara Dean left McCain at second with two outs and the Rebels pitched around Paige Jones in the next at bat to put runners at first and second. Sara Ghezzi doubled up the middle in the next at bat to notch the Tigers' first run of the day as McCain scored from second.
Auburn added its second and third runs of the inning when Anne Norton singled up the middle to score Jones from third and score Ghezzi from second. Brooke Turner threw the ball home from center and Justice applied the tag at the plate, but Ghezzi slid around Justice and missed the plate. Justice tagged the plate and the umpire changed his ruling of safe to out to end the inning, but he again changed his mind and determined Justice had obstructed the plate and Ghezzi was safe at home to put the Tigers up 3-0.
The sophomore southpaw Mary Jane Callahan shut down the Tigers in the first game of the day to pick up the opening game over the Tigers.
Callahan (9-4) pitched her fifth complete-game shutout of the season as she gave up only three hits and walked two. She struck out seven batters on the day. Beth DiPietro (13-3) suffered the loss as she gave up five hits and two runs while striking out four and walking two.
Auburn had two errors in the game.
Ole Miss took the lead in the fourth inning when Justice recorded the first hit with a solo shot over the centerfield fence to put the Rebels up 1-0 and notch the first hit of the game for either team. The Rebels moved runners to second and third on a sac bunt from Lauren Rowe, but couldn't get another run across to end the inning.
Callahan led off the sixth inning with a triple down the right field line, and the Tigers intentionally walked Justice and Kloezeman to load the bases with no outs. The Rebels added a second run when Lauren Rowe singled to left field with the bases loaded to drive in Callahan from third. Ole Miss would then end the inning with a double play ground out to second.
Ole Miss and Auburn will conclude the series with a single game at 1 p.m. on Sunday at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
