Willitt Brilliant In Rebels? 4-0 Shutout Of Devilettes

OXFORD, Miss. Junior left-hander Tara Willitt tossed a two-hit shutout and the Ole Miss offense collected 10 hits in a 4-0 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Wednesday evening at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.

With the victory, the Rebels have won five of their last seven home games and improved to 10-6 in Oxford, while moving to 18-24 overall. The Devilettes dropped to an even 20-20 with the defeat.

“Tara pitched a really nice ballgame today,” said Rebel head coach Missy Dickerson. “I think we put together all three aspects of the game, but I still was not completely satisfied with the outcome. With the number of opportunities we had in the game, we did not score as many runs as we should have. Our goal is to get back to .500 and we are going to have to continue to improve to do that.”

Freshman catcher Amber Tramp paced three Rebels with multiple hits on the evening, as the Keller, Texas, native was a perfect 3-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI. Senior designated player Mary Jane Callahan added two hits, a run and an RBI, while sophomore second baseman Lisa Conchos also chipped in pair of hits.

But the story of the day was Willitt (8-5), who notched her fifth career shutout and second this season. The Okmulgee, Okla., native surpassed her season-high win total of seven from 2005 and nearly matched her career high of 10 strikeouts with nine in the contest. She did not walk a batter.

The Devilettes were held hitless until a fourth-inning single by Candy Shumpert was called fair near the third-base bag. Shumpert had both Devilette hits in the game, as she also doubled in the seventh.

Willitt retired the first 11 batters of the game, including a stretch of five straight strikeouts during the third and fourth innings. She also retired seven in a row after Shumpert’s first hit.

The Rebels cracked the scoreboard first with a run in the second inning on Tramp’s first double that scored Ashley Dowdy from first base after her single.

Callahan gave Ole Miss a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third when she dumped an RBI single down the right-field line to score Emily Sarver from second.

With one out in the fifth, the Rebels strung together three straight singles to load the bases. Following Dowdy’s fielder’s choice to the pitcher for the second out at home, Tramp placed one through the right side to score Lauren Grill and Callahan and give Ole Miss a 4-0 advantage.

Tramp now has seven RBI in the last five games to increase her season total to 16.

Ole Miss avenged a Feb. 27 loss at Mississippi Valley State when the Rebels were shut out 2-0. The Rebels are now 5-1 all-time against the in-state foe.

The Rebels continue their nine-game home stand and return to Southeastern Conference play with a three-game series against Arkansas this weekend. Saturday’s doubleheader is slated to begin at 1 p.m., with Sunday’s game also scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch. Fans will enjoy free pizza from 3 Guys Pizza of Oxford on Saturday, while all receive free admission for Sunday’s “Tax Break Special.”

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Team Stats

Amber Tramp

Conchos L

Mary Jane Callahan

Emily Sarver

The University of Mississippi Athletics