KNOXVILLE, Tenn. Tara Willitt turned in a brilliant pitching performance and Lauren Grill hit a solo home run to help the Ole Miss Rebels knock off the No. 9-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols 1-0 in the first game of a double header on Wednesday at Lee Softball Stadium. Ole Miss fell to Tennessee 6-2 in the second game of the day.
Lauren Grill struck for the Rebels (20-25, 4-17 SEC) in the third, as she smashed a solo home run to dead center to give Ole Miss a 1-0 lead. It was Grill’s tenth home run of the year and her fourth homer in the last six games. Grill finished the game 2-for-4 at the plate with a single and a homer.
Willitt pitched a complete-game shut out over Tennessee (41-7, 11-7 SEC), retiring 15 of the last 18 batters she faced. She allowed only three hits in seven innings and struck out three. It was Willitt’s third shut out of the season and second career versus an SEC opponent.
“Tara just pitched an amazing performance,” said Ole Miss head coach Missy Dickerson. “She pitches very well every time she goes against Tennessee and she finally got her due. Lauren came up with another big hit. We lost focus in the second game and made too many mistakes.”
Lisa Conchos reached on a fielder’s choice in the top of the first and moved to second after Grill reached on a fielding error by Tennessee third baseman Tonya Callahan. Both runners moved into scoring position after Lady Vol starting pitcher Megan Rhodes unleashed a wild pitch. However, Rhodes came back to strike out Ashley Dowdy and Amber Tramp to retire the side.
In the Tennessee first, Chandra Mogan singled and moved to second on a Callahan walk. Shannon Doepking reached on a fielder’s choice with Callahan being put out at second and Mogan moving to third. However, Willitt retired Tiffany Huff to end the Tennessee threat.
Michelle May led off the top of the second with a single to center and Lauren Rowe followed with a one-out single giving the Rebels runners on first and second. However, Rhodes struck out Alise Doubt and retired Courtnie Ghinaudo to end the inning.
Ole Miss loaded the bases with one out in the fourth on a pair of singles and a hit by pitch. However, Ashton Ward entered in relief of Rhodes and recorded two outs to leave the bases loaded.
Callahan singled to lead off the fourth for the Lady Vols and was pinch ran for by Natalee Weissinger. Weisssinger moved to second on a sac bunt, but Willitt settled in and retired the side to end the inning.
Jennifer Lapicki doubled with one out in the Tennessee seventh, but Willitt once again recorded back-to-back outs to end the game.
Rhodes (19-5) took the loss for Tennessee after allowing seven hits and one run in 3.1 innings of work. Ward pitched the final 3.2 innings and allowed one hit and struck out two.
Game Two
The Ole Miss Rebels dropped game two of the double header by a score of 6-2 to the Tennessee Lady Vols on Wednesday.
Tennessee loaded the bases in the first on a single, a throwing error by Lauren Grill and an intentional walk. Shannon Doepking singled up the middle to drive in two runs and Tiffany Huff laid down a RBI sac bunt to stake the Lady Vols to a 3-0 lead.
Erin Webb tripled for Tennessee in the fifth and later scored on a wild pitch by Rebel starting pitcher Becky Nye. Tonya Callahan added the Lady Vols’ fifth run of the day on a solo home run to right center in the fifth inning. Huff added Tennessee’s final run on a RBI single in the fifth.
Ole Miss jumped on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth after Lisa Conchos doubled with one out and scored on Ashley Dowdy’s single to left. Dowdy scored on Amber Tramp’s double to left center to pull the Rebels to within 6-2. Conchos, Grill and Tramp all doubled for Ole Miss.
Nye (8-9) suffered the loss for the Rebels. She pitched 4.1 innings and allowed six runs, four earned, on six hits. Nye struck out three batters and walked two. Tara Willitt entered in relief in the fifth and pitched the final 1.2 innings. She gave up two hits and struck out two.
Ashton Ward (19-5) picked up the win for Tennessee. She pitched a complete game and gave up two runs on five hits. She struck out five and walked one batter in 7.0 innings.
Next up, Ole Miss travels to Fayetteville, Ark. for a three-game series versus SEC-West rival Arkansas. The Rebels and the Razorbacks will play a double header on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. The series will conclude on Sunday at 1 p.m.
