AUBURN, Ala. Junior catcher Amber Tramp hit a two-run single in the top of the seventh inning to pull Ole Miss within 8-5 of Auburn on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough as the Rebels dropped game three of the conference-opening series to the Tigers.
Tramp singled to right to plate Lisa Conchos and Lauren Grill and pull Ole Miss within three runs, but Tiger pitcher Jennee Loree struck out Alyssa McGovern with runners on the corners to end the game.
Tramp finished the game with one single in four at-bats, while Conchos picked up two hits and scored two runs in three at-bats.
Ole Miss (11-9, 0-3 SEC) used a little two-out hitting to take an early 1-0 in the first. Grill laced a single through the left side of the infield with two down and nobody on in the inning. Michelle May followed with a walk and Ashley Dowdy knocked a single to left to drive in Grill for a 1-0 lead.
Auburn answered back with a run of its own in the bottom of the inning after Kyndall White walked to lead off the frame and later scored on a wild pitch by Rebel starting pitcher Lindsey Perry.
Tiger center fielder Lindsey Harrelson gave Auburn a 2-1 lead with a solo home run to left to start the bottom of the third. Second baseman Lauren Guzman extended the Tiger lead with a bloop double to left center with two outs in the inning that plated two more runs and gave Auburn a 4-1 lead.
Katie Colton added to the Tiger lead with an RBI double in the fourth that gave Auburn a 5-1 margin.
The Rebels cut into Auburn’s lead with a pair of runs in the fifth. Corrine Doornberg reached on a hit by pitch to lead off the inning and moved to third on Conchos’ single to right. Doornberg would score on a wild pitch by Tiger starting pitcher Holly Ragsdale and Conchos scored later in the inning on a fielding error by shortstop Kyndall White.
Auburn took a 7-3 lead in the fifth on a throwing error by Perry and an RBI single from Guzman. The Tigers added their final run in the sixth on an RBI single from Amber Harrison.
Lindsey Perry took the loss for the Rebels after pitching the first 4.0 innings. Perry allowed seven runs on eight hits and struck out one. Becky Nye entered in the fifth and pitched the final 2.0 innings. Nye gave up only two hits and fanned one batter.
The Rebels will host Jacksonville State for a single game on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Ole Miss Softball Complex, before welcoming the Florida Gators for a three-game series beginning on Saturday. Ole Miss and the Gators will play a double header on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. and conclude the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.
