Grill Homers As Rebels Split A Pair With Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. Junior All-American Lauren Grill hit her third home run in two games in a four-run fifth inning to help lead the Ole Miss Rebels (17-19, 5-13 SEC) to a 4-1 victory over the home standing Kentucky Wildcats (23-13, 6-8 SEC) in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday at the Kentucky Softball Complex. Ole Miss dropped a heartbreaker 6-5 in eight innings in the second game.

Grill’s homer, a three-run opposite field shot, capped a four-run fifth that began with two outs and nobody on base. Senior second baseman Lisa Conchos gave the Rebels a 1-0 lead in the top of the inning with an RBI single to left that scored freshman Corrine Doornberg. Doornberg had reached on an infield single and moved to third on center fielder Courtnie Ghinaudo’s single to right. Grill followed Conchos with her three-run bomb that extended the Ole Miss lead to 4-0. It was Grill’s ninth homer of the season and 35^th of her career.

Grill finished the game 1-for-2 at the plate with three RBI and a walk. Doornberg added two hits in three at-bats and scored once.

”We played well in the first game, but didn’t take advantage of our opportunities in the second game,” said Ole Miss head coach Missy Dickerson. “We need to learn to finish out a game when we have the chance.”

Kentucky added a run in the sixth on an RBI single by designated player Rachel Riley, but that is all the Wildcats could muster, as junior Becky Nye allowed only six hits and struck out three in the complete-game effort. Nye gave up only the one run, as she picked up her 12^th victory of the season.

The Rebels threatened in the top of the first after a pair of walks by Ghinaudo and Grill gave Ole Miss runners on first and second with one out. After a Michelle May fielder’s choice, Kentucky starting pitcher Chanda Bell walked third baseman Ashley Dowdy to load the bases with two outs, but catcher Amber Tramp fouled out to her Wildcat counterpart to end the inning.

The Wildcats loaded the bases themselves with two outs in the bottom of the first after a pair of walks and an infield single. However, Nye got first baseman Sam Demartine to pop out to short to strand the runners.

Kentucky threatened again in the third after a double by Meagan Aull and Brittney Cervantes was hit by a pitch with one out. A sac bunt moved the runners to second and third, but Grill backhanded a Dermartine ground ball deep in the hole at short and gunned her out at first to end the inning.

The Rebels and the Wildcats will play the rubber match tomorrow at noon at the Kentucky Softball Complex.

Game Two

Kentucky scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, as the Wildcats edged Ole Miss 6-5 in the game two of a doubleheader on Saturday. Trailing 5-4 entering the bottom of the frame, catcher Megan Yocke knocked a two-out, two run double to right center that fell out of the glove of a running Corrine Doornberg for the game-winning hit.

With the game tied at four going into extra innings, first baseman Aly Presswood walked to lead off the top of the eighth for the Rebels and moved to second on a ground out. Doornberg hit a bloop single into left that put runners on the corners. Senior Lisa Conchos then served a single over third to score Presswood and give the Rebels a 5-4 lead.

Trailing 4-2 entering the bottom of the seventh, Kentucky mounted a rally to tie the game at four and send it to extra innings. Shortstop Molly Johnson started the frame with a single over third base and moved to third on Megan Aull’s double off the right field wall. After a Brittany Cervantes strikeout, catcher Meagan Yocke doubled off the wall in left to score Johnson and Aull and tied the game at four. Natalie Smith moved Yocke to third on a ground out and then pitcher Becky Nye walked designated player Rachel Riley before getting first baseman Sam Demartine to fly out to right to end the inning.

Nye suffered the loss after pitching the final 4.2 innings and giving up four runs on eight hits while striking out four. She entered in relief of starting pitcher Lindsey Perry, who pitched the first 3.0 innings and allowed two runs on three hits and struck out two.

Junior Alyssa McGovern gave the Rebels an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second after she beat out an infield single with two outs that allowed Amanda Hutcheson to score from third.

Ole Miss extended the lead to 3-0 on designated player Michelle May’s two-run double to right center in the top of the third.

Second baseman Natalie Smith answered back for the Wildcats in the third with a bases-load, two out single to center that cut the Ole Miss lead to 3-2.

The Rebels added to their lead in the fifth on an RBI fielder’s choice from McGovern, who finished the game with one hit and two RBI. May also added two RBI and a run scored, while Conchos and Doornberg each picked up two hits in the game.

Kentucky had runners on second and third with one out in the second courtesy of a walk and a fielding error by first baseman Aly Presswood, but Perry got the next two Wildcat batters to ground out to third to end the inning.

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Team Stats

Corrine Doornberg

Courtnie Ghinaudo

Lisa Conchos

Lauren Grill

The University of Mississippi Athletics