The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
1-1
San Jose State
0-1
Rebels Split On Day One At Kajikawa Classic
2/5/2015 | Softball
TEMPE, Ariz. - Ole Miss went on the road to open the 2015 season at the Kajikawa Classic and split its first day of games, dropping a tight 2-1 contest against Oregon State before closing out the afternoon with a come-from-behind 6-5 win over San Jose State.
"We did a pretty good job in the first game, we just didn't get a couple of timely hits," said Ole Miss head coach Mike Smith. "One bad pitch beat us in that game, but we did a good job of coming back in game two against San Jose State. We struggled a little defensively, but we made adjustments at the plate - inning by inning and pitcher by pitcher.
"We talked a lot about our plan out here and that was to put together quality at bats," Smith said. "We had some great quality at bats and we did that late. We did a tremendous job of battling. I told Courtney (Syrett) right before her at bat that this was the moment girls dream of growing up playing softball and she lived in that moment and we got the victory."
Ole Miss will return to action at 8 p.m. CT on Friday evening against No. 16 Arizona State.
OLE MISS 6, SAN JOSE STATE 5
Rebels Clinch Win With Walk-Off Hit From Sophomore Courtney Syrett
Courtney Syrett delivered the game-winner for the Rebels to cap a two-run rally as Ole Miss (1-1) came back twice on the afternoon to defeat San Jose State (0-1) by a score of 6-5 Thursday at the Kajikawa Classic hosted by Arizona State.
With the bases loaded and one out in a tie-game, Syrett drove a ball to right field to bring home pinch runner Jamie Morgan and give the Rebels the win over the Spartans.
Madi Osias (1-1) picked up the win in relief, working the final 2.2 innings without allowing a hit while walking two and striking out four. The junior entered the game in the fifth inning to relieve starter Emily Gaitan who worked 4.1 innings and allowed five runs - one earned - on seven hits with six walks and no strikeouts.
San Jose State struck first, taking advantage of a passed ball to score the opening run of the game.
The Rebels responded in the home half of the third, pushing three runs across the plate to take the 3-1 lead on a rally sparked by freshman Grayce Majam. The shortstop hit a ground-rule double to right field before coming home on a triple to the wall in left by Haley Culley.
The scoring continued when Culley scored on a bunt by Allison Brown down the third base line to get the second run home. Brown went to second on a fielding error at third by Miranda Strother. She then moved to third on a groundout to the circle before coming home on a sacrifice fly from Osias.
The Spartans answered with a four-run fourth inning to regain the lead.
A single and a double with one out brought the first run home before San Jose State would go on to load the bases with two outs. A fielding error at short allowed two more runs to score and kept the inning alive before the Spartans would cap the inning with an RBI single through the left side to push the fourth run home and take a 5-3 lead.
Ole Miss again found an answer, cutting into the lead with a single run in the bottom of the inning by taking advantage of a fielding error to open the inning before an RBI double from Culley would bring the run home.
The Rebels put the final touches on the comeback in the seventh, loading the bases with one-out singles from Miranda Strother and Lauren Lindsey that was followed by a walk of Osias. Allysa Invergo brought home the game-tying run with a shallow fly ball that dropped into center field. Syrett then drove her 1-0 pitch to right field to secure the win for the Rebels.
OREGON STATE 2, OLE MISS 1
Rebels Fall In Season-Opener Despite Gutsy Effort On The Diamond
A pair of solo shots to center field proved to be the deciding factor in the season-opener for the Rebels on Thursday as Ole Miss (0-1) fell to Oregon State (1-0) by a score of 2-1 in the opening game of the Kajikawa Classic hosted by Arizona State.
The Beavers got solo home runs in the first and fifth innings on the way to the win, holding off a pair of late rally attempts by the Rebels in the season-opener.
Madi Osias (0-1) suffered the loss for the Rebels, allowing two runs on four hits with a pair of walks and three strikeouts through 6.0 innings.
Beverly Miller (1-0) picked up the win, allowing the one run on four hits with a walk and 10 strikeouts.
Ole Miss got a chance in the top of the first with a leadoff walk from Haley Culley. She went first to third on a groundout to first from Miranda Strother, but the Rebels were unable to get her home as the Beavers made the defensive play on a ground ball down the first base line from Lauren Lindsey to escape the inning.
The Beavers struck back in the home half of the inning, using a leadoff home run from McKenna Arriola to get on the board. A pair of walks and a hit batter followed to load the bases, but the Rebels got a nice defensive play from Allison Brown at third and a key strikeout from Osias to end the inning down only one run.
The Rebels mounted a rally in the third, sparked by a one-out walk from Paige McKinney. Culley drew a walk to put two men on before a fielder's choice from Allison Brown erased Culley from the base path but left runners at the corners. Strother then laced a ball through the right side to bring McKinney home and tie the game before Brown would be thrown out trying to go first to third on the play and end the inning.
Oregon State moved back in front when Dani Gilmore hit a solo shot to straight-away center with two outs in the fifth inning to put the Beavers on top 2-1.
The Rebels looked to mount another answering rally in the sixth, putting two on base with two outs on the board. Oregon State won the battle at the plate, coming up with a strikeout to squelch the Ole Miss rally attempt and hold to the 2-1 lead.
Ole Miss looked to mount a rally in the top of the seventh, again putting two men on base, but the Oregon State pitcher came up with another critical pitch down the stretch to secure the win with a strikeout to end the game.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Osias, Madi (1-1)
L: LINFORD, Katelyn (0-1)
Batting:
2B: SCHULTZ, Nicole 1
RBI: PURDY, Taylor 1 ; SCHULTZ, Nicole 1
Base Running:
RUNS: COX, Michelle 2 ; HUFSTETLER, Jessie 1 ; ENTZMINGER, Emma 1 ; SCHULTZ, Nicole 1
SB: COX, Michelle 2
CS: ABACHERLI, Brittany 1
Batting:
2B: Culley, Haley 1 ; Majam, Grayce 1
3B: Culley, Haley 1
RBI: Culley, Haley 2 ; Brown, Allison 1 ; Osias, Madi 1 ; Invergo, Alyssa 1 ; Syrett, Courtney 1
SF: Osias, Madi 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Culley, Haley 1 ; Brown, Allison 1 ; Strother, Miranda 1 ; Morgan, Jamie 1 ; Majam, Grayce 2
SB: Majam, Grayce 1
