The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
22-13
Tennessee-Martin
16-16
Rebels Rally Past UT-Martin
3/31/2015 | Softball
OXFORD, Miss. -- The Rebels claimed a seventh consecutive victory on Tuesday, rallying with a big fifth inning as Ole Miss (22-13) defeated UT-Martin (16-16) by a score of 6-4 at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
Four-runs in the fifth, provided by two-RBI hits from Miranda Strother and Allison Brown, put the Rebels into the lead for good.
Kayla Landwehrmier (3-0) picked up the relief win, entering with the Rebels trailing 3-1 to start the fifth inning and held the Skyhawks to one run on three hits with a walk in her 3.0 innings of work.
Kenzi Tate (2-5) suffered the loss in relief for the Skyhawks, allowing three runs on two hits with three walks and a strikeout in 0.2 innings of work.
"I've used the word resilient for a while and that's kind of been our team the last few weeks," said Ole Miss head coach Mike Smith. "We may not always do it the prettiest way, but we've been getting the job done the last few weeks and found ways to win."
Ole Miss got on the board in the second inning when Courtney Syrett scored on a single to second from Grayce Majam. Syrett reached on a walk and advanced to second on a sac bunt from Alyssa Invergo. She then scored on the single to second that took a hop on the UT-Martin fielder and bounced into right field to put the Rebels on top 1-0.
The Skyhawks got on the board, and took the lead, in the fourth inning. An error on a ground ball from the leadoff hitter put a runner on before a two-out double brought the first run home. Pinch hitter Lauren Smith then hit a two-run shot to right center to put UT-Martin up 3-1 before the Rebels would get out of the inning.
The Rebels moved back in front with a four-run fifth inning thanks to the big hits from Strother and Brown. Three straight walks with one out loaded the bases for Strother before the sophomore centerfielder drove a two-RBI single into centerfield to tie the game at 3-3.
Ole Miss loaded the bases again following the Strother hit before Brown delivered a two-RBI double to left that pushed the Rebels out to a 5-3 lead before the Skyhawks would get out of the inning.
A sixth run came home for the Rebels in the sixth inning when Natalie Martinez hammered a triple off the wall in right center to score Invergo. Invergo reached on a leadoff single to open the inning before the Martinez hit would put Ole Miss up 6-3.
UT-Martin wasn't done, cutting the lead to two on a wild pitch with two outs and the bases loaded. Landwehrmier would get a fly out to left to end the game and grab the win for the Rebels.
Ole Miss will return to action this weekend, playing a three-game series on the road at No. 2 LSU beginning on Friday afternoon. The Rebels will then play a doubleheader on Saturday to close out the series.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Landwehrmier, Kayla (3-0)
L: TATE, Kenzi (2-5)
Batting:
2B: MECKL, Renate 1
HR: SMITH, Lauren 1
RBI: MECKL, Renate 1 ; SMITH, Lauren 2
SH: DIXON, Kelsey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: DAUGHERTY, Kacie 1 ; HANSEN, Alicia 1 ; MECKL, Renate 1 ; SMITH, Lauren 1
SB: HANSEN, Alicia 1
CS: MCCLURE, Samantha 1
HBP: DAUGHERTY, Kacie 1 ; HANSEN, Alicia 1
Batting:
2B: Brown, Allison 1
3B: Martinez, Natalie 1
RBI: Martinez, Natalie 1 ; Strother, Miranda 2 ; Brown, Allison 2 ; Majam, Grayce 1
SH: Cox, Elantra 1 ; Invergo, Alyssa 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cox, Elantra 1 ; Strother, Miranda 1 ; Schneider, Alex 1 ; Syrett, Courtney 1 ; Invergo, Alyssa 1 ; Majam, Grayce 1
SB: Invergo, Alyssa 1
