The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
13-7, 0-2
Alabama
17-4, 2-0
Rebels Fall To No. 4 Alabama In Game Two
3/7/2015 | Softball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - After a rough start in the first inning, the Rebels settled in but the early deficit again proved to be too much to overcome as Ole Miss (13-7, 0-2 SEC) fell at No. 4 Alabama (17-4, 2-0 SEC) by a score of 7-0 on Saturday.
With the victory, the Crimson Tide claimed the weekend series as the two teams will square off in the finale of the series at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Lauren Lindsey (3-1) suffered the loss for the Rebels, allowing seven runs - five earned - on seven hits with a walk and four strikeouts. After a two-run home run in the first that put the Tide up 4-0, Lindsey retired 15 of the next 18 batters to keep the Rebels in striking distance until the sixth inning.
Leslie Jury (4-2) allowed six hits on the afternoon, but surrendered no runs in the complete game, as she struck out eight batters on the afternoon.
"The best thing about the game is you get to come back and play again soon," said Ole Miss head coach Mike Smith. "You can't make mistakes in the circle or defensively against a good team like Alabama and expect that they won't capitalize on them. It was like Groundhog Day out there in the first inning.
"This is a different ball club the last two days than what we've seen the first weeks of the season," Smith said. "I don't know what it is, but we have to find ourselves and that's the challenge in front of our players. We have to find it in us as players to come out and play the game of softball and not just go out there and take the field. We have to play and we have to compete."
For the second straight day, the Rebels got an opportunity early against the Crimson Tide as Elantra Cox opened the game with a bunt single before moving to third on a pair of groundouts. Alabama got the strikeout it needed to thwart the Rebel rally, however, and kept Ole Miss off the board in the first inning of play with Cox stranded at third.
Alabama used a leadoff bunt single to get things started in the bottom of the first before Rebel miscues lead to a big inning for the Crimson Tide.
A fielding error at first on a sac bunt attempt when the runner and fielder collided put runners at the corners before a double steal brought the first run home and put the trail runner at third. Ole Miss caught Demi Turner in a rundown between third and home on a missed sacrifice bunt attempt, but a throwing error in the rundown allowed her to score as the Crimson Tide took a 2-0 lead on the Rebels.
Alabama then used a two-run home run to take the lead out to 4-0 on the Rebels before Ole Miss would get out of the inning.
Ole Miss got runners on in the second and third, both times advancing to scoring position, but couldn't find the final hit to get them home as Alabama maintained the four-run lead on the Rebels through the first three frames.
The Crimson Tide took advantage of another Rebel miscue in the sixth inning, extending things when Danae Hays struck out for the third out, but a wild pitch allowed her to reach safely and put two runners on base for the Crimson Tide. Andrea Hawkins then hit a bloop double to shallow right field, bringing both runners home and taking the lead out to six runs.
A passed ball and a wild pitch then allowed the seventh run to come home as Hawkins scored before the Rebels would get out of the inning down 7-0.
Ole Miss couldn't mount a rally in the final frame, falling to the Crimson Tide in game two of the series.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Jury (4-2)
L: Lindsey, Lauren (3-1)
Base Running:
SB: Cox, Elantra 1
Batting:
2B: Fain 1 ; Hawkins 1
HR: Spencer 1
RBI: Spencer 2 ; Hawkins 2
SH: Turner 2
Base Running:
RUNS: McCleney 1 ; Turner 1 ; Richard 1 ; Spencer 1 ; Fain 1 ; Hays 1 ; Hawkins 1
SB: McCleney 1 ; Turner 1 ; Richard 1
