The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
29-14, 5-8
South Carolina
31-11, 4-9
Rebels Capitalize, Earn 5-2 Road Win at South Carolina
4/15/2016 | Softball
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Elisha Jahnke pitched six strong innings and the Rebel offense capitalized on key Gamecock mistakes as Ole Miss softball topped South Carolina, 5-2, in the opening game of the weekend series Friday at Carolina Stadium at Beckham Field.
The Rebels (29-14, 5-8 SEC) got clutch hits from Miranda Strother and Courtney Syrett, while the Gamecocks (31-11, 4-9 SEC) committed three errors on the night.
The two pitching staffs combined to issue 12 walks, but Jahnke and Kayla Landwehrmier worked to strand nine Gamecocks as the two teams combined for nine hits in the contest.
Jahnke picked up her much-needed seventh win on the year, and first since March 22, going six innings with five hits and two earned runs allowed. She went out for the seventh frame to try and finish it, but Landwehrmier entered for the final three outs earning her second save of 2016.
After the Gamecocks went up 1-0 in the first, the Rebels responded with a two-run second thanks to an RBI bunt from Kylan Becker, and a stolen base that led to an errant throw to second scoring Paige McKinney, who pinch ran after Syrett's leadoff walk.
In the next opportunity at the plate, Strother drilled her third home run of the year over the wall in right field, pushing the advantage to 3-1 in favor of the Rebels.
From there, Jahnke worked her way through the Gamecock lineup keeping the offense at bay, including the important sixth inning when she pitched around a leadoff error by the defense to strand a runner at first.
Ole Miss wasn't done offensively though, pushing across two important insurance runs in the seventh. Hailey Lunderman led it off with a single, before Strother reached safely after an errant throw from the shortstop trying to get Lunderman out at second. After Strother stole, Syrett punched a two-RBI single off the wall in right field, before being caught at second trying to stretch it into a double.
South Carolina wouldn't go down without a fight though, as the first two Gamecock hitters reached on singles to left field, before a walk loaded the bases with nobody out. That's when Landwehrmier entered for her 16th appearance on the year, and got the job done. She worked a fielders choice to second in her first batter that scored the final South Carolina run, before getting a foul out to Syrett behind the plate and a groundout that retired the Gamecocks.
Lunderman, Strother, Syrett and Ashton Lampton all recorded hits for the Rebels, while Syrett reached safely all four trips thanks to a career-high three walk performance. Becker also reached safely in three of her four plate appearances with two walks, while Strother scored two runs for the visiting Rebels.
South Carolina's Nickie Blue was tagged with the loss after going the first four innings with two earned runs allowed and four walks, while Jessica Elliott finished it out with one earned run allowed off three walks and two hits.
On Deck
The two teams return to Beckham Field Saturday at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT for the middle game of the SEC series.
For all Ole Miss Softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball, on Facebook at Ole Miss Softball and on Instagram at Instagram.com/olemisssoftball. Fans can also follow head coach Mike Smith on Twitter at @msmithsb16. Additionally fans can get a behind the scenes look at Ole Miss Athletics on Snapchat under the handle, @WeAreOleMiss.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Jahnke, Elisha (7-5)
L: Nickie Blue (14-9)
S: Landwehrmier, Kayla (2)
Batting:
2B: Lampton, Ashton 1
HR: Strother, Miranda 1
RBI: Strother, Miranda 1 ; Syrett, Courtney 2 ; Becker, Kylan 1
SH: Becker, Kylan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lunderman, Hailey 1 ; Strother, Miranda 2 ; McKinney, Paige 1 ; Lampton, Ashton 1
SB: Strother, Miranda 1 ; Becker, Kylan 2
HBP: Schaik, Sarah 1
Batting:
2B: Krystan White 1
RBI: Kennedy Clark 1 ; Krystan White 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kennedy Clark 1 ; Ansley Ard 1
HBP: Kamryn Watts 1
