The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
2-0
Pacific
0-2
Rebel Softball Splits Day Two at Easton Invitational
2/11/2017 | Softball
Game One - Ole Miss 9, Pacific 0 (5 inn.)
Box Score | Photo Gallery
Game Two - North Dakota State 1, Ole Miss 0
Box Score | Photo Gallery
FULLERTON, Calif. - The Rebel softball team split its Saturday games at the Easton Invitational, shutting out Pacific, 9-0, before falling to North Dakota State, 1-0, in a pitchers' duel at Anderson Family Field.
In game one of the day, the Rebels (2-1) strung together 11 hits and put together an 8-run fourth inning to top the Tigers (0-2). In the third game of the weekend, the Bison (1-2) scored a single run late to steal the victory.
See below for a full recap from both games.
Game One - Ole Miss 9, Pacific 0 (5 inn.)
It was the fourth inning that proved to be the difference in the win over the Tigers, as six different Rebels drove in a run, and LHP Alyssa Clayton worked out of multiple jams to claim a shutout in the circle.
In all, Pacific stranded eight runners in the five-inning affair, while Ole Miss left seven on base. The Tigers had chances early on as they hit a single off the wall in right field, before Miranda Strother fired to second base catching Lahners trying to stretch it into a double.
An inning later the Tigers got runners to second and third with just one out, but Clayton worked a groundout back to her in the circle, then a popup on the infield to work out of the frame.
The Rebels had a prime chance in their half of the second when Strother walked and stole second, before a groundout from Dylinn Stancil moved her to third. Courtney Syrett then drew a walk, before Bry Castro pinch ran for her and advanced on a wild pitch. After Kaylee Horton reached on a walk, the Rebels went down via strikeout and groundout leaving the bases loaded.
The first of two 5-2-3 double plays came in Pacific's half of the third when Stancil fielded a grounder, threw home to Syrett, and she completed the play to first to get Clayton out of the jam. Ole Miss got the offense going a half inning later when Stancil delivered an RBI single into right field that scored Lampton, making it a 1-0 Rebel lead.
From there, Ole Miss batted around in the fourth in what would be the deciding frame for the contest. Syrett got it going with a leadoff single up the middle, before Horton drew one of her two walks to put two on. After a fly out to left, Elantra Cox punched an RBI single to second base making it 2-0, before Kylan Becker delivered her third hit of the day on an infield single.
Lampton then drove one in off an RBI single to right, before Brittany Finney rolled a fielders choice to shortstop scoring Cox. Strother drove in two off an RBI single scoring Lampton and Becker to increase the advantage to 6-0, before Syrett drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 7-0. Freshman Alyssa Gonzalez, in just her second collegiate at-bat, drove in two off a single to center, scoring Stancil and Strother to cap the frame.
Becker finished the game 3-for-3 with a run scored, while Lampton went 2-for-3 with two runs and a double. Stancil also tallied two hits, while Horton and Syrett both drew two walks on the afternoon.
Clayton, in her first game back since last February, went the full five innings with just five hits allowed and three walks.
Game Two - North Dakota State 1, Ole Miss 0
Game two of the day featured nothing short of a pitchers' duel, as junior Kaitlin Lee came back from a one-hit performance Friday to battle North Dakota State's Jacquelyn Sertic.
The two went toe-to-toe throughout the majority of the contest, before the seventh inning was the deciding factor for the Bison, a team that received votes in the USA Softball Preseason Top 25.
Sertic held Ole Miss at bay through the first five frames, before Horton broke up the perfect game in the sixth. Syrett led off the frame with a hard line drive right back to the pitcher, but it landed right in her glove to keep the hit off the board. An at-bat later, Horton's hit came off a single down the left field line, before back-to-back strikeouts ended any threat.
The Bison led off the seventh with a single to right, before a sacrifice bunt moved both runners up to second and third. A bloop single behind the first base bag followed, when Horton initially had it in her glove and it rolled out. NDSU then followed with identical bloop singles to left field that landed in front of Cox, the second scoring what would be the game-winning run. Lee did work out of the jam with another 5-2-3 double play, but the damage had been done in what would be the only run of the contest.
Quick Hits
- LHP Alyssa Clayton made her return to the circle in game one vs. Pacific after her season-ending injury in 2016.
- Alyssa Gonzalez made her collegiate debut in the win over the Tigers, delivering a 2-RBI single in the fourth inning that ultimately led to the run-rule victory.
- Kennedy Legg also made her debut, earning a pinch-hit at-bat in the fourth.
- Kylan Becker had a career-high three hits against Pacific, and leads the team in hitting with a .500 average through three games.
- The Rebels went a perfect 3-for-3 in stolen bases against the Tigers, and are 5-for-5 on the year after finishing 2016 ranked seventh in the NCAA with 126.
- Ole Miss evened up the series with the Tigers, 1-1, after the first meeting between the two schools since 2003. The contest between the Rebels and Bison was the first in program history.
On Deck
Ole Miss closes out play in the Easton Invitational Sunday at 9:30 a.m. PT/11:30 a.m. CT against Loyola Marymount.
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: Clayton, Alyssa (1-0)
L: LINDSTROM (0-2)
Batting:
SH: OWEN 2
Base Running:
HBP: LAHNERS 1 ; GUSTAFSON 1
Batting:
2B: Lampton, Ashton 1
RBI: Cox, Elantra 1 ; Lampton, Ashton 1 ; Strother, Miranda 2 ; Stancil, Dylinn 1 ; Syrett, Courtney 1 ; Gonzalez, Alyssa 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Cox, Elantra 1 ; Becker, Kylan 1 ; Lampton, Ashton 2 ; Finney, Brittany 1 ; Strother, Miranda 1 ; Stancil, Dylinn 1 ; Syrett, Courtney 1 ; Horton, Kaylee 1
SB: Becker, Kylan 1 ; McKinney, Paige 1 ; Strother, Miranda 1
