The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
5-2
Rhode Island
1-3
Rebels Cruise on Day Two of Houston Classic
2/18/2017 | Softball
Game One - Ole Miss 11, Incarnate Word 1 (5)
Box Score
Game Two - Ole Miss 13, Rhode Island 0 (5)
Box Score
HOUSTON - Ole Miss combined for 24 runs and allowed just one, run-ruling both of its opponents, UIW, 11-1, and Rhode Island, 13-0, Saturday afternoon on day two of the Houston Classic.
It was a dominating effort all around, as 12 different Rebels tallied hits, 21 different players saw the field, and three pitchers combined to allow just one earned run off six hits in 10 innings of work. Sophomore Ashton Lampton had a big day at the plate going 4-for-6 with two doubles, a triple and a home run, driving in five runs on the afternoon.
Freshman Dylinn Stancil also finished the day with five RBI off three hits, including the first home run of her career in game one. Courtney Syrett, Brittany Finney and Dominique Salinas all finished with multiple RBI, helping the team to a .471 average against the Cardinals and Rams.
See below for a full recap from both games.
Game One Recap
Junior transfer Kaitlin Lee got the start in game one and bounced back from Friday night's outing vs. No. 4 Oklahoma, going three full innings with just one hit allowed and a strikeout. She exited the game after three giving way to junior Elisha Jahnke, who finished it out with one run allowed off two hits and five strikeouts.
After two scoreless frames, the Rebels combined to score 11 in innings three and four, pounding out 12 hits on the afternoon. Syrett led off the second with a double to right-center field, giving way to Stancil, who shot an RBI single back up the middle scoring pinch runner Bry Castro. Lampton followed with one of her two doubles driving in Kylan Becker and Stancil, making the score 3-0.
An inning later, Finney blasted a solo shot that drifted just inside the foul poul in left, her second in as many days, increasing the advantage to 4-0. From there, Ole Miss sent 10 more batters to the plate.
Syrett and Kaylee Horton both singled giving way to Stancil's at-bat, where she punched an opposite field, 3-run shot over the right field wall pushing the score to 7-0. Paige McKinney then reached on an error, stole second, and eventually scored on a bloop double from Lampton making it 8-0. Sarah Van Schaik took advantage of a pinch-hit situation driving an RBI single up the middle to make it 9-0, before Miranda Strother followed with the same result scoring Salinas to increase the lead to 10-0. Dakota Matiko, also in a pinch-hit role, reached on an infield single, and after a throw attempt to first went wide, Strother scored on the play capping the 8-run fourth.
Lampton finished the contest 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI, while Stancil was 2-for-2 with four RBI and two runs scored. Lee got the win to improve to 2-2, while UIW's Sarah Leal (0-3) was tagged with the loss.
Game Two Recap
Similar to game one, Ole Miss used a strong fourth inning to seal the victory pounding out 12 hits. Freshman Morgan Bruce received the start going five innings with just three hits allowed, earning her first career shutout.
The Rebels again wasted no time, scoring three in the first after Lampton tripled to right, before Gonzalez ripped an RBI single to right-center making it 2-0. Finney followed with a double off the wall in left field increasing the lead to 3-0 ending the bottom half for the Rebels.
Gonzalez again got the third going with a leadoff single, as Syrett followed a couple batters later with an RBI single of her own, scoring Bry Castro, who pinch ran for Gonzalez. After a McKinney infield hit, Stancil drove an RBI single up the middle scoring McKinney, giving Ole Miss a 6-0 lead after three.
In their next chance at the plate, the Rebels put away the Rams thanks to a 7-run frame that sent 11 batters to the box. Lampton powered a solo home run to left-center field to get the rally going, before a string of walks and HBP's kept the inning going. Gonzalez walked, Strother was hit, then Finney walked, before Syrett also drew a base on balls for an easy RBI. After the second out was recorded, Raven Campos entered in a pinch-hit situation and also walked for an RBI, before Grayce Majam was hit by a pitch for the fourth run of the frame. After a Rhode Island pitching change, Salinas roped a 3-RBI double to right field in her first college plate appearance, providing three more insurance runs to cap the scoring.
Gonzalez went 2-for-2 against the Rams with an RBI and a walk, while Lampton finished 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. McKinney, who earned the start in left, made a diving grab in the third to save two runs, and went 2-for-3 at the plate.
Quick Hits
- Ole Miss' hitters went 24-for-51 (.471) against opposing pitchers Saturday, totaling three home runs, 22 RBI, five doubles, a triple, six walks and four stolen bases.
- In the circle, Lee, Jahnke and Bruce combined for just six hits allowed and one run, holding opposing hitters to a .167 average.
- Freshman Dylinn Stancil hit the first home run of her career in game one, finishing the contest with four RBI and five total on the day.
- Sophomore Ashton Lampton slugged at a clip of 1.833 on the afternoon after powering four extra-base hits in six tries, totaling five RBI and three runs scored.
- Freshman Dominique Salinas, in her first college at-bat, drove a 3-run triple to right field in game two, the first hit and RBI of her career.
- Ole Miss combined to outscore its opponents, 24-1; the Rebels have scored 32 runs in the Houston Classic alone, nearly twice as many as their season total entering play in Houston.
- The meeting between Ole Miss and Incarnate Word was the first in school history, while Ole Miss increased its all-time series lead to 2-0 over Rhode Island.
On Deck
Ole Miss closes out play in Houston beginning at 10:30 a.m. Sunday against Rhode Island, before closing out the weekend against the host Cougars at 1 p.m.
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: Bruce, Morgan (2-0)
L: GUNDERSON, Sarah (0-2)
Batting:
2B: JULICH, Paige 1
Batting:
2B: Salinas, Dominique 1 ; Finney, Brittany 1
3B: Lampton, Ashton 1
HR: Lampton, Ashton 1
RBI: Grayce Majam 1 ; Salinas, Dominique 3 ; Lampton, Ashton 2 ; Gonzalez, Alyssa 1 ; Finney, Brittany 1 ; Syrett, Courtney 2 ; Stancil, Dylinn 1 ; Campos, Raven 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Horton, Kaylee 1 ; Grayce Majam 1 ; Lampton, Ashton 2 ; Castro, Bry 1 ; Cox, Elantra 1 ; Strother, Miranda 2 ; Finney, Brittany 1 ; Syrett, Courtney 2 ; McKinney, Paige 1 ; Campos, Raven 1
SB: Horton, Kaylee 1 ; Castro, Bry 1 ; McKinney, Paige 1
HBP: Grayce Majam 1 ; Strother, Miranda 1
