The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
22-10
Jacksonville State
23-9
No. 24 Rebels Drop 11-Inning Battle with Jacksonville State
3/29/2017 | Softball
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - In a back-and-forth, 11-inning affair that lasted three hours and 32 minutes, No. 24 Ole Miss softball came out on the losing end of a 5-4 decision to Jacksonville State Wednesday night at University Field.
With a combined seven runs scored from the seventh inning on, the Rebels (22-10) and Gamecocks (23-9) traded momentum swings time after time, as both teams had multiple chances to end it. Ole Miss had a 2-1 lead with three outs left to play in regulation, before JSU scratched a run across extending it to extras. In the tenth, the Rebels again took advantage, 4-2, but a pair of solo blasts tied it back up, 4-4, before they went on to walk off in the 11th.
The two sides combined for 14 hits in seven innings, but only two runs as JSU took the lead in the second off a solo home run. The Gamecocks went on to load the bases in that inning, but starter Kaitlin Lee worked a strikeout to escape the jam and leave the bases loaded.
After no score on either side through the fourth, Ole Miss struck first in the fifth when Alyssa Gonzalez rolled a leadoff single through the left side to get a rally going. Kaylee Horton singled to left, and Paige McKinney moved the runners over off a groundout to first. Bry Castro, who entered to pinch run, crossed the plate on a wild pitch tying the contest at 1-1.
In the next frame, JSU loaded the bases after two hitters reached via hit by pitch, and one got on via a single, but Lee again worked out of the jam with a popup in foul ground as the Gamecocks stranded three more.
Courtney Syrett got the rally started in the seventh when she singled to shallow right, before Gonzalez reached via walk and Horton put down a textbook sacrifice bunt moving the runners over. McKinney stepped in and lined one off the pitcher's glove, scoring Alex Schneider (a pinch runner), pushing Ole Miss in front 2-1. Sarah Van Schaik delivered a pinch-hit single back up the middle, but a strikeout ended the top half.
Lee entered back in the circle to begin a wild home half, which began with a leadoff single to left, before an attempted sacrifice bunt popped way up in the air and eventually landed behind the circle for a lucky bunt single. Then, a sac bunt moved the runners over, before a bloop single into left tied the contest at 2-2. Lee then intentionally walked a batter to load the bases, before getting a strikeout and popup to Cox in left to strand the bases loaded.
The Rebels came back in the eighth with solid contact as Brittany Finney ripped a line drive back to the circle, but the pitcher snared it for the first out. Ashton Lampton ran into one with two outs to deep left field, but it was caught at the wall keeping the game locked at 2-2.
Morgan Bruce then took over in the circle for the Rebels and immediately worked a strikeout, before getting out of another jam after JSU loaded the bases off a single, double and a walk.
Ole Miss showed potential in the ninth after both Raven Campos and Horton drew consecutive walks, but a ground ball on the infield stranded the pair in scoring position.
After a clean home half for Bruce in the circle, the Rebels came out firing in the 10th when Elantra Cox singled up the middle, and moved to second on a textbook bunt from Kylan Becker. She eventually advanced two more bases via wild pitch, scoring the Rebels' third run taking a 3-2 lead. Lampton walked and then stole second, before Syrett drove her in off an RBI single through the left side.
With what looked to be a reasonable advantage heading to the home half, the Gamecocks wouldn't go away, hitting two solo home runs, one a leadoff and the other with two outs, tying the contest back up at 4-4.
The Rebels again showed life in the 11th when Horton and Cox both walked, but a fielders' choice ended any threat. JSU's Hayley Sims would go on to homer to center in the bottom of the 11th to win it for the Gamecocks.
Offensively, Ole Miss tallied just seven hits, but drew seven walks, as Cox and Syrett both finished 2-for-5. Syrett and McKinney had the only RBI on the night, while Horton drew two walks and five other players had one each.
Starter Kaitlin Lee went a full seven frames in the circle with just two earned runs allowed off nine hits and six strikeouts while walking two. Bruce took the loss after allowing three runs, all solo shots, off five hits with three punch outs in 3.1 innings.
Quick Hits
- The extra-inning affair for Ole Miss marked the longest game since 2009, when the Rebels fell in a 2-1 loss at South Carolina in 11 innings.
- It marked the second extra-inning game for the Rebels this season (March 1 vs. LA Tech - 4-3 win).
- RHP Kaitlin Lee finished just one off her career high in strikeouts with six against the Gamecocks in seven innings of work.
- Freshman 2B Kaylee Horton reached safely in three of her five plate appearances with a pair of walks and a single to left in the fifth.
- Junior OF Elantra Cox recorded her 16th multi-hit game of the season after going 2-for-5 with a run scored and a walk.
- Ole Miss had its 16th different starting lineup on Wednesday, the 10th consecutive outing with a different starting nine.
On Deck
No. 24 Ole Miss returns home to host No. 16 Kentucky this weekend at the Ole Miss Softball Complex for a three-game series. The Rebels kick off their Alumni Weekend celebration with a 6 p.m. first pitch Friday night, and Saturday's middle game will begin at 3 p.m. on ESPNU. Sunday's game will also be shown to a national TV audience on SEC Network, and is set for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
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: Whitney Gillespie (10-4)
L: Bruce, Morgan (7-3)
Batting:
RBI: Syrett, Courtney 1 ; McKinney, Paige 1
SH: Becker, Kylan 1 ; Horton, Kaylee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cox, Elantra 1 ; Lampton, Ashton 1 ; Schneider, Alex 1 ; Castro, Bry 1
SB: Lampton, Ashton 1
CS: Cox, Elantra 1
Batting:
2B: Jamie McGuire 1 ; Hayley Sims 1
HR: Anna Chisolm 1 ; Jamie McGuire 1 ; Stephanie Lewis 1 ; Hayley Sims 1
RBI: Anna Chisolm 1 ; Jamie McGuire 1 ; Stephanie Lewis 1 ; Taylor Sloan 1 ; Hayley Sims 1
SH: Stephanie Lewis 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Anna Chisolm 1 ; Torre Roberts 1 ; Jamie McGuire 1 ; Stephanie Lewis 1 ; Hayley Sims 1
HBP: Anna Chisolm 1 ; Hayley Sims 1 ; Leila Chambers 1 ; Emily Woodruff 1
