The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
13-5, 0-1
#7 Texas A&M
22-3, 1-0
Rebels Battle Back but Fall to Aggies in Game One
3/9/2018 | Softball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - No. 18 Ole Miss (13-5, 0-1 SEC) scored five runs in the final two innings of Friday's SEC opener at No. 7 Texas A&M (22-3, 1-0 SEC) but couldn't complete the comeback, falling 8-6 at the Aggie Softball Complex.
Kaitlin Lee took the loss to move to 8-2 in 2018. The senior threw 3.2 innings and allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits. Brittany Finney came on in relief and went 1.1 frames, surrendering two runs on two hits, while freshman Ava Tillmann allowed one hit but struck out a pair in her lone inning of work.
The Rebels struck first in the second inning, taking a 1-0 lead. After Gabby Alvarez drew a leadoff walk, Bry Castro entered as a pinch runner. Alex Schneider moved Castro over with a sacrifice bunt and two batters later, Castro was sent across the plate on Kaylee Horton's slap-single up the middle.
However, the worm turned quickly as the Aggies came right back in the bottom half of the inning, taking advantage of a Schneider error to score a pair on an Erica Russell two-RBI single and take the lead at 2-1.
Texas A&M added to its lead in the fourth, plating three on a three-run home run to left field by Tori Vidales and another on an RBI double by Riley Sartain. With four runs home in the inning, Ole Miss went to the bullpen, bringing Finney in for Lee.
The Aggies tallied two more runs in the fifth inning when Russell singled up the middle to lead off and Keeli Milligan sliced a deep ball just inside the foul pole in left field for a home run.
Undeterred, Ole Miss got two runs back in the top of the sixth. Autumn Gillespie got the frame started with a hard-hit one-out single up the middle and Alvarez took the very next pitch well past the fence in left-center for a two-run dinger.
Following a three-run, no-doubt home run off the bat of Gillespie, the Rebels put the tying run on first in the seventh on back-to-back hit-by-pitches for Izzy Werdann and Amanda Roth. However, Ole Miss couldn't complete the comeback as Horton was retired on a grounder to second for the third out.
Quick Hits
-Kaylee Horton singled in each of her first three at-bats in the game, marking six-straight plate appearances with a hit for the sophomore before her groundout in the seventh.
-Gabby Alvarez's two-run homer in the fifth was the second of the redshirt-freshman's career.
-Ava Tillmann entered Friday's game in the sixth and kept the Aggies off the board. It was the fourth time in the freshman's five appearances that she hasn't allowed a run.
- With her three-run home run in the seventh, Autumn Gillespie broke a four-way tie for the team lead in home runs, giving the redshirt-sophomore three on the season.
- Friday was the second game this season with multiple home runs for Ole Miss. The Rebels also hit a pair of long balls against Rutgers, when Abbey Latham and Alex Schneider went deep.
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.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Harrington, Trinity (7-1)
L: Lee, Kaitlin (8-2)
Batting:
HR: Gillespie, Autumn 1 ; Alvarez, Gabby 1
RBI: Gillespie, Autumn 3 ; Alvarez, Gabby 2 ; Horton, Kaylee 1
SH: Schneider, Alex 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cox, Elantra 1 ; Becker, Kylan 1 ; Gillespie, Autumn 2 ; Alvarez, Gabby 1 ; Castro, Bry 1
HBP: Werdann, Izzy 1 ; Roth, Amanda 1
Batting:
2B: Sartain, Riley 1
HR: Milligan, Keeli 1 ; Vidales, Tori 1
RBI: Milligan, Keeli 2 ; Vidales, Tori 3 ; Sartain, Riley 1 ; Russell, Erica 2
SH: Russell, Erica 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Milligan, Keeli 2 ; Vidales, Tori 1 ; Walters, Ashley 1 ; Hudek, Sarah 1 ; Cuyos, Kristen 1 ; Fortenberry, Kelbi 1 ; Russell, Erica 1
HBP: Cuyos, Kristen 1
