The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
22-18, 5-13
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#23 Mississippi State
32-12, 6-9
Cox and Tillmann Shine in Wild Win Over MSU
4/16/2018 | Softball
OXFORD, Miss. - On a night that belonged to Ole Miss senior Elantra Cox, the Rebels came out on top in a back-and-forth affair on a chilly Monday night at the Ole Miss Softball Complex, defeating Mississippi State 7-6.
Seven pitchers in all manned the circle Monday night, four for the Bulldogs (32-12, 6-9 SEC) and three for Ole Miss (22-18, 5-13 SEC). Ava Tillmann earned the win for the Rebels after closing out the final three innings with no runs scored on two hits and a walk, striking out three.
Senior Kaitlin Lee made the start, allowing three runs on four hits with a pair of strikeouts in her three innings. Freshman Anna Borgen relieved Lee in the fourth and completed the frame, allowing three runs on three hits.
It didn't take long for Cox to make some noise, leading off the bottom of the first with a triple to center field to spark the Rebels. The throw came home on Kylan Becker's grounder but Cox was able to beat the tag, giving Ole Miss an early lead and also entering the Rebel record books. It was the 141st time crossing the plate in the senior's career, the most runs scored by any player in Ole Miss history.
After Becker stole second, Dylinn Stancil came through with a single up the middle, allowing the speedy junior to come all the way around to make it 2-0 at the end of the first.
The Bulldogs battled back to tie the game in the third inning as Mia Davidson drilled a two-run homer to left field. However, Ole Miss came right back to regain the lead in the home half in bizarre fashion.
Becker led off with a single to the pitcher and advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt that went wide of the bag. Stancil popped up into foul territory and Sarai Niu was able to make the catch while falling into the MSU dugout. Becker took off for the plate and appeared to be tagged out but because the throw was made from outside the field of play in the dugout, Becker was awarded home, putting the Rebs up 3-2.
The lead didn't last long for the Rebels. MSU tied the game in the fourth on a Carmen Carter RBI single to left and later in the frame jumped ahead as Carter Spexarth launched a pinch-hit three-run home run to right-center.
Undeterred, the Rebels continued to fight. Speed was the key in the bottom of the fourth as Paige McKinney bunted an infield single, moved to second on a fly out to center, stole third and came in on a wild pitch.
With the lead down to two runs, Ole Miss completed the comeback in the fifth. A single, walk and HBP loaded the bases. After a fielder's choice and strikeout, it looked as though Ole Miss may waste the opportunity but Amanda Roth drew a walk to drive in a run and Cox completed her milestone night with a clutch single through the right side, plating Kaylee Horton and Autumn Gillespie to push the Rebels back ahead at 7-6.
MSU loaded the bases in the sixth but Ole Miss quelled the threat with a fielder's choice to McKinney at short, who tossed to Roth at third to end the inning. The tying run again reached third in the seventh, testing the mettle of Tillmann. The freshman didn't waiver, fanning Carter to wrap up the victory for the Rebels.
Ole Miss returns to action on Wednesday, hosting ULM for a midweek non-conference bout at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be streamed live on SEC Nework +.
Quick Hits
- Ole Miss has won the final game of four of its six SEC series in 2018.
- The leadoff runner reached base for Ole Miss in five of six offensive innings.
- Senior Elantra Cox became the all-time leader for Ole Miss in career runs scored with her run in the first inning, crossing the plate for the 141st
- The leadoff triple for Cox was the eighth three-bagger in the slapper's career, moving her into a tie for second in program history.
- After going 1-for-2 with a sacrifice bunt on Monday, Kylan Becker posted a .778 on-base percentage for the series.
- Becker scored a pair of runs in the game, moving to 24 on the season. That total is second highest on the team behind Cox's 27.
- The win in the circle improves Tillmann's season record to 3-3. Tillmann leads the Rebels with a .211 opponent batting average.
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: Tillmann, Ava (3-3)
L: Holly Ward (12-5)
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Batting:
2B: Morgan Bell 1
HR: Mia Davidson 1 ; Carter Spexarth 1
RBI: Mia Davidson 2 ; Carmen Carter 1 ; Carter Spexarth 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Emily Heimberger 1 ; Mia Davidson 1 ; Maddie Dorsett 1 ; Carmen Carter 1 ; Calyn Adams 1 ; Carter Spexarth 1
SB: Emily Heimberger 1
HBP: Morgan Bell 1
Batting:
3B: Cox, Elantra 1
RBI: Cox, Elantra 2 ; Becker, Kylan 1 ; Stancil, Dylinn 1 ; Roth, Amanda 1
SH: Becker, Kylan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cox, Elantra 1 ; Becker, Kylan 2 ; Wood, Celeste 1 ; Horton, Kaylee 1 ; Gillespie, Autumn 1 ; McKinney, Paige 1
SB: Becker, Kylan 1 ; McKinney, Paige 1
CS: McKinney, Paige 1
HBP: Horton, Kaylee 1
