The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
28-20, 5-15
#16 Arkansas
36-11, 11-9
Ole Miss Upended 8-3 in Game Two at Arkansas
4/29/2018 | Softball
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Ole Miss battled hard but an Arkansas grand slam in the sixth was the dagger for the Rebels, who fell 8-3 Sunday afternoon to the Razorbacks at Bogle Park.
Freshman Ava Tillmann took the loss for Ole Miss (28-20, 5-15 SEC), allowing four runs on eight hits in her three innings of work. Anna Borgen took over in the fourth and got through her first two frames unscathed but ran into some trouble in the sixth, surrendering the bases-loaded big fly to the Razorbacks (36-11, 11-9 SEC).
Ole Miss struck quickly, with Elantra Cox getting things started with an infield single to lead off the ball game. The speedy outfielder moved to second on a grounder, stole third and was brought home on an infield single by Brittany Finney deep in the 5-6 hole.
The Rebels had a great chance to extend the lead in the second with Paige McKinney and Cox in scoring position with one out thanks to infield singles. However, the Razorback defense stepped up and turned a 4-2-4-2-5 double play to get out of the jam.
Ole Miss relinquished the lead to the Razorbacks in the third, surrendering four runs on an RBI double and a three-run home run, putting the Rebels in a 4-1 hole entering the fourth.
The Rebels responded in the fifth, hacking two runs off the deficit in loud fashion. After Celeste Wood laced a single to right field, Finney followed with a two-run blast crushed to straight-away center field, giving Ole Miss new life in a one-run ball game.
Ole Miss put the tying run at second to start the sixth as McKinney reached on an error at short and slid into second safely on another error in left field. However, back-to-back pop ups and a groundout ended the Rebels' bid to tie the game.
The Razorbacks then took the air out of the Rebels' tires, breaking the lead back open with a grand slam down the right field line, putting the deficit at 8-3. Arkansas closed out the game in the next half inning, collecting the final three outs.
Ole Miss and Arkansas will conclude the series on Monday at 6 p.m. The game is the SEC Game of the Week and will be featured on the SEC Network.
Quick Hits
- Sunday's game was just the second time all season in which Ole Miss hit a home run and failed to pick up the win.
- Of Ole Miss' 23 home runs in 2018, eight of them have come in the last five games.
- The nine hits for the Rebels' are their most this season in a losing effort.
- Junior Brittany Finney drove in all three runs for Ole Miss, moving into a tie for second on the team with 17 RBIs.
- Senior Paige McKinney reached in all three of her plate appearances, registering a single and reaching on a pair of errors.
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: Mary Haff (23-4)
L: Tillmann, Ava (4-4)
Batting:
HR: Finney, Brittany 1
RBI: Finney, Brittany 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Cox, Elantra 1 ; Wood, Celeste 1 ; Finney, Brittany 1
SB: Cox, Elantra 2 ; McKinney, Paige 1
HBP: Roth, Amanda 1
Batting:
2B: A.J. Belans 1
HR: Hannah McEwen 1 ; Katie Warrick 1
RBI: Hannah McEwen 4 ; A.J. Belans 1 ; Katie Warrick 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Hannah McEwen 1 ; A.J. Belans 1 ; Ashley Diaz 1 ; Katie Warrick 1 ; Kayla Green 1 ; Loren Krzysko 1 ; Haydi Bugarin 2
HBP: Haydi Bugarin 1
