The University of Mississippi Athletics
Saturday, April 6
Lexington, Ky.
1 PM
Ole Miss
26-10, 6-4
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#22 Kentucky
24-14, 9-5
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Ole Miss
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Kentucky
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Softball Sweeps Saturday Doubleheader, Earns Series Victory Over No. 22 Kentucky
4/6/2019 | Softball
Box Score 1Box Score 2<i class="icon-stats"></i> Game One Box Score (PDF)<i class="icon-stats"></i> Game Two Box Score (PDF)
Brittany Finney Picks Up Two Wins in the Circle to Lead the Way for the Rebels
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Jumping out to a pair of first-inning leads, No. 18 Ole Miss (27-10, 7-4 SEC) swept its doubleheader against No. 22 Kentucky (24-15, 8-7 SEC) on Saturday, earning its third conference series win of the season to move into fourth place in the league standings.
The Rebels racked up 23 hits on the day, with freshman Tate Whitley leading the way with a 5-for-8 showing. Kylan Becker picked up four hits to her credit, while Jessica Puk and Amanda Roth each notched three base knocks.
Game One | Ole Miss 8, Kentucky 4
After falling behind big early the day before, it was Ole Miss that got the offensive wheels turning early in Saturday's opening game. The Rebels scored four runs in the first inning and rode the momentum to an 8-4 victory to even the series.
Brittany Finney threw her seventh complete game of the year on the way to the win. The senior allowed four runs (two earned) on eight hits over seven complete innings, striking out three.
Ole Miss jumped on top of the Wildcats from the word go, with Becker leading off with a single before a Puk walk and Autumn Gillespie single loaded the bases. With two outs on the board, Finney gave herself some help with a clutch double down the line in left to score a pair. Roth followed with a double of her own down the opposite line, bringing in two more to give Ole Miss a 4-0 advantage.
Kentucky used an error and three singles to score a pair of unearned runs off of Finney in the second but Ole Miss got them back and more in the next half inning to regain a firm hold of its lead.
Singles from Roth, Mikayla Allee and Becker loaded the bases once again for Ole Miss, with Abbey Latham drawing a walk to bring home a run. That brought Puk to the plate in a key spot and the sophomore delivered, lining a double just inside the right-field line to clear the bases and make it 8-2 in favor of the Rebels.
From there, Finney did the rest. Kentucky was able to score a pair of runs third and seventh on a couple of solo homers but it wouldn't be nearly enough as the Rebels evened the series heading into the nightcap.
Game Two | Ole Miss 6, Kentucky 2 (8 innings)
In the second game of the day, the Rebels and Wildcats battled it out into extra frames before Roth clobbered a leadoff homer in the eighth and Ole Miss poured it on en route to a 6-2 Rebel win.
Finney picked up her second win of the afternoon, throwing two shutout innings in relief, surrendering 2 hits and striking out three. Molly Jacobsen was effective in the start, allowing a pair of runs in six frames, allowing six hits with seven strikeouts.
Just like the previous game, Becker got the Rebels going right away, lacing a ball down the right line for her seventh triple of the season. After Latham was walked, Becker came home on a wild pitch to open scoring. Puk, Gillespie and Roth also watched ball four, bringing home another run to extend the early lead to 2-0 after one for the Rebs.
Kentucky threatened to get the runs right back in the home half, with an infield single and an error putting two runners in scoring position with one out. However, Jacobsen was able to produce a strikeout and a grounder to put water on the embers, getting out of the frame unscathed.
The Wildcats halved the Rebel lead in the fourth, with Tatum Spangler narrowly beating Allee's throw from short over to first base. Jacobsen left the tying run at third, however, generating a slow roller up the middle for the force at second.
However, after the Rebels missed a few chances to extend their lead, the Wildcats capitalized and tied the game in the sixth on a Katie Reed RBI double. Kentucky threatened to walk off in the seventh, sending slugger Abbey Cheek to the plate with a runner on first but Finney won the duel, fanning Cheek to retire the side.
Ole Miss didn't wait long into extras to strike as Roth took the third pitch she saw over the left field fence for a solo homer to regain the lead for the Rebels. The Rebs went on to add three insurance runs on a bases-loaded HBP from Puk, a Gillespie sacrifice fly and a fielding error.
With the lead firmly in hand, Finney came back out and slammed the door, dispatching the Wildcats to clinch the series for Ole Miss.
The Rebels will return home for a Wednesday midweek matchup, taking on UAB at 6 p.m. CT at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
Quick Hits
• Ole Miss has won three of its first four SEC series, with the only non-win coming in the 1-1 weather-shortened series tie at South Carolina.
• The Rebels picked up their ninth and 10th ranked wins of the season. Ole Miss won eight games over ranked teams in 2018.
• Brittany Finney has now picked up a win in each of her last four appearances, improving to 10-5 overall in 2019.
• Kylan Becker extended her hitting streak to 15 games, the second longest streak in Ole Miss-history, topping her own 14-game run in 2017.
For all Ole Miss softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball, on Facebook at Ole MissSoftball and on Instagram at Instagram.com/olemisssoftball. Fans can also follow head coach Mike Smith on Twitter at @msmithsb16.
The Rebels racked up 23 hits on the day, with freshman Tate Whitley leading the way with a 5-for-8 showing. Kylan Becker picked up four hits to her credit, while Jessica Puk and Amanda Roth each notched three base knocks.
Game One | Ole Miss 8, Kentucky 4
After falling behind big early the day before, it was Ole Miss that got the offensive wheels turning early in Saturday's opening game. The Rebels scored four runs in the first inning and rode the momentum to an 8-4 victory to even the series.
Brittany Finney threw her seventh complete game of the year on the way to the win. The senior allowed four runs (two earned) on eight hits over seven complete innings, striking out three.
Ole Miss jumped on top of the Wildcats from the word go, with Becker leading off with a single before a Puk walk and Autumn Gillespie single loaded the bases. With two outs on the board, Finney gave herself some help with a clutch double down the line in left to score a pair. Roth followed with a double of her own down the opposite line, bringing in two more to give Ole Miss a 4-0 advantage.
Kentucky used an error and three singles to score a pair of unearned runs off of Finney in the second but Ole Miss got them back and more in the next half inning to regain a firm hold of its lead.
Singles from Roth, Mikayla Allee and Becker loaded the bases once again for Ole Miss, with Abbey Latham drawing a walk to bring home a run. That brought Puk to the plate in a key spot and the sophomore delivered, lining a double just inside the right-field line to clear the bases and make it 8-2 in favor of the Rebels.
From there, Finney did the rest. Kentucky was able to score a pair of runs third and seventh on a couple of solo homers but it wouldn't be nearly enough as the Rebels evened the series heading into the nightcap.
Game Two | Ole Miss 6, Kentucky 2 (8 innings)
In the second game of the day, the Rebels and Wildcats battled it out into extra frames before Roth clobbered a leadoff homer in the eighth and Ole Miss poured it on en route to a 6-2 Rebel win.
Finney picked up her second win of the afternoon, throwing two shutout innings in relief, surrendering 2 hits and striking out three. Molly Jacobsen was effective in the start, allowing a pair of runs in six frames, allowing six hits with seven strikeouts.
Just like the previous game, Becker got the Rebels going right away, lacing a ball down the right line for her seventh triple of the season. After Latham was walked, Becker came home on a wild pitch to open scoring. Puk, Gillespie and Roth also watched ball four, bringing home another run to extend the early lead to 2-0 after one for the Rebs.
Kentucky threatened to get the runs right back in the home half, with an infield single and an error putting two runners in scoring position with one out. However, Jacobsen was able to produce a strikeout and a grounder to put water on the embers, getting out of the frame unscathed.
The Wildcats halved the Rebel lead in the fourth, with Tatum Spangler narrowly beating Allee's throw from short over to first base. Jacobsen left the tying run at third, however, generating a slow roller up the middle for the force at second.
However, after the Rebels missed a few chances to extend their lead, the Wildcats capitalized and tied the game in the sixth on a Katie Reed RBI double. Kentucky threatened to walk off in the seventh, sending slugger Abbey Cheek to the plate with a runner on first but Finney won the duel, fanning Cheek to retire the side.
Ole Miss didn't wait long into extras to strike as Roth took the third pitch she saw over the left field fence for a solo homer to regain the lead for the Rebels. The Rebs went on to add three insurance runs on a bases-loaded HBP from Puk, a Gillespie sacrifice fly and a fielding error.
With the lead firmly in hand, Finney came back out and slammed the door, dispatching the Wildcats to clinch the series for Ole Miss.
The Rebels will return home for a Wednesday midweek matchup, taking on UAB at 6 p.m. CT at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
Quick Hits
• Ole Miss has won three of its first four SEC series, with the only non-win coming in the 1-1 weather-shortened series tie at South Carolina.
• The Rebels picked up their ninth and 10th ranked wins of the season. Ole Miss won eight games over ranked teams in 2018.
• Brittany Finney has now picked up a win in each of her last four appearances, improving to 10-5 overall in 2019.
• Kylan Becker extended her hitting streak to 15 games, the second longest streak in Ole Miss-history, topping her own 14-game run in 2017.
For all Ole Miss softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball, on Facebook at Ole MissSoftball and on Instagram at Instagram.com/olemisssoftball. Fans can also follow head coach Mike Smith on Twitter at @msmithsb16.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Finney, Brittany (10-5)
L: Schorman, M (5-1)
Batting:
2B: Puk, Jessica 1 ; Finney, Brittany 1 ; Roth, Amanda 1
RBI: Latham, Abbey 1 ; Puk, Jessica 3 ; Finney, Brittany 2 ; Roth, Amanda 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Becker, Kylan 2 ; Latham, Abbey 1 ; Puk, Jessica 1 ; Gillespie, Autumn 1 ; Finney, Brittany 1 ; Whitley, Tate 1 ; Allee, Mikayla 1
SB: Becker, Kylan 1 ; Loftin, Kelsha 1 ; Whitley, Tate 1
HBP: Allee, Mikayla 1
Batting:
HR: Cheek, A 1 ; Peyton, M 1
RBI: Schaper, J 1 ; Cheek, A 1 ; Kowalik, K 1 ; Peyton, M 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cheek, A 1 ; Peyton, M 1 ; Vick, B 1 ; Rainwater, S 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
SS/2B
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
RHP/1B
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
LHP
/ Softball
1B/DP
/ SoftballUT
/ Softball3B
/ SoftballOF
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