The University of Mississippi Athletics
Saturday, February 29
Oxford, Miss.
12:30 PM
Ole Miss
9-10
1
vs
0
Missouri State
5-7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Missouri State
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
2
Ole Miss
0
1
0
0
0
0
X
1
1
0
Softball Advances to Ole Miss Classic Championship
2/29/2020 | Softball
Box Score 1Box Score 2<i class="icon-paper"></i> Game One Box Score (PDF)<i class="icon-paper"></i> Game Two Box Score (PDF)<i class="icon-video"></i> Game One Highlights<i class="icon-video"></i> Game Two Highlights<i class="icon-camera"></i> Game One Photos<i class="icon-camera"></i> Game Two Photos
Rebels Sweep Saturday Twin Billing with Missouri State, Jackson State
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss used pitching in the morning and power at night to advance to the Championship Game of the 2020 Ole Miss Classic, taking both ends of its Saturday doubleheader with Missouri State and Jackson State.
GAME ONE | Ole Miss 1, Missouri State 0
In the early game, the Rebel (10-10) offense provided just enough offense for starting pitcher Anna Borgen, who held the Bears' bats at bay on the way to a complete-game shutout.
The junior lefty moved to 3-1 on the year, scattering five hits and a pair of walks over her seven scoreless frames, striking out five batters along the way.
After leaving a pair of runners in scoring position in the opening frame, Ole Miss cashed in to take the lead in the second. Sydney Gutierrez started off the inning with a walk, with Katelin Cooper coming in at first to run. Cooper then moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt and took third on a wild pitch before Gabby Alvarez put a ball on the ground, allowing the speedy sophomore to score.
From there, Borgen did the rest. The Bears posed their biggest threat in the fourth, advancing two runners into scoring position with one out on the board. With her back against the wall, Borgen worked out of the jam, registering a strikeout and a ground out to escape danger.
Missouri State (5-8) would put just one runner on base the rest of the way, with Borgen shutting down the Bear offense to seal the tight win.
GAME TWO | Ole Miss 9, Jackson State 1 (5)
Jackson State (6-10) kept things close in the opening frames but Ole Miss pulled away late, finishing the game off early on Kacey Hvitved's walk-off grand slam to defeat the Lady Tigers 9-1 in five innings.
Ava Tillmann earned the win in relief, allowing a single walk and no hits with five strikeouts in 2.2 innings. Savannah Diederich earned a no-decision after starting, surrendiering one run off of a hit with three free passes.
Gutierrez pushed the Rebels in front in the first, sending a single to right field, sending Jessica Puk cruising around from second and across the plate.
After Ole Miss got out of a pair of jams in the first two defensive innings, Jackson State struck to tie the game in the third. With a runner on second, Isis Taylor delivered an RBI double to the left-center gap. Tillmann came out of the bullpen and avoided further damage, stranding a pair in scoring position.
The Rebs reclaimed the lead in the fourth, scoring three times to once again garner control of the affair. Alvarez got things started with a sacrifice fly to left, bringing home Paige Smith. Tate Whitley then dropped a bloop single into center field, plating Hvitved from second. Whitley scored soon after on a Autumn Gillespie single up the middle.
With a run already in in the fifth, Hvitved sent the fans home happy, pasting an offering from JSU's Leah Hopson and sending an absolute moon shot over the left field fence for the walk-off.
Ole Miss will look to finish off a perfect weekend on Sunday, facing off with California Baptist for the third time this season in the Ole Miss Classic Championship Game at 12:30 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcasted live on SEC Network +.
QUICK HITS
• Ole Miss extended its home non-conference winning streak during the regular season to 24 games, with the last non-league loss at the Ole Miss Softball Complex coming in 2018. The Rebels have also won five straight games overall in 2020.
• Anna Borgen pitched her second seven-inning, complete-game shutout of the season in the win over Missouri State. Entering the season, the junior had never thrown more than 5.0 frames in a single game.
• Kacey Hvitved's walk-off grand slam was the first home run of her Rebel career. It was also the first walk-off grand slam for Ole Miss since Abbey Latham's to beat Florida in 2019.
• Mikayla Allee reached in all four at-bats, going 1-for-1 with three walks. Allee has gone 3-for-5 at the plate during the Ole Miss Classic, posting a .750 on-base percentage.
• Autumn Gillespie also drew a pair of walks, giving the senior 15 free passes through 20 games.
• Paige Smith roped a pair of doubles in the win over JSU, taking over the team lead with three two-baggers on the season.
• Sydney Gutierrez's bat has been red-hot over the weekend. The junior has registered a hit in 4-of-8 at-bats with a double, a triple and a team-high four runs driven in.
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.
GAME ONE | Ole Miss 1, Missouri State 0
In the early game, the Rebel (10-10) offense provided just enough offense for starting pitcher Anna Borgen, who held the Bears' bats at bay on the way to a complete-game shutout.
The junior lefty moved to 3-1 on the year, scattering five hits and a pair of walks over her seven scoreless frames, striking out five batters along the way.
After leaving a pair of runners in scoring position in the opening frame, Ole Miss cashed in to take the lead in the second. Sydney Gutierrez started off the inning with a walk, with Katelin Cooper coming in at first to run. Cooper then moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt and took third on a wild pitch before Gabby Alvarez put a ball on the ground, allowing the speedy sophomore to score.
From there, Borgen did the rest. The Bears posed their biggest threat in the fourth, advancing two runners into scoring position with one out on the board. With her back against the wall, Borgen worked out of the jam, registering a strikeout and a ground out to escape danger.
Missouri State (5-8) would put just one runner on base the rest of the way, with Borgen shutting down the Bear offense to seal the tight win.
GAME TWO | Ole Miss 9, Jackson State 1 (5)
Jackson State (6-10) kept things close in the opening frames but Ole Miss pulled away late, finishing the game off early on Kacey Hvitved's walk-off grand slam to defeat the Lady Tigers 9-1 in five innings.
Ava Tillmann earned the win in relief, allowing a single walk and no hits with five strikeouts in 2.2 innings. Savannah Diederich earned a no-decision after starting, surrendiering one run off of a hit with three free passes.
Gutierrez pushed the Rebels in front in the first, sending a single to right field, sending Jessica Puk cruising around from second and across the plate.
After Ole Miss got out of a pair of jams in the first two defensive innings, Jackson State struck to tie the game in the third. With a runner on second, Isis Taylor delivered an RBI double to the left-center gap. Tillmann came out of the bullpen and avoided further damage, stranding a pair in scoring position.
The Rebs reclaimed the lead in the fourth, scoring three times to once again garner control of the affair. Alvarez got things started with a sacrifice fly to left, bringing home Paige Smith. Tate Whitley then dropped a bloop single into center field, plating Hvitved from second. Whitley scored soon after on a Autumn Gillespie single up the middle.
With a run already in in the fifth, Hvitved sent the fans home happy, pasting an offering from JSU's Leah Hopson and sending an absolute moon shot over the left field fence for the walk-off.
Ole Miss will look to finish off a perfect weekend on Sunday, facing off with California Baptist for the third time this season in the Ole Miss Classic Championship Game at 12:30 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcasted live on SEC Network +.
QUICK HITS
• Ole Miss extended its home non-conference winning streak during the regular season to 24 games, with the last non-league loss at the Ole Miss Softball Complex coming in 2018. The Rebels have also won five straight games overall in 2020.
• Anna Borgen pitched her second seven-inning, complete-game shutout of the season in the win over Missouri State. Entering the season, the junior had never thrown more than 5.0 frames in a single game.
• Kacey Hvitved's walk-off grand slam was the first home run of her Rebel career. It was also the first walk-off grand slam for Ole Miss since Abbey Latham's to beat Florida in 2019.
• Mikayla Allee reached in all four at-bats, going 1-for-1 with three walks. Allee has gone 3-for-5 at the plate during the Ole Miss Classic, posting a .750 on-base percentage.
• Autumn Gillespie also drew a pair of walks, giving the senior 15 free passes through 20 games.
• Paige Smith roped a pair of doubles in the win over JSU, taking over the team lead with three two-baggers on the season.
• Sydney Gutierrez's bat has been red-hot over the weekend. The junior has registered a hit in 4-of-8 at-bats with a double, a triple and a team-high four runs driven in.
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.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Borgen, Anna (3-1)
L: Steffany Dickerson (3-3)
Batting:
2B: Daphne Plummer 1
SH: Madison Hunsaker 1
Batting:
RBI: Alvarez, Gabby 1
SH: Allee, Mikayla 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cooper, Katelin 1
SB: Gillespie, Autumn 2 ; Jones, Nyomi 1
CS: Whitley, Tate 1
HBP: Puk, Jessica 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
1
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
AB
0
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
SS/2B
/ Softball
1B/DP
/ Softball
LHP
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
1B/UT
/ Softball
3B
/ Softball
UT
/ SoftballUT
/ Softball
3B/2B
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballOF
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