The University of Mississippi Athletics
Friday, February 25
Orlando, Fla.
11AM
Ole Miss
4
vs
1
JMU
Softball Splits Tough First Day At Knights Classic
2/25/2022 | Softball
Whitley Continues Offensive Tear
ORLANDO, Fla. – Ole Miss softball opened up its weekend at the Knights Classic with a split, taking down James Madison 4-1 and falling on a walk-off to UCF, 3-6.
Tate Whitley continued to lead the Rebels offense collecting six hits on the day and extending her streak of multi-hit games to five, while Aynslie Furbush went the distance, only allowing one run on two hits in 7.0 innings pitched in the victory over the Dukes. The sophomore struck out a career-high nine in her third victory of the season.
GAME ONE: OLE MISS 4, JAMES MADISON 1
The Rebels opened up their weekend at the Knights classic with a strong showing, defeating James Madison 4-1.
Ole Miss jumped out to the early lead just two batters into the game. Whitley singled and took second on a fielding error and came around to score on a Bre Roper RBI single to make it a 1-0 ballgame. Paige Smith added a second run later in the inning to give Furbush a lead to work with.
James Madison cut the lead to one after a solo home run in the bottom half of the second, but the Rebels locked in to keep the Dukes off the scoreboard for the remainder of the day.
Angelina DeLeon and Roper gave the Rebels some insurance in the fourth and fifth innings. After Sydney Gutierrez reached on a fielders' choice, Furbush doubled off the wall to put two runners in scoring position. DeLeon then knocked a run with her lone hit of the afternoon, extending the lead back out to two. In the fifth, Roper reached on a dropped flyball in the outfield and advanced twice on a pair of pickoffs to bring the score to 4-1.
Furbush was dominant the rest of the way with the help of some big defensive plays from Brooke Barnard, who was making her first career start at shortstop, and KK Esparza, who snagged two popups in foul territory right up against the netting.
GAME TWO: OLE MISS 3, UCF 6
The Rebels dropped a heartbreaker to UCF in the nightcap as the Knights hit a walk-off home run in the seventh to win 6-3.
Both teams threatened in the first inning, with Ole Miss leaving the bases loaded and Savannah Diederich stranding a pair. It wasn't until the second inning that the Rebels got on the board after Whitley singled in DeLeon for the game's first run.
Ole Miss had another chance to add a run in the fourth after DeLeon led off with a double down the line, but the Rebels were unable to bring her around to score.
The Knights loaded the bases with one out in the fourth inning and scored, but Diederich and the Rebels managed to limit the damage to one, as UCF tied the game up. Ole Miss responded in the very next inning, with a bases-loaded rally of their own. After a pair of walks and a single from Smith, Latham smacked a two-RBI single off the wall in right to retake the lead.
With Catelyn Riley in the circle, UCF plated two runs on an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to pull even again. The Knights carried the momentum into the bottom of the seventh and ended the game with a walk-off home run.
QUICK HITS
• Brooke Barnard made her first career start, playing shortstop in the Rebels 4-1 victory over JMU.
• Aynslie Furbush tossed a complete-game two-hitter against the Dukes. The sophomore struck out a career-high nine batters, besting her previous high of four.
• Tate Whitley collected her fourth and fifth consecutive multi-hit games against James Madison and UCF, going 3-for-4 in both contests.
• Abbey Latham drove in the 132nd run of her career against UCF. The senior is one RBI shy of tying DeDe Justice (2002-05) for third all-time.
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. Also, follow head coach Jamie Trachsel on Twitter at @Jamie_Trachsel.
Tate Whitley continued to lead the Rebels offense collecting six hits on the day and extending her streak of multi-hit games to five, while Aynslie Furbush went the distance, only allowing one run on two hits in 7.0 innings pitched in the victory over the Dukes. The sophomore struck out a career-high nine in her third victory of the season.
GAME ONE: OLE MISS 4, JAMES MADISON 1
The Rebels opened up their weekend at the Knights classic with a strong showing, defeating James Madison 4-1.
Ole Miss jumped out to the early lead just two batters into the game. Whitley singled and took second on a fielding error and came around to score on a Bre Roper RBI single to make it a 1-0 ballgame. Paige Smith added a second run later in the inning to give Furbush a lead to work with.
James Madison cut the lead to one after a solo home run in the bottom half of the second, but the Rebels locked in to keep the Dukes off the scoreboard for the remainder of the day.
Angelina DeLeon and Roper gave the Rebels some insurance in the fourth and fifth innings. After Sydney Gutierrez reached on a fielders' choice, Furbush doubled off the wall to put two runners in scoring position. DeLeon then knocked a run with her lone hit of the afternoon, extending the lead back out to two. In the fifth, Roper reached on a dropped flyball in the outfield and advanced twice on a pair of pickoffs to bring the score to 4-1.
Furbush was dominant the rest of the way with the help of some big defensive plays from Brooke Barnard, who was making her first career start at shortstop, and KK Esparza, who snagged two popups in foul territory right up against the netting.
GAME TWO: OLE MISS 3, UCF 6
The Rebels dropped a heartbreaker to UCF in the nightcap as the Knights hit a walk-off home run in the seventh to win 6-3.
Both teams threatened in the first inning, with Ole Miss leaving the bases loaded and Savannah Diederich stranding a pair. It wasn't until the second inning that the Rebels got on the board after Whitley singled in DeLeon for the game's first run.
Ole Miss had another chance to add a run in the fourth after DeLeon led off with a double down the line, but the Rebels were unable to bring her around to score.
The Knights loaded the bases with one out in the fourth inning and scored, but Diederich and the Rebels managed to limit the damage to one, as UCF tied the game up. Ole Miss responded in the very next inning, with a bases-loaded rally of their own. After a pair of walks and a single from Smith, Latham smacked a two-RBI single off the wall in right to retake the lead.
With Catelyn Riley in the circle, UCF plated two runs on an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to pull even again. The Knights carried the momentum into the bottom of the seventh and ended the game with a walk-off home run.
QUICK HITS
• Brooke Barnard made her first career start, playing shortstop in the Rebels 4-1 victory over JMU.
• Aynslie Furbush tossed a complete-game two-hitter against the Dukes. The sophomore struck out a career-high nine batters, besting her previous high of four.
• Tate Whitley collected her fourth and fifth consecutive multi-hit games against James Madison and UCF, going 3-for-4 in both contests.
• Abbey Latham drove in the 132nd run of her career against UCF. The senior is one RBI shy of tying DeDe Justice (2002-05) for third all-time.
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. Also, follow head coach Jamie Trachsel on Twitter at @Jamie_Trachsel.
Players Mentioned
INF
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INF
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RHP
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C/INF
/ Softball
RHP/UT
/ Softball
UT
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UT
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RHP
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
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