The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
1-1
Oregon
2-2
Softball Splits On Day Two Of Puerto Vallarta College Challenge
2/11/2023 | Softball
Rebels Move to 2-1 on the Year
PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico – Ole Miss split on day two of the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, dropping a contest with No. 24 Oregon and taking down Wisconsin Saturday afternoon.
GAME ONE: OLE MISS 3, NO. 24 OREGON 9
Ole Miss hung close with Oregon in a top-25 battle, but a late rally from the Ducks put the ballgame out of reach. Oregon struck first for a pair of runs in the opening frame off of Grace Sparks, who was making her collegiate debut. The Ducks took advantage of three hits and an error to cash it and take the early lead. Sparks worked a solid second inning before handing the ball off the Brooke Vestal, who continued to keep Oregon off the board.
The Rebels cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fourth when Savana Sikes singled and worked her way around the bases to score on an RBI single from Mikayla Allee. The Ducks, however, restored their two-run lead the following inning and broke things open with a five-run fifth.
Ole Miss scraped two runs across in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn't enough to climb back into the contest.
GAME TWO: OLE MISS 6, WISCONSIN 2
Ole Miss bounced back in the second game of the doubleheader, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning. In her first start in a Rebel uniform, Makenna Kliethermes mowed through the Badger lineup for four innings before handing the ball off to Sparks to close it out. The two pitchers surrendered only two hits on the evening and struck out four.
After getting the bats going late in game one, the Rebels carried the momentum over, striking for three runs in the bottom of the first and second. Jalia Lassiter singled to start the game and used her speed once again to force an error and scored on a Sikes single. Stevenson then went yard for the first tin in an Ole Miss uniform and the 60th time in her career.
The following inning, Jamie Mackay recorded her first collegiate hit and came around to score with Nyomi Jones on Lassiter's second triple in as many days. The freshman outfielder added a sixth run for the Rebels, crossing the plate on a sacrifice fly by Sikes.
Wisconsin threatened in the sixth, but the Ole Miss defense managed to limit the damage to two runs and turn its third double play of the game in the seventh to cap off the victory.
Ole Miss is back in action Sunday, taking on No. 3 Oklahoma State at 4 p.m. CT.
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 @olemisssoftball. Also, follow head coach Jamie Trachsel on Twitter at @Jamie_Trachsel.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Scott, Morgan (1-0)
L: Sparks, Grace (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Bunker, Allee 1 ; Sinicki, Paige 1
3B: Wong, Vallery 1
RBI: Bunker, Allee 4 ; Daniell, Alyssa 2 ; McGowan, Terra 1 ; Wong, Vallery 1 ; Carlson, Ariel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Luschar, Kedre 1 ; Humphreys, KK 2 ; Bunker, Allee 1 ; Daniell, Alyssa 1 ; Sinicki, Paige 2 ; Wong, Vallery 1 ; Carlson, Ariel 1
SB: Humphreys, KK 1 ; Sinicki, Paige 1 ; Carlson, Ariel 1
Batting:
2B: Orman, Annie 1 ; Lassiter, Jalia 1
RBI: Allee, Mikayla 1 ; Orman, Annie 1 ; Mackay, Jamie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sikes, Savana 1 ; Grisham, Tenly 1 ; Ray, Natalie 1
