The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
19-14, 1-5
LSU
26-6, 4-5
Softball Drops Series Against No. 10 LSU
3/26/2023 | Softball
Rebels Back in Action Against Memphis
OXFORD, Miss. – With the series on the line, Ole Miss softball went toe-to-toe with No. 10 LSU but ultimately fell 3-1 Sunday afternoon at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
The Rebels (19-14, 1-5 SEC) battled for seven innings but came up just short against the Tigers (26-6, 4-5 SEC). Freshman Jalia Lassiter led the offense with two hits and scored the team's only run. In the circle, Catelyn Riley was sharp, only allowing one earned run through seven innings in the loss.
LSU threatened and got on the board first in the second. A leadoff double for the Tigers turned into the first run of the game after back-to-back singles with no outs. The Rebels took the free out, as LSU laid down a sacrifice bunt and locked in to prevent further damage. Mikayla Allee caught the runner on third in a run down for the second out of the inning, and a tapper back to Riley kept it 1-0 in LSU's favor.
Ole Miss answered quickly in the bottom half of the second. Lassiter ripped her fifth triple of the season past the diving centerfielder to put the Rebs in business. She scored two plays later as Savana Sikes laid down a safety squeeze to knot things back up at one apiece.
The Tigers came right back out in the third inning and retook the lead. They loaded the bases and scored an unearned run on a single to right, but Furbush showed off her arm, gunning down the second runner at the plate to keep it a one-run game.
Looking to tie things back up, Ole Miss strung together a pair of singles in the fourth from Lassiter and Keila Kamoku. With two on and one out in the inning, the Rebels called a double steal, but Lassiter was ruled out at third after the call on the field was overturned by replay. A flyout the very next play put an end to the inning and helped LSU maintain its 2-1 advantage.
Riley ran into a little trouble in the fifth but leaned on her defense to get out of the jam. Sikes snared a grounder, stepped on the bag at third and fired it over to first in time for the double play to stall the Tiger's momentum. Ole Miss tried to put together a two-out rally in the bottom half of the inning after Annie Orman singled up the middle. Taylor Malvin came in to run for her and swiped second base and took third on a wild pitch to move just 60 feet away. At the dish, Whitley smoked a line drive, but it was right at the LSU third baseman to end the inning.
Both teams headed to the seventh after being retired in order in the sixth. LSU managed to tack on a third run, taking advantage of a passed ball to score an unearned run. Down to its final three outs, the Rebels couldn't get anything going as the 10th-ranked Tigers secured the series with a 3-1 victory.
Ole Miss is back in action on March 28, with a break from conference action. The Rebels host Memphis in a midweek contest starting at 6 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: Sydney Berzon (9-2)
L: Riley, Catelyn (2-2)
Batting:
2B: Ali Newland 1
RBI: Georgia Clark 1 ; Raeleen Gutierrez 2
SH: Georgia Clark 1 ; Taylor Pleasants 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Danieca Coffey 1 ; Georgia Clark 1 ; Ali Newland 1
CS: Ciara Briggs 1
Batting:
3B: Lassiter, Jalia 1
RBI: Sikes, Savana 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lassiter, Jalia 1
SB: Malvin, Taylor 1
CS: Lassiter, Jalia 1
