The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
5-1
Pitt
2-3
Pitching Shines as Softball Picks Up Wins Over Pitt and Kennesaw State
2/16/2024 | Softball
KENNESAW, Ga. – Grace Sparks and Makenna Kliethermes were exceptional in the circle, only allowing three total hits in 12.0 innings as Ole Miss softball picked up wins over Pitt and Kennesaw State on Friday at Bailey Park.
GAME ONE | Ole Miss 11, Pitt 0
Ole Miss set the tone for the weekend with a dominant 11-0 team victory over Pitt to start the day. Grace Sparks was electric in the circle, tossing a one-hit shutout while the offense stayed hot, collecting 13 total hits, their sixth straight game with at least 10.
Senior Paige Smith led the Rebels (6-1, 0-0 SEC) with a 3-for-3 morning, driving in four runs for the Rebels. Jalia Lassiter, Jaden Pone and Delaney Rummell also finished with multiple hits in the win. Sparks cruised through the Pittsburgh lineup, retiring 15 of the 17 batters she faced. The Panthers (2-3, 0-0 ACC) lone hit came in the second inning.
After a quiet first two innings from both teams, Ole Miss opened the scoring in the third. Jalia walked and swiped her first stolen base of the year with one out to move into scoring position. Jaden Pone followed with a perfect bunt, leaving the infield with no play, and made a great heads up play, sprinting to second as no one was covering the bag. With two runners in scoring position, Paige Smith ripped a double off the wall to drive in the first runs of the game, giving the Rebels a 2-0 lead.
Looking to add to their lead in the fourth, Annie Orman found the gap for a one-out double and pinch ran for by Taylor Malvin. Following a walk, Malvin used a wild pitch and a throwing error to score the third run of the game.
Back at the top of the order, Lassiter laced an RBI single back up the middle, and Pone walked to load the bases. Smith and Rummell drove in runs to cap off a five-run fourth with a hit by pitch and base hit to push the lead to 7-0.
Ole Miss put things away in the fifth inning with four more runs to bring the run-rule into effect. Jamie Mackay got things started with a double, and Malvin followed with her first collegiate hit. An infield single from Lassiter brought home the Rebels' eighth run, and back-to-back RBI doubles from Pone and Smith solidified the victory.
GAME TWO | Ole Miss 3, Kennesaw State 1
In the second game of the afternoon, Makenna Kliethermes tossed a gem. She took a no-hitter to the fifth inning against the host, Kennesaw State, and finished with nine strikeouts in the complete game effort.
The Rebel offense got on the board quickly as Lassiter led off the game with a single. Kennesaw State found two outs but not before Lexie Brady blasted an opposite field home run for her fourth longball of the season, making it 2-0. The offense, however, couldn't tack on more runs with opportunities in the third and the fifth.
Kennesaw came alive late in the game, putting pressure on Kliethermes and the defense. The Owls broke up the no-hitter in the bottom of the fifth inning. They got the runner all the way around to third, but Kliethermes picked up her ninth punchout of the game to hold strong. The following inning, Kennesaw State managed to cut the lead in half, but a diving catch from Lassiter in center field minimized the damage.
Ole Miss got the run back in the top of the seventh. Malvin singled through the left side to start off the inning and stole second. Grace Thompson came in to pinch hit and reached base after she was hit by a pitch, giving the Rebels two runners on with no outs. Lassiter drove in the insurance run with a fly ball to right that went off the defenders' glove, allowing Malvin to score from second.
With the two-run lead restored, Kliethermes closed out the victory, retiring the side in order to cap off a 2-0 first day at the Kennesaw State Tournament.
The Rebels continue their weekend at the Kennesaw State Tournament on February 17, with games against ETSU and Kennesaw State starting at 10 a.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: Sparks, Grace (2-0)
L: Stefanoni (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Pone, Jaden 1 ; Smith, Paige 2 ; Mackay, Jamie 1 ; Orman, Annie 1
RBI: Lassiter, Jalia 2 ; Pone, Jaden 2 ; Smith, Paige 4 ; Rummell, Delaney 2
SH: Mackay, Jamie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lassiter, Jalia 3 ; Pone, Jaden 3 ; Mackay, Jamie 1 ; Malvin, Taylor 2 ; DeLeon, Angelina 1 ; Starr, Ryan 1
SB: Lassiter, Jalia 1 ; Malvin, Taylor 1
HBP: Smith, Paige 1 ; DeLeon, Angelina 1
