The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
12-3
Southeastern Louisiana
12-5
Softball Splits on Day One of Ole Miss Classic
3/1/2024 | Softball
OXFORD, Miss. – Playing in front of its home crowd for the first time this season, Ole Miss softball split contests with Southeastern Louisiana and UAB on Friday to begin the Ole Miss Classic.
GAME ONE | Ole Miss 2, Southeast Louisiana 0
In the first game ever on the program's new field, the Rebels shut out Southeastern Louisiana 2-0, fueled by a dominant effort by Makenna Kliethermes in the circle. Kliethermes, who picked up her sixth victory of the season, went 5.0 innings, allowing two hits and striking out six batters.
Offensively, the Rebels only needed three hits to get the job done, taking advantage of eight free passes. Lexie Brady, Jamie Mackay and Aynslie Furbush each tallied hits, while Jaden Pone and Grace Thompson did the scoring.
Ole Miss quickly got on the board in the first inning as Pone walked, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. Just 60 feet away, she caught the defense sleeping and stole home to make it 1-0 while Southeastern Louisiana was trying to keep Brady from stealing second.
Kliethermes worked her way through the lineup the first time through, retiring each of the first 10 batters she faced before allowing a Lion to reach base. Southeastern Louisiana threatened in the fourth inning, loading the bases, but the senior righty froze the batter on a 3-2 pitch to strand them all.
The Rebels added a second run in the fifth inning. With one away, Furbush singled down the right field line and was pinch run for by Thompson. Back-to-back walks by Angelina DeLeon and Annie Orman loaded the bases for the top of the order. A ball in the dirt got away from the catcher and allowed Thompson to slide in safely at home, resulting in an insurance run.
Furbush took over in the circle for the final 2.0 innings, picking up her third save of the season. She set down the side in order in the sixth and closed out the ball game in the seventh to secure the victory for Ole Miss in its home opener.
GAME TWO | Ole Miss 4, UAB 6
In the second game of the evening, miscues proved costly as UAB took advantage of five unearned runs to top the Rebels 6-4.
After the Blazers took an early 1-0 lead on a solo home run to start the game, UAB chased Furbush out of the game. A throwing error on what would've been the third out of the inning extended the frame for UAB. The Blazers took advantage of the error and struck for four runs to make it 5-0.
Ole Miss slowly began to chip away at the deficit in the third inning. A Ryan Starr walk and Pone single put a pair of runners on for Delaney Rummell. The Rebel third baseman sent one right back up the middle to get Ole Miss on the board, and a sacrifice fly by Brady cut the lead to three.
In the fourth, the Rebels added another run. Taylor Malvin scored on a throwing error on a drop third strike to make it 5-3. The following inning Mackay doubled home Brady to pull Ole Miss back within one run but was stranded on second.
UAB answered in the top half of the sixth, scoring an insurance run on an infield single and pushing its lead back to 6-4. Ole Miss tried to rally late but was unable to find the runs in the final two innings.
The Rebels continue their weekend, hosting the Ole Miss Classic on Saturday, March 2, with games against Kent State and Southeastern Louisiana starting at 3:30 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: Kliethermes, Makenna (6-1)
L: Blanchard, C (4-1)
S: Furbush, Aynslie (3)
Batting:
2B: Watson, M. 1
Batting:
2B: Mackay, Jamie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pone, Jaden 1 ; Thompson, Grace 1
SB: Pone, Jaden 2
CS: Pone, Jaden 1 ; Brady, Lexie 1
