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Ole Miss Softball: No.18 Rebels Suffer Sweep By No.1 Gators, Jacksonville St Up Next

By Daniel Skipper

Aug 6, 2016; Irvine, CA, USA; Beverly Bandits players celebrate after defeating the South Dakota Renegades to with the 16U Premier Championship at the Girls Premier Fastpitch Nationals at Bill Barber Community Park. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 6, 2016; Irvine, CA, USA; Beverly Bandits players celebrate after defeating the South Dakota Renegades to with the 16U Premier Championship at the Girls Premier Fastpitch Nationals at Bill Barber Community Park. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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The No.18 Ole Miss softball team traveled to Gainesville for a weekend SEC series with the #1 Florida Gators. Of course, they knew it would be a hard-fought battle to try to dethrone the reigning No.1 team in the nation. Unfortunately, the Rebels fell short losing all three games and suffering the sweep to the Gators.

Ole Miss softball (31-16, 6-12) is on the rise and has been a force in the SEC which has garnered the attention of teams within the SEC. They have also gained the attention and respect of the pollsters as they recently saw themselves break into the Top-20 with a No.18 national ranking. However, SEC softball is a very competitive arena and the going has been tough on the young Rebels.

Of course, the Florida Gators (44-3, 18-2) are the #1 team in the nation for a reason as well. Although the No.18 Rebel softball team dropped three games, they still gave the Gators all they wanted or could handle. Throughout the 3 game series they were a thorn in the side of the No.1 team in the nation. Florida is also 20-2 at home and that means a lot in SEC play. Lets look at how it went down.

Game One

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Kaitlin Lee (13-8) drew the start in the circle in game one. Lee would allow only 1 earned run on 7 hits while etching 2 Ks. Although, Lee had a stellar day pitching, the Rebel batters had to deal with an undefeated Gator pitcher in Kelly Barnhill. Barnhill allowed only 2 hits while striking out 16 Rebel batters.

Kylan Becker (.361) led all Rebel batters in the box in game one, going 2 for 3. Becker also had a stolen base in the game. However, there was no offensive production besides her on the day for Ole Miss. The game ended in a 2-0 shutout for the Rebels.

According to OleMissSports.com, Kaitlin Lee would pitch her 10th consecutive complete game, setting a new University of Mississippi record. Lee broke the previous record of 9 games held by Mary Jane Callahan.

Game Two

For the second consecutive day, Ole Miss had a great pitching performance. Freshman Morgan Bruce (8-5, 2.79) went 3.1 innings in the circle and only allowed 3 earned runs on 7 hits. However, she did give up 4 walks on the day.

Coach Mike Smith went to the pen in the 5th and sophomore Brittany Finney (4-0, 2.07) pitched 1.2 innings. Junior Alyssa Clayton (6-2, 2.74) entered in the 6th and closed out the game for the Rebels. They held the Gators hit-less for the last 2.2 innings on the day.

Of course, the Rebels were once again non-productive at the plate at the arm of another outstanding Gators pitcher. Delaney Gourley went a complete game for Florida allowing 2 hits while striking out 11 Rebel batters.

Alex Schneider was 1-1 on the day while Kaylee Horton (.281) went 1 for 2 at the plate. Horton’s triple in the 6th ruined the no-hitter for Gourley. Nevertheless, the Rebels lost game two in a 3-0 shutout.

Game Three

Junior Kaitlin Lee once again drew the start for the 3rd and final game of the series. This game she would only go 4 innings giving up 4 earned-runs on 9 hits while walking 3 Gators. Freshman Morgan Bruce (8-5, 2.79) entered the game in the 5th inning and gave up 1 earned-run. Elisha Jahnke (0-1, 1.70) entered in the 6th and finished out the game allowing no hits.

Of course, once again UF started Kelly Barnhill in the circle. Barnhill pitched 5 innings of duty and only allowed 2 hits and 1 walk while striking out 9 Rebel batters. Aleshia Ocasio entered the game in the 6th and allowed 1 hit.

Kaylee Horton (.281) was 2 for 3 on the day. Paige McKinney (.235) accounted for the other Rebel hit out of her 2 times at the plate. Of course, Ole Miss left 4 runners on base. Lack of offensive production once again found its mark in a series ending shutout loss for the Rebels. The shutout was the 3rd consecutive for the Rebels at the arms of Gator pitchers.

Looking Ahead

Ole Miss softball will host the Jacksonville State Gamecocks this Wednesday night at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. First pitch will be at 6pm CT and the game will be televised on the SEC+. According to OleMissSports.com, this will be first of a 5 game home stand followed by another ranked SEC team. #12 Alabama shows up Saturday for a weekend 3 game series. The Rebels will finish up their home schedule with a midweek game against Southern Miss.

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