Ole Miss softball has done the unthinkable; they have taken down the giants of college and SEC softball. For the second time in as many days, Ole Miss junior Kaitlin Lee took the circle, another complete game and another win for the Rebels in the SEC Tourney in Knoxville.
Ole Miss softball has found itself at a great spot in the SEC Tourney. After defeating MSU in round one, they have taken down the No.1 Florida Gators in round two in shutout fashion 2-0. One year removed from their very first tourney win in school history, Ole Miss is 2-0 in this years tourney. However, their great spot happens to include the No.5 seed Alabama Crimson Tide waiting in the semi-finals Friday.
No worries. This team is ready and can handle the pressure. Just a couple of weeks removed from a scoreless series against the Gators, these Rebels proved to the SEC and the nation they are built for tourney play. They took the No.1 Florida softball team by a score of 2-0 in a historic win for the Ole Miss softball program.
“This is a program defining win.”@OleMissSoftball HC @msmithsb16 after Ole Miss knocked off No. 1 ranked Florida. https://t.co/pYXebGZVhk
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) May 11, 2017
I’ve been saying this team had a deep run in them. Can they continue their dominance against the all-time SEC Tourney wins and championship leader in the Tide? We find out tomorrow. For now, lets look at today’s game by the numbers.
In The Circle
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Without a doubt, the story of the day is the powerful performance of junior right-hander Kaitlin Lee. When Lee (18-10, 1.83) is on she is one of the most dominant pitchers in the nation. Today she was on.
Lee went 7.0 innings allowing no runs on only 2 hits. Lee also rung up 4 Ks on the afternoon while not allowing any walks. As long as Lee continues to pitch well, Ole Miss softball fans should expect to see her in the circle putting in work.
Lee knows she is on fire right now and is ready to answer coach Mike Smith’s call. When asked if she would be ready to pitch tomorrow? Lee indicated she was ready right then. Three games in three days might be a little more than we can expect. Even from Lee. However, if she is feeling it again tomorrow, I’d sure love to see her work against the Tide.
.@msmithsb16, @dylinnstancil and @Kaitlin00 talking with media following the big W!#HottyToddy #SECSB pic.twitter.com/3iG2kfCqE0
— Ole Miss Softball (@OleMissSoftball) May 11, 2017
At The Plate
On the day 5 Rebel batters would collect 7 hits and score 2 runs against Florida Gators ace Delanie Gourley. Gourley went 5.0 innings for the No.1 Gators. Kelly Barnhill pitched the last 2.0 innings and allowed no hits. The Gator pitching staff did ring up 11 Rebel batters in the game.
Dylinn Stancil (.279) led all Rebel hitters at the plate. Stancil was 2 for 3 and knocked in the game’s only runs. Junior Elantra Cox (.419) was 2 for 4 and scored a run. Kylan Becker (.367) scored the game’s other run while going 1 for 3. Kaylee Horton (.274) and Paige McKinney (.283) also went 1 for 3 in the game.
Tide Is Next
No.5 seed Bama made it to the semi-finals via the extra-innings 2-1 win against No.4 seed Texas A&M Thursday afternoon. Ole Miss and Bama met in a three game series in Oxford with Ole Miss taking the final two games.
First pitch for tomorrow’s semifinal match-up is set for 2pm CT. The game will be televised on ESPNU.