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Ole Miss Softball: Rebels Even Series With Win Over No.15 Alabama

By Daniel Skipper

BEIJING - AUGUST 21: The shoes worn by players from the United States remain at home plate after the five players left them there following USA's 3-1 loss to Japan during the women's grand final gold medal softball game at the Fengtai Softball Field during Day 13 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 21, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
BEIJING - AUGUST 21: The shoes worn by players from the United States remain at home plate after the five players left them there following USA's 3-1 loss to Japan during the women's grand final gold medal softball game at the Fengtai Softball Field during Day 13 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 21, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /
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Ole Miss softball headed into game-two needing a win against the No.15 Alabama Crimson Tide to even the SEC road series in Tuscaloosa.

Friday’s 13-1 game-one loss to No.15 Alabama made it tough for Ole Miss softball (16-11, 2-6). No SEC road series is ever easy and being behind after game-one can be a difficult hurdle to overcome. Of course, Alabama (21-8, 2-3) is a very good team with a strong home fan-base making Rhoads Stadium a tough place to squeeze out a win. However, the Rebels didn’t just squeeze out a win, they squashed the Tide Saturday.

The Rebels didn’t waste anytime getting started and added 5 runs in the 1st capped off by a 2-run shot by Brittany Finney. In the top of the second Ole Miss added 1 run to push the lead to 6-1. After a scoreless 3rd frame the Rebels added 3 more runs in the top of the 4th to extend the lead to 9-1. Alabama finally got on the board with 1 run in the bottom of the 5th. With the score 9-1 in the bottom of the 6th the Tide added their final 2 runs of the game. The Rebels added a lone insurance run in the top of the 9th to make the score 10-3 which was ultimately the final.

Ole Miss softball proved once again Saturday they can be giant slayers this season. The combination of Rebels pitching and consistent solid hitting can produce wins. Over the past two weeks the Rebels had been slumping at the plate and in the circle and it cost them games. Of course, the Rebels will need a big game-three to have shot at the series and getting back on track. However, for now we will look at Saturday’s game by the numbers.

By The Numbers

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Senior right-hander Kaitlin Lee drew the start for the Rebels in the circle and went the distance. Lee pitched 7.0 complete innings and allowed 3 earned runs on 7 hits. Lee had 3 Ks and 4 BB. The win pushed Lee’s total to 10 wins on the season with 4 losses.

At The Plate

The Rebels hit very well at the plate against a strong Tide pitching staff. On the day 6 Rebels combined for 11 hits. Leading all Rebels was senior Elantra Cox who went 3 for 4 at the plate while scoring 3 runs. Junior Brittany Finney went 2 for 3 (HR) and had 2 RBI and a run scored.

Sophomores Kaylee Horton and Autumn Gillespie both went 2 for 4 in the game. Horton had 1 RBI and scored 2 runs while Gillespie had 2 RBI and scored 1 run. Horton extended her hitting streak to 5 games. Senior Paige McKinney and freshman Ally Mena both went 1 for 3 and Mena had 2 runs scored.

The Rebels responded really well to the Friday night loss in game-one and came out strong in game-two. The Rebels have shown they can hit the ball and amass runs in chunks. They know they have to be good in every facet of the game to compete against the tough SEC schedule. Maybe this was the kick-start the Rebels needed to get back on track. Of course, we don’t have to wait long to see if the Rebels really are.

Next: Don't Give Up Just Yet!

Up Next

Ole Miss softball will be back in action today as they face the No.15 Crimson Tide in game-three of the series. First pitch is set for 1:30pm CT. Good luck to coach Mike Smith and the Rebels! BEAT BAMA! Hotty Toddy!

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