Ole Miss Softball: Rebels split Friday games in Troy
Ole Miss softball kicked off their 2021 season Friday as they split their first two games in Troy, Alabama at the Trojan Classic.
After an abrupt cancellation of the 2020 Ole Miss softball season, the Rebels were back in long-awaited action Friday. The Rebels (1-1) traveled to Troy, Alabama to kick off their 2021 campaign in the Trojan Classic. The Rebels got off to a good start with an 8-2 win over UAB but fell 5-2 to Troy in their second game of the day.
After Covid-19 cut the 2020 season short the Rebels finished below .500 with a 12-13 record. Interim head coach Rueben Felix was replaced with the hiring of the well-known and very successful Jamie Trachsel who made her mark in college softball with an overall record of 386-184-1, a .643 winning percentage. Now the new era of Ole Miss softball has begun and it should be awesome. OHT looks at the Rebels’ first two games by the numbers.
Game 1
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The Rebels’ first game of Friday was against UAB. After a scoreless first inning, the Rebels cranked up. The Rebels got on the board in the second and didn’t look back. Leading all Rebels at the plate were Jessica Puk and Tate Whitley who both went 2 for 4 in the 8-2 season-opening win. Puk also had 2 RBIs and scored 3 runs.
Nyomi Jones went 1 for 1 as PH and scored 1 run. Mykala Allee went 1 for 2 with 1 RBI and 1 run scored. Autumn Gillespie went 1 for 3 with 1 RBI and 1 run scored. Paige Smith went 1 for 4 with 2 RBIs while Kaitlyn Cooper and Amanda Roth each had 1 run scored.
In the circle, 2 Rebels pitched. Savannah Diederich (1-0) drew the start and went for 4.1 innings allowing 2 runs on 4 hits picking up the win. Diederich had 5 Ks and 1 BB. Ava Tillmann entered in the fifth and went for 2.2 innings allowing no hits and had 6 Ks and 1 HBP. The Rebels were dominant at the plate and in the circle and picked up the season-opening win for coach Trachsel. However, the going in game two wouldn’t be quite so good.
Game 2
In the second game Friday the Rebels faced off against the tournament hosts Troy Trojans. The Rebels got on the board first in the second when Tate Whitley scored on an unearned run. The Rebels fell behind in the bottom of the inning and couldn’t find a way to catch up. The only other score came on an Abbey Lathem solo HR in the top of the sixth.
The Rebels only produced 3 hits at the plate in their second game of the day. Leading all Rebels was Gabby Alvarez who went 2 for 2 followed by Abbey Lathem who went 1 for 3 (HR) with 1 RBI and 1 run scored. The Rebels struck out 11 times at the plate in 25 at-bats.
In the circle, Ava Tillmann (0-1) drew the start. Tillmann went for 4.0 innings allowing 4 runs on 8 hits with 1 K and 1 BB. Anna Borgen entered in the fifth and allowed 1 run on 3 hits with 1 K and 1 BB.
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Coach Jamie Trachsel and Ole Miss softball will be back in action Saturday as they continue the Trojan Classic in Troy Alabama. The Rebels will face Belmont in Game 1 and then have a rematch with UAB in Game 2. First-pitch times are set for 11:30 am and 5:30 pm accordingly. Good luck to the Rebels and as always, stay safe and Hotty Toddy!