Ole Miss softball came up just short in a pitchers’ duel, falling in the middle game of the series with Kentucky, 1-0, Saturday afternoon.
In a nationally-televised game on ESPNU, both sides struggled from the plate, as the two starting pitchers (Morgan Bruce & Meagan Prince) battled it out in the circle throughout the day. Bruce finished with six innings pitched and just one unearned run allowed off five hits, while Prince went the distance with nine Ks and seven Ole Miss hits allowed. For the 12th straight game, Ole Miss had a different starting lineup, which was the 18th different lineup of the season.
Offensively, Kylan Becker and Miranda Strother both had multi-hit games, as Becker was 3-for-3 and Strother went 2-for-2. The Rebels (23-11, 1-7 SEC) outhit No. 16 Kentucky (24-7, 5-3 SEC), 7-5, and stranded eight baserunners, including leaving the bases loaded in the seventh.
Ole Miss also loaded the bases way back in the first when Kaylee Horton reached on a single, and Strother and Alyssa Gonzalez walked, but a groundout on the infield erased the early threat.
The Wildcats got their first runner in scoring position in the second when Schaper doubled down the line in left, but Bruce worked a strikeout to end the frame keeping the game scoreless.
After a fairly quiet third and fourth inning, Kentucky again threatened in the fifth after Bruce issued a leadoff walk. A fielders’ choice resulted in the first out on a force at second, before Sarah Rainwater singled to center, and the lead runner tried advancing, but Strother cut her down from center field. A groundout to Raven Campos at third ultimately ended the inning with the score still 0-0.
The Wildcats plated their lone run in the sixth after a leadoff walk, and error at second base on a fielders’ choice made every runner safe, allowing a single later in the inning to score the game’s only run, which was unearned.
The Rebels did threaten in the seventh and had the winning run 60 feet away, after Becker rolled a single to short, Paige McKinney reached on an error, and Cox reached on an infield hit. But, a groundout back to Prince in the circle stranded the bases loaded as Kentucky claimed the middle game.
No. 24 Ole Miss and No. 16 Kentucky return to the Ole Miss Softball Complex for the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.
