Freshman in fielder Dylinn Stancil f throws a ball for an out during Ole Miss’ win over Louisiana Tech University. (Photo by Taylar Teel)
No. 23 Ole Miss secured a 4-3 win in the home opener against Louisiana Tech Wednesday night to improve to 13-2 on the year.
The Rebels got a big boost after a seven-inning grid lock when transfer pitcher from Oklahoma Brittany Finney hit a walk-off homer to end the game in the eighth. Ole Miss led for the majority of the game but allowed Louisiana Tech to rally in the sixth inning to tie the score at three.
Both teams were hitting the ball well throughout the game, as Ole Miss racked up nine hits and two home runs and Louisiana Tech came up with eight hits of its own. Kaitlin Lee started on the mound for the Rebels, giving up three earned runs through five innings. Alyssa Clayton replaced her in the top of the sixth and tallied three strikeouts with no earned runs.
“We knew that we were going to get a pretty good game coming in,” Ole Miss head coach Mike Smith said.
This is the first time in school history the Rebels have broken into each of the major national polls, including USA Softball and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
“I don’t think we had our best game today,” Smith said. “That’s a good team, probably a postseason NCAA team.”
The Rebels faced an early 1-0 deficit after the top of the first inning but quickly evened the game up in the bottom of the first after a leadoff triple by Elantra Cox, who then scored on a wild pitch. Cox went 3-4 on the day, improving her season average to .500.
The Rebels took the lead in the bottom of the second inning as Dylinn Stancil hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring in a runner. In the bottom of the fourth, Stancil cranked a solo home run to extend the lead to two, her second dinger of the season.
The top of the sixth was a long half-inning for the Rebs, sacrificing two runs off of wild pitches and allowing Louisiana Tech to tie the game up at three. The Rebels had runners on second and third in the bottom of the seventh but could not capitalize on the opportunity.
“We kind of let that sixth inning get away from us a little bit,” Smith said. “Didn’t make some plays. Didn’t pitch real well.”
In the bottom of the eighth, with two outs and nobody on base, Finney crushed a solo walk-off home run to send Louisiana Tech home with the loss. It was her only hit of the night, but she made it count when it mattered.
“Honestly, it wasn’t one of my best days,” Finney said. “I had two not-so-great at bats leading up to my last at bat but the last one definitely made up for it.”
The Rebels will face Mississippi Valley State at 5:30 p.m. Friday at home.
