OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss softball team (12-8) allowed just three hits and scored 20 runs in two games as the Rebels earned a doubleheader sweep of Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Wednesday, defeating the Lady Lions 4-0 in game one, and 16-0 in game two.
After defeating Arkansas-Pine Bluff 4-0 in game one, the Rebels came out of the gates in game two with 11 runs off four hits in the first inning. Among those four first-inning hits, were a pair of triples from freshman shortstop Haley Culley and freshman second baseman Melina Preciado.
The eight-run first inning cushion was more than enough for starting pitcher Carly Hummel. The junior from Bakersfield, Calif., threw a complete game (5.0 IP), striking out five while allowing just one hit.
"It's good to throw some shutouts, and our defense played pretty well," Ole Miss softball head coach Windy Thees said. "The first game, it took us awhile, offensively, to get anything going and we still were making some of the mistakes we made over the weekend, but in the second game we corrected those and were able to drive the ball a little bit better. Any time you win it's good."
Ole Miss extended its lead to 11-0 in the bottom of the second off three RBI singles from Marina Parra, Natalie Nimmo and Brittany Broome. The Rebels scored five more runs on three hits in the bottom of the fourth to give them the final score of 16-0 in five innings.
The Rebels have thrown 16 straight innings of scoreless ball dating back to the fourth inning of the Rebels' 2-1 win against Mississippi Valley State on Sunday. The two wins over UAPB extends the Rebels' win streak to eight games, Ole Miss' longest winning streak since 2002, and the second longest streak in program history.
In the two games combined Wednesday, Broome went 6-7 at the plate with six singles and five stolen bases. Broome now has 16 stolen bases this season, and 58 for her career, one shy of tying the program record set by Brooke Turner (2002-05).
"(Stealing bases) is her job," Thees said. "We like to joke with her saying, `You can't steal first. You have to find a way to get on base.' Today, she got on so she was able to steal the bases that she needed to steal. I'm really proud of her."
The Rebels will now head to Orlando, Fla., for the UCF Holiday Inn Select Spring Fling. Ole Miss will face Penn and the tournament host UCF on Friday at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., respectively. The Rebels will then play a pair of Big East schools in Villanova and Connecticut on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., respectively. Ole Miss will close out the tournament Sunday against Villanova at 8:30 a.m. All times are Central.
OXFORD, Miss. - Junior pitcher Shelby Jo Fenter struck out 11 batters and senior left fielder Brittany Broome went 4-4 with four stolen bases as the Ole Miss softball team defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff 4-0 in game one of Wednesday's doubleheader.
Fenter was in command in the circle throughout the game against the Lady Lions, pitching a complete game shutout with 11 strikeouts while only facing two more batters than the minimum. After allowing singles to two of the first three batters, Fenter did not allow another Lady Lion batter to reach base for the remainder of the game, going three up, three up down for the final six innings. Fenter's 11 strikeouts are her second most this season. The West Memphis, Ark., native struck out 12 batters against Hawaii.
"She came out with a really great focus to just work on fixing those little things and work on her game instead of necessarily just pitching to the other team," Thees said. "She did a really good job of that because I felt like by the end of the game she was pitching a lot stronger than she did even at the beginning."
Ole Miss got on the board first in the bottom of the third with a two-run single to left field by Londen Ladner.
Cantillo led off the fifth with a booming solo home run deep over the left field wall to give the Rebels a 3-0 lead. The home run was Cantillo's third of the season, the most on the team.
The Rebels scored their fourth and final run of the game with an infield RBI single by Culley that scored Broome from third.
Broome was a menace at the plate in game one, going 4-4 with four singles and a career-high tying four stolen bases. Broome's four hits against UAPB were a career high.
For all Ole Miss softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com. Fans can follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball and on Facebook at Ole Miss Softball.
WHAT HAPPENED VS. ALABAMA: For the third time in the SEC Tournament, Ole Miss scored first with three runs in the second, then battled back to tie the 5-5 in the seventh, but fell to Alabama 7-5 in 10 innings.... read more
Summer is approaching which means the magazine stands are starting to fill up with preseason football publications. I swung by the convenient store Wednesday, and it looks like Sporting News and Athlon won the war of getting their season previews... read more
Track & Field News published today a comprehensive listing of the best marks in the world and U.S. this year, combining indoors and outdoors (full lists here). Several current and former Ole Miss athletes found themselves on the lists, as... read more
Behind Bobby Wahl and Mike Mayers, sophomore right-hander Sam Smith has quietly put together a stellar season in his own right. The regular third starter in the weekend rotation, the Lake Charles, La., native is 3-0 with a 3.11 ERA... read more
No. 6 Ole Miss (37-20, 15-15 SEC) vs. No. 3 Arkansas (35-19, 18-11 SEC)May 22 | 9:30 a.m. | Hoover, Ala. | Comcast Sports Southeast/ESPN3UM So. RHP Sam Smith (3-0, 3.28 ERA) vs. UA Jr. RHP Barrett Astin (4-4, 2.02... read more
WHAT HAPPENED VS. KENTUCKY: On four days' rest, junior right-hander Mike Mayers pitched a gem, giving up one run (unearned) on six hits with two walks and seven strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work, as No. 6 seed Ole Miss... read more
Ole Miss (36-20, 15-15 SEC) vs. UK SR LHP Jerad Grundy (6-5, 4.75 ERA)1. LF Tanner Mathis (0-for-7, 3 BB)2, SS Austin Anderson (2-for-6)3. C Stuart Turner (2-for-3, HR, 2 BB)4. 3B Andrew Mistone (5-for-9, 3 2B, 3B)5. CF Auston... read more
No. 6 Ole Miss (36-20, 15-15 SEC) vs. No. 11 Kentucky (30-24, 11-19 SEC) May 21 | 9:30 a.m. | Hoover, Ala. | Fox Sports Net/ESPN3 UM Jr. RHP Mike Mayers (4-5, 3.21 ERA) vs. UK Sr. LHP Jerad Grundy... read more
My name is Austin Miller, and I am the new writer and blogger for OleMissSports.com. I graduated with a bachelor's in journalism from Ole Miss less than two weeks ago, and I will be attending graduate school there in the... read more
It was exciting news this week as Rebel favorite Tom Luke returned to the Ole Miss football program as Assistant A.D. for Player Development. A second-generation Rebel and the brother of fellow Ole Miss standout and staffer Matt Luke, Tom... read more
A little more than a year into his first term as Ole Miss Athletics Director, Ross Bjork made his first trip to Starkville this week but did so for a good cause. Bjork and Bulldog AD Scott Stricklin joined forces... read more
Despite losing the All-American twin duo of Marcel and Chris Thiemann and playing in the toughest conference in America, Ole Miss finished the 2013 regular season with a ranking of No. 7 in the nation.The regular season was highlighted by... read more
The Rebels' uniform modifications for the 2013 football season were released during the BancorpSouth Grove Bowl. Facebook Photo Gallery Follow me on twitter @CampbellKyle.... read more
Injuries have riddled the Ole Miss football team this spring, and after evaluating the situation this week, the coaching staff determined a full scale scrimmage would not be an option for this year's BancorpSouth Grove Bowl. As a result, the... read more