March 1, 2013

Box Score - UCF 4, Ole Miss 3 (10)

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Ole Miss softball team (13-9) rallied out of a 2-0 hole to push the game into extra innings, but lost 4-3 at UCF in the bottom of the 10th, ending its program-record tying nine-game winning streak.

Junior pitcher Shelby Jo Fenter battled throughout the game for the Rebels, throwing all 9.1 innings while allowing just four hits and two earned runs, and striking out 10.

Ole Miss, as it has done so many times before this season, showed its grit and heart Friday night by never getting down and making numerous big plays in key situations.

UCF got on the board in the bottom of the second with a solo home run hit high into the wind blowing hard to right-center.

The Knights loaded the bases one inning later, but the Rebels minimized the damage with a strikeout and pop up to Melina Preciado in shallow right field, to allow just one run to score.

The Rebels cut the UCF lead in half in the fifth inning with an RBI single to right-center field by junior catcher Marina Parra that scored Brittany Broome from second base.

Broome then tied the game in the next inning with an RBI single to left field that brought RT Cantillo in from second.

Neither team could get any runs across the plate in the seventh, and Ole Miss entered its third extra-inning game of the season tied with UCF at 2-2.

In the top of the ninth, with the international tiebreaker rule putting Haley Culley on second base to start the inning, the Rebels put down a sacrifice bunt to advance Culley to third base. With two outs away, sophomore third baseman Allison Brown hit a single over the first baseman’s head into right field to bring Culley home and give Ole Miss its first lead of the game at 3-2.

UCF responded in the bottom of the inning with a run of its own to push the game to the 10th.

After a scoreless 10th for Ole Miss, UCF won the game in the bottom half of the inning with a fielder’s choice that scored Kahley Novak from third, who was running on contact.

The extra-inning loss was Ole Miss’ first on the year, and ends the Rebels’ program-record tying nine-game winning streak. In the loss, Broome recorded her 18th steal of the season, and the 60th of her career, passing Brooke Turner (2002-05) as the Ole Miss all-time steals leader.

The Rebels will play a pair of Big East schools in Villanova and Connecticut on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. CT and 10:30 a.m. CT, respectively. Ole Miss will close out the tournament Sunday by playing Villanova again at 8:30 a.m. CT.

Hummel Goes Distance as Rebels Tie Program Record Win Streak

Box Score - Ole Miss 2, Penn 1

ORLANDO, Fla. – Junior pitcher Carly Hummel threw a complete game against Penn on Friday afternoon, and the Ole Miss softball team (13-8) tied the program record with its ninth straight victory, topping the Quakers 2-1 in Orlando, Fla., at the UCF Holiday Inn Select Spring Fling.

The win was Ole Miss’ ninth consecutive victory, tying the 1999 and 2002 Rebels for the longest streak in program history.

Hummel won her fourth consecutive game and moved to 6-4 on the season. The junior from Bakersfield, Calif., has pitched 5.0 or more innings in each of her last four starts.

After walking two batters in the opening frame and loading the bases with a hit by pitch and only one out away, Hummel settled down to strike out Penn’s Georgia Guttadauro and force Korinne Raby to fly out to center field.

Ole Miss junior first baseman Londen Ladner broke open the scoreless game on the first pitch of the bottom of the second inning with a blast just left of the 12-foot high wall in dead center field at the UCF Softball Complex. The home run was Ladner’s third of the season, all coming within the last seven games.

Broome stole her 17th base of the season in the bottom of the third after reaching base on a walk, but the Rebels couldn’t bring her home from second base. Of note, though, was Broome’s steal tied her with Brooke Turner (2002-05) for the most career steals in Ole Miss history (59). The senior from Suwanee, Ga., has stolen four bases in a game twice this season.

The Rebels loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth with no outs, but a sacrifice fly by Brown that scored Culley was the only run Ole Miss could bring home, bringing the score to 2-0.

Penn answered in the top of the sixth with one unearned run to cut the Ole Miss lead in half, but that would be all for the remainder of the game.

Hummel finished with six strikeouts in the game and four hits.

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.