ORLANDO, Fla. – Ole Miss got 6.2 scoreless innings from starting pitcher Shelby Jo Fenter, and the Rebels (16-9) defeated Villanova 2-0 in their final game at the UCF Holiday Inn Select Spring Fling in Orlando, Fla.
The Rebels, which had defeated Villanova 7-0 one day earlier, logged seven hits against the Wildcats on a sunny, but cold and breezy day at the UCF Softball Complex. Ole Miss finished 4-1 at the tournament and has now won 12 of its last 13 games heading into conference play Friday.
“Great pitching performance by Shelby Jo Fenter with Madi coming in at the end to get a save, so that was nice,” Ole Miss softball head coach Windy Thees said.
“We keep building and getting better, and wins are wins,” Thees said. “You need to pile them up when you can, and I think our girls have a lot of confidence that maybe we can make a few mistakes and overcome them.”
Ole Miss broke through in the bottom of the third to take a 1-0 lead. With two outs down, Brittany Broome hit a single to left field to push her hitting streak to 12 games, which ties the Ole Miss program record. Broome then stole second and later advanced to third on a wild pitch. With Allison Brown on first, the Rebels then executed a double steal, and Broome came home for her 19th run of the season.
Brown hit a leadoff triple to start things in the sixth, launching it high into the swirling winds at the UCF Softball Complex all the way to the warning track in right field. Londen Ladner then tacked on her 15th RBI by driving Brown in with a slow dribbler to the shortstop to give the Rebels a 2-0 lead, which was all the Rebels’ pitching staff needed.
Villanova loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the sixth, but Osias came on and got the Wildcats to ground into a 5-3 putout to end the game. Fenter picked up the win for Ole Miss, her fifth of the season, while Osias earned her first save.
Broome and RT Cantillo were named to the UCF Holiday Inn Select Spring Fling All-Tournament Team for their play. Broome hit .545 with six hits, four runs, two RBI and five stolen bases. Three games after breaking the Ole Miss career steals record, Broome tied the Rebels’ 12-game hitting streak record, hitting one single against the Wildcats on Sunday. Cantillo batted .500 over the weekend with eight hits, including three doubles and a triple, five runs, three RBI and three stolen bases.
The Rebels will play again Friday when they open conference play with a three-game series at Kentucky. Ole Miss leads the all-time series against UK 26-16.
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