March 10, 2013

Box Score

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Ole Miss softball team scored two runs again at No. 15 Kentucky, but it wasn’t enough on Sunday afternoon in the two teams’ series finale, as the Wildcats took the rubber match with a 5-2 victory.

“We played under some tough conditions today and I’m proud of our girls for fighting,” Ole Miss softball head coach Windy Thees said. “As we try to build a championship program we’re going to have to overcome these types of obstacles of playing ranked opponents and having tough umpires on the road.”

Junior first baseman Londen Ladner led the Rebels offensively, going 2-3 with a double and a walk. Ladner finished the series going 5-9 with three doubles and three RBI. Junior pitcher Carly Hummel was charged with the loss, her first in her last seven starts.

Ladner led off the second with a stand up double to the left field wall. Freshman Natalie Martinez then came on as a pinch runner and advanced to third base and later home on illegal pitches from Kentucky starter Lauren Cumbess, giving the Rebels a 1-0 lead.

Kentucky responded in the bottom half of the inning with two runs of its own on a passed ball with the bases loaded and a bases-loaded walk.

Kentucky extended its lead to 3-1 in the third inning on an infield single. The Wildcats then tacked on one more run in the bottom of the fourth on a squeeze play to take a 4-1 lead.

After the Wildcats plated one more run in the bottom of the fifth to take a 5-1 lead, Ole Miss cut the deficit to three in the top of the sixth. Junior center fielder RT Cantillo hit a dribbler between the Kentucky shortstop and third baseman, who ran into each other trying to field the ball, allowing Cantillo to reach first on the error and Melina Preciado to score from third.

Each team left 11 runners on base throughout the game. The loss was just the Rebels’ second of the season when scoring first.

Ole Miss will continue its road trip by heading south to Nashville, Tenn., to face Belmont University on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. CT. The Rebels will play their 10th consecutive game away from the Ole Miss Softball Complex on Wednesday with a game at Tennessee-Martin at 3 p.m. CT. The Rebels had a dramatic 9-8 comeback victory in eight innings against the Skyhawks on Feb. 23 at the Red & Blue Classic in Oxford.

For all Ole Miss softball news and information, including live stats of the Rebels’ final game at No. 15 Kentucky, go to OleMissSports.com. Fans can follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball and on Facebook at Ole Miss Softball.