April 15, 2012

Box Score

OXFORD, Miss. – Four Ole Miss errors lead to four unearned runs, as the Rebels dropped Sunday’s series finale 10-3 to Mississippi State.

MSU scored two unearned runs in the top of the first thanks to two Ole Miss errors. Left fielder Jessica Cooley reached on a fielding error by Rebel third baseman Natalie Nimmo with one out in the frame and then stole second. First baseman Londen Ladner booted a grounder by catcher Kaili Smith that allowed Cooley to score an unearned run and third baseman Sam Lenanhan followed with a double to left center. Bulldog second baseman Heidi Shape then lifted a sac fly to left that scored Smith for the second unearned run of the inning.

The Bulldogs added another unearned run in the third after Smith doubled down the left field line with two down and a two-base error by Nimmo allowed Smith to score from second to put MSU up 3-0.

Centerfielder RT Cantillo drew a full-count walk with two out and nobody on in the bottom of the third and then stole second. Ladner followed with another base-on-ball and freshman shortstop Allison Brown hit a high pop up back to the circle, but Bulldog first baseman Shelby Fisher dropped the ball and Cantillo scored the Rebels’ first run.

MSU right fielder Brittany Gates added an RBI single to left center in the fourth that extended the Bulldog lead to 4-1. The Bulldogs were also aided in the fourth by a wild pitch and a passed ball that allowed shortstop Erinn Nesbit to score an unearned run from third.

Rebel catcher Marina Parra led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run down the line in left that cut the Ole Miss deficit to 4-2. It was Parra’s first homer of the season and the first of her career.

Cantillo reached on a hit-by-pitch to start the Ole Miss fifth and moved to third after Ladner singled to right center to give the Rebels runners on the corners with no outs. After Brown popped out to short, Cantillo and pinch runner Dallas Hardin pulled off a double steal which cut the Bulldog lead to 4-3.

The Bulldogs added four more runs in the sixth aided by another Ole Miss error. MSU designated player Brittany Bell looped a bases-loaded single to right that scored one, but Amanda Hutcheson bobbled the ball and allowed another run to score. The Bulldogs tacked on two more RBI singles later in the frame that extended the MSU lead to 8-3.

Erinn Jayjohn started for the Rebels and suffered the loss after allowing four unearned runs on seven hits with two strikeouts in three-plus innings of work. Kendall Bruning entered in the fourth and gave up four runs on five hits with one K. Freshman Lauren Lindsey pitched the final 1.2 innings and allowed two runs on two hits.

Next up, Ole Miss will host Kentucky in a conference mid-week double header on Wednesday at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. First pitch for game one is set for 4 p.m.