Ole Miss Softball Fall Ball Recap

Photo by Joshua McCoy/Ole Miss Athletics

The 2017 edition of the Ole Miss Softball team can now look ahead to the spring as it recently closed out fall ball this past weekend.

The Rebels went 8-0 in their fall slate of action, and closed out team competition with one final intrasquad on Sunday. Individual workouts will now occupy the schedule over the next couple of weeks before holiday breaks begin on campus.

Ole Miss faced three Division I opponents in the fall, earning wins over Southern Miss (12-5), Mississippi Valley State (16-1) and most recently Memphis (10-5) last Friday. In Sunday’s final team practice, Team White, nicknamed Team Landsharks, picked up a 1-0 victory over the red squad, also known as Team ESPYs.

In the tilt with Mississippi Valley State, it was the pitching that allowed the Rebels to cruise to a victory as the seven pitchers combined for nine strikeouts and just eight hits allowed in the 10 innings. Newcomer Morgan Bruce got the start going two frames with four punch outs and no hits, while returning left-hander Alyssa Clayton also worked two innings with one strikeout and three hits. Oklahoma transfer Brittany Finney worked the middle innings for the Rebels with just one hit allowed, while Kaitlin Lee (1 H), Elisha Jahnke (1 K), Krista Jacobs (2 K) and Kiriany Hornberger (1 H) each threw an inning to cap the contest.

Returning All-Region selection Elantra Cox went 3-for-3 in the game with three singles, two runs scored and four stolen bases to lead the offense. Cox, Ashton Lampton, Alex Schneider, Miranda Strother, Dylinn Stancil, Gabby Alvarez, Courtney Syrett and Bry Castro all picked up RBI in the contest, led by Alvarez’ 2-run blast in the fifth inning. Overall, the Rebels tallied 19 hits against MVSU with 13 different players picking up a hit.

In Friday’s matchup with Memphis, Ole Miss strung together 13 hits led by two each from Kylan Becker, Strother and Lampton. Lampton, Alyssa Gonzalez, Strother, Dakota Matiko, Paige McKinney and Brittany Finney all drove in runs for the offense.

In the circle against the Tigers, Clayton got the start and went two frames with three hits allowed, while Lee took the next two and gave up just two hits. Jahnke was solid in her two innings with four strikeouts and just one hit, and Finney also worked a frame without a hit allowed.

With the fall slate in the books, Ole Miss will now turn its focus to the spring and 2017 season, which opens Feb. 10 in California. Look for a full release of the schedule soon at OleMissSports.com.

For all Ole Miss Softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball, on Facebook at Ole Miss Softball and on Instagram at Instagram.com/olemisssoftball. Fans can also follow head coach Mike Smith on Twitter at @msmithsb16. Additionally fans can get a behind the scenes look at Ole Miss Softball on Snapchat under the handle, @OleMissSoftball.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports