Ole Miss Softball Earns Win No. 500

No. 22 Ole Miss softball achieved a monumental milestone Friday night, earning its 500th win as a program thanks to a 12-6 victory over Eastern Kentucky in day two of the Ole Miss Classic.
The Rebels (19-2) ran their school record win streak to 16 games, and did it thanks in part to a huge offensive night with a season high 16 hits, posting their eighth time this season with double digit run totals.
Ole Miss jumped out to a 5-0 lead through the first three innings, before the Colonels (6-12) mounted a fifth inning comeback to even the contest at 6-6 in the fifth. But, Ole Miss responded immediately and in a big way, plating six in the fifth to put away Eastern Kentucky.
At the plate, senior Miranda Strother and freshman Kaylee Horton led the charge, both going 3-for-4 with an RBI each. Junior Elantra Cox, who finished 2-for-5, extended her hitting streak to 14 games, breaking the Ole Miss school record. Sophomore Ashton Lampton and freshman Alyssa Gonzalez both drove in two runs, while sophomore Brittany Finney finished with a team high three RBI.
In the circle, junior Kaitlin Lee went 4.1 innings and got the no decision after allowing six earned runs off nine hits, while Morgan Bruce entered in relief and didn’t allow anything over the final 2.2 innings.
Following a clean first inning, the Rebels got the scoring attack going in the second thanks to a pair of hits and a walk. Strother reached on a 1-out single to left field and stole second, before Finney and Courtney Syrett walked loading the bases. Strother came home to score on a Horton chop RBI single up the middle, giving Ole Miss a 1-0 lead after two.
From there, the Rebels sent 10 hitters to the plate a frame later, plating four more to increase the advantage. Cox singled and stole second, before Gonzalez drove her in pushing the lead to 2-0. Strother then singled, before Finney ripped a 2-RBI double to left making it 4-0. Syrett followed with a RBI single up the middle, before the Rebels eventually loaded the bases again but got no more scoring out of it.
The Colonels slowly began their comeback thanks to a leadoff, solo home run from Hannah Clark in the fourth, but the Rebels got it right back in the home half thanks to a Gonzalez RBI single scoring Kylan Becker.
EKU then got to Lee in the circle, scoring five off two RBI singles and a 3-run shot from Clark, tying the Friday night affair up at 6-6.
But, the tie wouldn’t last long, as the Rebels then sent 11 hitters to the dish to put the game away. Syrett led off with a single and Paige McKinney pinch ran for her, and she later scored on a RBI single from Dylinn Stancil as Ole Miss retook the lead 7-6. Cox then put down a bunt single to load the bases, before Becker’s RBI single made it 8-6, and Lampton’s 2-RBI single to left pushed the lead to 10-6. Gonzalez walked, and after a EKU pitching change, Strother recorded her lone RBI off a groundout to first, before Finney capped the scoring with a high fly to deep left that hung up at the wall and scored Lampton for the sacrifice fly.
Bruce, who entered with one out in the fifth, shut down the Colonel offense from there, retiring the final eight hitters in order to improve to 6-0.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports