Balanced Attack Lifts No. 18 Rebels Over UT Martin

#22 Ole Miss Softball run rules Jackson State 10-1 in the Ole Miss Classic in Oxford, Mississippi.
Photo by Madi Osias/Ole Miss Athletics

No. 18 Ole Miss saw its bats come alive with a run scored in all but one inning, as the Rebels topped UT Martin, 7-2, Tuesday night at Bettye Giles Field.

In a battle of two 30-win teams, the two sides exchanged single runs in the first three frames, before Ole Miss (31-13) ran away with its fifth-straight victory. Five different Rebels posted multi-hit performances, and the seven RBI came from five different players in what was the Rebels’ second win over the Skyhawks (31-14) this season.
In the circle, it was junior RHP Kaitlin Lee who again paved the way, pitching her ninth consecutive complete game with only four hits allowed and two runs, both of which were unearned. She struck out four and earned her 13th win of the season.
Offensively, Elantra Cox and Kylan Becker both went 2-for-4 from the top of the order, while Sarah Van Schaik had a career high three hits and two RBI. Ashton Lampton and Paige McKinney also added two hits apiece, and Miranda Strother and Grayce Majam had one each.
The Rebels jumped on UT Martin’s starting pitcher Brooke Kennedy early, putting pressure on with nine hits in just four innings with five runs. Ole Miss added two more late off Sara Hooten, who gave up four hits.
In the first, both teams got on the board as Cox led off with a single, and eventually scored on an RBI single from Van Schaik. The Skyhawks responded in the home half with an RBI single following an error in the outfield, tying it at 1-1 through one.
The Rebels got the bats going again in the second when Alyssa Gonzalez reached on a leadoff walk, McKinney reached on a bunt single, and Cox drove one in off an RBI single up the middle, putting Ole Miss back in front 2-1. Courtney Syrett had a deep fly in the inning that was less than a foot from a 3-run shot, but the center fielder made a play at the wall keeping her hitless.
After UT Martin failed to score in the second, the Rebels added a single run in the third when Van Schaik doubled to left-center scoring Becker, who reached earlier on an error. The Rebels went on to load the bases in that inning after two hits and a HBP, but the Skyhawks went on to record three outs in one play when Gonzalez lined out to left, then Kennedy Legg was caught in a rundown and called out, before the umpires ruled Strother out leaving early at third, wiping the run off the board keeping it 3-1.
UT Martin got a run back in the third after an error in the outfield, and an RBI single, but a nice play and throw in from Becker cut down the would-be second run of the frame.
Ole Miss added two more in the fourth when Majam was HBP and McKinney reached on an infield single, before Becker drove them both in off a single up the middle, extending the advantage to 5-2.
Lee came back in the home half to record the first 1-2-3 inning of the game, and followed with two more in the fifth and sixth. Majam came through with an RBI single in the fifth driving in Lampton, pushing the lead to 6-2, before Lampton had an RBI double in the seventh that scored Kaylee Horton.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports
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