Ole Miss Softball Closes Out Easton Invitational with Split

Ole Miss Softball wrapped up its weekend in California at the Easton Invitational with a doubleheader split on Saturday, falling to San Diego 2-5 before bouncing back with a 1-0 win over California.
 
GAME ONE: SAN DIEGO 5, OLE MISS 2
The Rebels couldn’t capitalize on scoring opportunities in game one of the doubleheader, leaving 11 runners on base in a 5-2 loss to San Diego.
 
A pair of doubles in the top of the first gave San Diego an early one-run advantage. Ole Miss had an opportunity to even things up in the second but couldn’t cash in on a leadoff single from Sydney Gutierrez and a double off the wall by Aynslie Furbush.
 
The Toreros crossed the plate four more times in the top of the third inning, using five hits to do so. Ole Miss got on the board in the fourth thanks to a two-out rally. Tate Whitley came around to score on an RBI bunt single from Keila Kamoku, but the Rebels stranded runners on the corners to end the inning.
 
Coming on in relief to stem the tide, Anna Borgen kept San Diego off the board to keep the Rebels in striking distance. Down to its final three outs, Paige Smith and Abbey Latham ripped singles to give Ole Miss runners on the corners. Smith eventually came around to score on a sac fly, but it was too little, too late as Ole Miss couldn’t complete the comeback.
 
GAME TWO: OLE MISS 1, CAL 0 (6)
Looking to bounce back from a loss earlier in the morning, KK Esparza’s first career home run lifted the Rebels to victory in drop-dead fashion. The freshman launched a solo shot over the left-field fence to give the Rebs a 1-0 lead in the second inning.
 
Due to Ole Miss’ flight plans, the two sides agreed to a drop-dead time of 4:15 p.m. CT prior to the start of the game. This would ultimately factor into the game’s result as the two sides were unable to complete seven full innings.
 
After tossing the final 4.0 innings of relief in the first game of the day, Anna Borgen got the starting nod against Cal, throwing another 2.1 innings of shutout ball before Savannah Diederich took over in the circle in the third. Diederich inherited two baserunners with one out in the inning and worked out of the jam to keep the Rebel lead intact.
 
While the Golden Bears attempted to climb back, Diederich continuously worked out of trouble. The senior hurler stranded multiple runners on base in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings, helping the Rebels cling to the one-run lead.
 
With Ole Miss maintaining its lead after six complete frames, the drop-dead time passed, halting the game at that point. In accordance with the drop-dead rule, proceedings were brought back to the last completed inning, giving Ole Miss a tight victory to finish its stay in the Golden State.

 Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports