Ole Miss Softball Splits Doubleheader at ULM

Following a 6-3 loss in game one of Wednesday’s doubleheader at ULM in Monroe, La., the Ole Miss softball team rebounded in game two with an emphatic 11-1 (5) win over the Warhawks.
“It was a frustrating start for us,” Ole Miss head coach Windy Thees said. “We just didn’t have a very good energy level in that first game. We had a lead, but when your energy level is not up, you give the other team a little bit of energy. They got some hits and got on a little bit of a ride and we dropped that game to a solid hitting squad.
“It was great to rebound. That’s one thing in game two, the energy level was a complete 180 (from game one), and our girls brought it. We had different people be leaders for us, and that was awesome to see. It was great to see Alyssa Invergo really do a good job at the plate on offense. She was a star, as well as Londen Ladner.”
Ladner, a senior first baseman from Brandon, Miss., led Ole Miss (16-10, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) in game two with a 2-4 day at the plate, two runs, four RBI, a double and one home run. It was the third game this season in which Ladner has knocked in at least four RBI.
“She had a really good balance and she drove the ball both ways really, really well in that second game,” said Thees of Ladner. “When she’s a relaxed hitter, nobody can get her out.”
Other standouts from Wednesday night’s second game included Invergo, a redshirt-freshman second baseman, who knocked in three runs in the fifth inning off her first career home run. Senior pitcher Carly Hummel (6-3) got the win for the Rebels, throwing five innings with six strikeouts, one run, three hits and two walks.
Following one unearned run in the top of the second, the Rebels broke the game open in the top of the third with four runs on three hits. After back-to-back lead-off walks to begin the inning, Ladner hit an RBI double to right field. Freshman left fielder Miranda Strother followed Ladner with a two-RBI triple to the fence in left-center. Two batters later, junior outfielder Jamie Morgan scored Strother with a sacrifice bunt.
ULM threatened in the bottom half of the inning by putting two runners in scoring position, but Ole Miss got out of the jam to maintain its 5-0 advantage.
Ladner added to her already impressive game with a huge three-run home run well over the left field fence to put the Rebels up 8-0.
The Warhawks got on the board with a lead-off home run the next half inning to make it 8-1, but Ole Miss rebounded in the fifth with three runs on two hits, highlighted by Invergo’s three-run home run, to take an 11-1 lead which proved to be the final score.
Ole Miss returns to action Friday when it hosts No. 9 Alabama for its SEC home opener at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. Friday’s game begins at 6 p.m. CT, while Saturday’s game will start at 2 p.m. CT and the series finale Sunday is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. CT.
Saturday will be the first Crawfish Saturday of the year with 100 pounds of crawfish available for fans in the outfield free of charge. Sunday will be Sundae Sunday at the park, where fans can get free ice cream sundaes while supplies last.
Ole Miss Drops Game One at ULM 6-3
Ole Miss jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the third inning in game one of Wednesday’s doubleheader at ULM in Monroe, La., but the Warhawks rebounded with six runs in the final four innings to win 6-3.
The Rebels outhit ULM 6-4 in the game, but a pair of ULM home runs and a two-RBI double proved to be too much for Ole Miss to overcome.
Sophomore designated player Madi Osias led Ole Miss at the plate with two RBIs, while junior third baseman Allison Brown hit an RBI double to right field. Senior pitcher Shelby Jo Fenter struck out six batters in 5.1 innings of work.
Ole Miss took the early lead by scoring three runs in the top of the third thanks to a pair of well-hit balls by Brown and Osias. With runners on first and second, Brown hit a double to the fence in right field to score sophomore shortstop Haley Culley from second base. Two batters later, with the bases loaded and one out away, Osias hit a two-RBI double that kicked up the chalk on the left field line to put the Rebels ahead 3-0.
ULM came back in the bottom half of the inning with a two-RBI double to left-center field to pull within one. Then, in the bottom of the fifth, the Warhawks took a 4-3 lead on a two-run home run to left field by center fielder Mackenzie Miller.
The Warhawks closed out the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the sixth on a solo home run to left-center field and later on a double steal with runners on the corners.
For all Ole Miss softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball and on Facebook at Ole Miss Softball.
–Ole Miss Sports Information