Ole Miss softball shuts out No. 9 Arkansas, 2-0
Staff and Wire Report | Led by dominant pitching performances from Anna Borgen and Catelyn Riley, Ole Miss Softball shut out the No. 9 ranked Razorbacks to take game one of the series 2-0 Friday night at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. It marks the Rebels’ first victory over a top-10 program since taking down No. 7 Louisiana in 2019 to advance to the Super Regionals.
Ole Miss (26-7, 4-3 SEC) was lights out in the circle, keeping one of the nation’s most potent offenses in Arkansas (22-7, 4-3 SEC) off the scoreboard. Reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week, Borgen, got the start, going 5.0 innings without allowing a run, and Riley slammed the door shut on the No. 9 Razorbacks, marking only the second time the Razorbacks have been held scoreless all season.
Both teams put runners on base throughout the first two innings, but it was Ole Miss who broke through in the bottom of the second to take the lead. Abbey Latham worked the count for a free pass, and Mikayla drove the ball off the wall for a long single. The next batter, Sydney Gutierrez, laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position.
With one out in the inning, the freshmen delivered. Angelina DeLeon drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single back up the middle. KK Esparza stepped to the plate next and added the second run home with a base knock through the right side, giving Ole Miss a 2-0 lead.
Borgen continued to baffle Razorback hitters. She retired the side in both the third and fourth innings, needing only five pitches to do so in the fourth. Arkansas got its second hit off the lefty in the fifth, a one-out double, but Borgen was able to get out of the inning thanks to a pair of flyouts.
As time was beginning to run out, Arkansas mounted a one-out rally in the top of the sixth inning. A walk and two straight singles loaded the bases with one away. Savannah Diedrich who started the inning, was able to get the Razorbacks’ designated player to fly out to Paige Smith at third for out number two, but Ole Miss turned to the freshman in the circle to escape the threat.
Riley needed only one pitch to get the Rebels out of trouble as she got Hoffman to tap one back to her in the circle for the final out of the inning. She returned for the final three outs of the ball game, striking out the last two batters faced to put the exclamation point on the shutout.
Ole Miss is back in action tomorrow on national television, eyeing its 11th consecutive series victory over a conference opponent. The Rebels will also join all 13 members of the Southeastern Conference in supporting awareness for ovarian cancer and in honor of former Mississippi State player Alex Wilcox, who heroically fought the deadly disease until her passing in 2018. First pitch is set for 12 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
QUICK HITS
• Ole Miss shut out Arkansas for its eighth shutout of the season. Further, it is only the second time the Razorbacks have been held scoreless all season.
• Coming off two victories over No. 19 Missouri last weekend, Anna Borgen picked up where she left off, tossing five shutout innings in the win over No. 9 Arkansas. She is now 4-3 on the year and 3-1 in conference play.
• Paige Smith and KK Esparza each went 2-for-3 at the plate.
