Softball opens Ole Miss Classic with pair of wins
Staff & Wire Reports | Mikayla Allee’s big day at the plate helped power Ole Miss softball to a pair of victories over Saint Louis and Western Kentucky to open the Ole Miss Classic Friday evening.
Allee was dominant with the bat in her hands, going 3-for-4 on the day with a double, triple and home run. The senior shortstop was responsible for seven of the Rebels’ 10 runs on the day.
GAME ONE | OLE MISS 8, SAINT LOUIS 5
Ole Miss came out hot, jumping out to a seven-run lead after two innings and never looked back as the Rebels took down Saint Louis 8-5 to open the Ole Miss Classic.
Allee and Tate Whitley led the Rebels with two hits each. Allee knocked in a career-high four runs with a bases-clearing triple in the bottom of the second and double in the fifth.
The Rebels scored four in the bottom of the first after Whitley picked up her 30th hit of the season. She eventually came around to score as the third basemen overthrew second base on a fielders’ choice. Sydney Gutierrez, hitting in the cleanup spot, knocked in Paige Smith on an RBI triple to make it 2-0. The rally continued as Allee walked and baited the throw on a steal, allowing Gutierrez to score from third. An RBI single from Angelina DeLeon scored Allee and gave Ole Miss a commanding lead.
Following a lineout double play to Smith in the hot corner, the Rebs went back to work on offense. Whitley bunted her way on, Bre Roper walked and Gutierrez was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Allee, who cleared them with a triple to make it 7-0.
With a seven-run cushion, Landyn Bruce took over in the circle for Aynslie Furbush and pitched the final five innings. Saint Louis was able to get a pair of runs back in the fourth on a two-run homer and three more in the top of the sixth to cut the lead to three, but the Rebels closed the ballgame as Bruce earned her third victory this season.
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GAME TWO | OLE MISS 2, WKU 0
Brooke Vestal closed out the nightcap with an impressive four-hit complete-game shutout over Western Kentucky. The Rebels scored two runs, both coming on solo home runs from Smith and Allee.
Both teams traded one-two-three innings to start the ballgame, but solid defense and pitching early on set the tone. WKU moved runners into scoring position on a two-out double in the second, but Vestal got the pop out to end the inning. Ole Miss had a few chances to score, stranding runners in the second and third innings before finally breaking through.
Smith was in a groove at the plate, collecting a hit in all three of her at bats. In the fourth, she blasted a no-doubter off the bat to put the Rebels up 1-0. The following inning, Allee showed off her strength, driving a home run over the wall the opposite way to double the lead. With a two-run cushion, Vestal and the Ole Miss defense were lights out the rest of the way.
Looking for her second consecutive complete-game shutout, Vestal returned to the circle for the seventh and struck out two more Hilltoppers to clinch the 2-0 victory.
