The Ole Miss Softball team started the season on the wrong foot, losing 7-4 to Brigham Young University on Thursday, Feb. 8, but quickly turned around to beat both the University of Nevada and the University of Missouri Kansas City on Friday, Feb. 9.
The Rebels have five straight games to open the season in Honolulu as part of the Paradise Classic. Ole Miss’ loss was BYU’s second matchup of the day after a 17-8 victory over Kansas City.
Ole Miss got off to a quick start with three hits and one run in the top of the first, but two errors in the bottom half led to the Cougars taking a 5-1 lead.
After BYU tacked on a run in the 3rd and 4th innings, the game began to get out of hand for the Rebels, down 1-7.
Infielder Jaden Pone started a rally in the last inning with a single that scored infielder Ryan Starr. Catcher Lexie Brady hit a two-run home run to cut the deficit to three. In spite of their valiant effort, the comeback ultimately fell short as the Rebels lost 7-4.
Brady went 2-4 at bat with one run and a total of three runs driven in to makeup an impressive season debut.
In her first game as a Rebel, Pone also put up some solid stats, as she went 2-4 with two runs scored and one RBI.
Right-handed pitcher Catelyn Riley struggled in the two innings she pitched, giving up four hits and five runs (two earned) on the way to receiving a loss on for the night. Right-handed pitcher Grace Sparks came in relief and pitched four innings, giving up five hits, two earned runs and walking three batters. However, she did manage to notch three strikes on the night.
As a team, the Rebels batted .357 overall, .286 with two outs and .357 with runners in scoring position. Ole Miss’s fielding percentage was .900, and they made three errors. They allowed nine hits, but only one of them was an extra-base hit.
The Rebels are back in action on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 10 p.m. CST and Sunday, Feb. 11 at 4 p.m. CST with two games against the University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, going in with a 2-1 record.
