The No. 19 ranked Lady Rebels hosted No. 8 Florida for a three game series at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
The Rebels kicked off the weekend with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, April 11 to officially welcome fans to the newly renovated Ole Miss Softball Complex ahead of the matchup.
Game one (lost 8-7)
The first game in the new stadium did not disappoint, with the Rebels jumping out to an early three run lead after the first inning.
Florida sophomore Mia Williams put the Gators on the board with a solo home run during the second inning. This ignited their offense, which scored four runs in the frame to take the lead.
Ole Miss tied the game in the bottom of the second inning, evening the score to four.
Williams homered again in the third inning to open the third and regain the lead for the Gators. Bri Lopez came into the game to relieve Miali Guachino after she walked two batters. Florida tacked on two more runs in the third to take a 7-4 lead.
The Rebels hit two singles in the bottom of the fourth and clawed back into the game behind a three-run shot hit by senior Lair Beautae to tie the game at seven.
Florida responded in the fifth inning with an RBI single to take the lead. The Gators held on to take game one of the series 8-7.
Game two (lost 14-3)
The second game in the series started similarly to the first, with Ole Miss jumping out to a two run lead. They capitalized on a throwing error by the Florida shortstop to go up 2-0.
Starting pitcher Aliyah Binford plunked two batters to open the second, and Gator third baseman Kenleigh Cahalan made her pay with a three run homer to take the lead. Florida extended their lead after a walk and a two-run homer to go up 5-2.
Florida struck again in the fourth inning to extend their lead to four.
Ole Miss tallied one run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by freshman Rachel Connors to cut the lead to three.
The Gators unleashed a barrage of hits in the seventh inning to score eight runs. This cemented a ten-run deficit the Rebels could not recover from, ending game two with a score of 14-3.
Although the Lady Rebels lost, Ole Miss senior Jaden Pone went 4-4. This marks the fifth time Pone has recorded four hits in a game during her collegiate career.
Game three (won 8-6)
On Saturday, the Rebels looked to salvage the weekend series against the Gators after dropping the previous two games. Ole Miss stranded runners on base the first three innings.
In the fourth inning, the Rebels finally broke through. With the bases loaded and two outs, Pone put a ball in play to score the first run of the game. On the same play, speedy shortstop Ryan Starr beat out a tag at third base to keep the inning alive.
Starr’s speed would prove to be a huge momentum shift for the Rebels as it was immediately followed by an Aliyah Binford grand slam to bring the Rebels lead to five.
Ole Miss kept the momentum rolling in the next inning as Ashton Lansdell came into the game to pinch hit and crushed a solo home run.
In the sixth inning, the Gators showed life. Florida sophomore Mia Williams hit her third homer of the series and sixth for the Gators to cut the deficit in half and bring the score to 6-3.
The Rebels responded with Taylor Malvin scoring on a fielding error made by the Gators shortstop. Pone also scored on an RBI by Persy Llamas following the error.
The Rebels stayed aggressive late into the game, expanding their lead to five runs 8-3.
The Gators rallied again in the seventh inning behind a three-run home run launched by Jocelyn Erickson.
Senior Bri Lopez walked a batter to bring the go ahead run to the plate. Lansdell made an impressive diving catch to bring the score to 8-6 and secure the first Rebel victory of the weekend.
Who’s next?
The Lady Rebels travel to Athens, Ga., to take on the Georgia Bulldogs from Thursday, April 17 to Saturday, April 19. SEC Network+ will broadcast all three games.
