Rebel bats stay hot to lead St. Thomas

OXFORD, Miss. –Ten different Rebels recorded hits as Ole Miss softball passed St. Thomas on Sunday to close out the Rebel Invitational. The win marked Ole Miss’s fourth straight win.

The Rebels (18-12, 0-0 SEC) left St. Thomas (7-18, 0-0 Summit League) late in the sixth inning to win both games against the Tommies and wrap up their weekend at the Rebel. Invitational with a 4-1 record. Tate Whitley, Mya Stevenson and Keila Kamoku all finished with multiple hits on the day at the top of the list. Aynslie Furbush notched her seventh win of the season, allowing four hits in 4.0 innings pitched.

For the second day in a row, St. Thomas struck first in the opening frame. The Tommies scratched an unearned run, taking advantage of a rebellious error. However, just like the night before, Whitley scored a single and Stevenson went yard to put Ole Miss back in the lead. Before St. Thomas could get out of the inning, Kamoku added another run to make it 3-1, scoring on an RBI single from Savana Sikes.

St. Thomas threatened again in the second, loading the bases, but Furbush held on and got a big strikeout to end the inning. As Ole Miss returned to home plate in the bottom half of the inning, Annie Orman, making her first career start, led the way with a solo home run to make it 4-1.

Ole Miss looked to put things out of reach in the fourth inning. Singles from Paige Smith and Whitley, along with a five-pitch walk to Orman, charged the no-out bases. Mikayla Allee threw a run with a sacrifice fly, and Stevenson added another with a left hit. Kamoku continued the rally, choosing on the left to make it 7-1, but a foul and the choice of a defender prevented Ole Miss from extending their lead further.

Brooke Vestal entered the game in the top of the fifth and worked a one-two-three inning to put things back on offense. The Rebels threatened but could bring in Lexie Brady or Whitley after both hit free passes.

The Rebels delivered the final blow in the bottom of the sixth inning, loading the bases with no outs. Angelina DeLeon started the inning with a single down the middle, and Jalia Lassiter followed with a right down the middle. Back-to-back marches to Furbush and Sikes brought a run and pulled the Rebels away from a fourth straight win.

Head coach Jamie Trachsel called on Mackenzie White to strike again with no one coming out. The freshman delivered a line drive over the left fielder’s head, leaving the Tommies 9-1.

Following

Ole Miss is back in action next weekend when it hosts No. 10 LSU from March 24-26.