April 27, 2008
UNIVERSITY, Miss. – The Rebels made a first-inning run stand up, as Mississippi completed the sweep with a 1-0 victory in five innings over South Carolina on Sunday afternoon at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. The win pushed the Rebels into the eighth spot in the Southeastern Conference race for the tournament field with a 25-26 record and a 9-19 league mark. The Gamecocks fell to 20-24 overall and 7-16 in conference.
The game, moved up by two hours to try to dodge the incoming weather, was marred by delays. The first pitch came just over an hour after the scheduled start, and the teams waited another four hours before the contest was called due to unplayable field conditions. Precipitation fell throughout the contest, and, after clearing the tarp, standing water was visible on the outfield grass in left and left-center fields. Play also was halted briefly in the fourth to work on parts of the infield dirt.
Mississippi got the 1-0 advantage in the first when Lauren Grill scored on a passed ball. Grill led off the game with a triple and scored with one out and the bases loaded. Gamecock starter Melissa Hendon then worked out of the inning, getting strikeouts around a walk to escape without any more damage.
South Carolina had a chance in the fourth to score with two down. Sophomore left fielder Cagney Davis reached on a two-out error and moved to second when freshman Jill Semento drew a walk. But Rebel starter Tara Willitt got freshman catcher P.J. Fulmer to strike out to get out of the inning.
In the sixth, sophomore shortstop Lindsay Walker led off the frame with a single. With the rain starting to come down a little harder, home plate umpire Donny Teague halted play immediately after the single.
Hendon (8-14) allowed just three hits, three walks and one earned run in the loss. She struck out four. Willitt (8-11) struck out four thru five innings, giving up two hits and a walk officially in the rain-shortened shutout win.
The Rebels’ win knocks Arkansas from a possible SEC Tournament bid. South Carolina needs two victories next weekend over nationally-ranked LSU to secure the final spot in the tournament. If the Garnet and Black don’t get those two wins, Mississippi would advance into the tourney.
The Gamecocks wrap up the regular season against the LSU Tigers next Saturday and Sunday at Beckham Field. First pitch for both days is set for 1 p.m. EDT.
