No. 9 UT's 7th-Inning Rally Falls Short as Ole Miss Takes Game 1, 5-3

Friday, April 26

Oxford, Miss.

7 pm

University of Tennessee

36-11, 11-8

Ole Miss

35-12, 12-6

Tennessee

Ole Miss

No. 9 UT's 7th-Inning Rally Falls Short as Ole Miss Takes Game 1, 5-3

April 26, 2019 | Softball

Box Score Box Score Highlights

By: Rachel Gunia

OXFORD, Miss. – No. 9 Tennessee dropped Game 1 of the series, 5-3, to the No. 17/18 Rebels as its seventh-inning rally fell just short at the Ole Miss Softball Complex on Friday.

The Lady Vols out-hit the Rebels 11-9 with eight players recording hits, but left 10 runners on base in the outing. In every inning but the fifth, UT moved runners into scoring position.

At the plate, Cailin Hannon led the way with a 3-for-3 effort while Chelsea Seggern went 2-for-4, hitting doubles both times. Hannon also scored a run for the Big Orange.

Freshman right-hander Ashley Rogers was saddled with the loss after allowing three runs on six hits through 4.1 innings of work. She struck out two batters in the outing. The Lady Vols turned to Matty Moss in the second inning with one out and the senior went on to toss 1.2 innings, giving up two runs on three hits before Rogers came in to finish the game.

After trading a scoreless first inning, Ole Miss scratched two across in the second. The batters in the five through eight spots in the lineup all reached base with the first two runners scoring on singles to the left side to give OM a 2-0 advantage.

The Rebels added two more runs on a pair of hits and a walk in the third inning to make it a 4-0 game.

Trimming the Ole Miss lead in the fourth inning, Tennessee used two hits and an error to score a run. Hannon hit a two-out double to right field and moved to third on Jenna Holcomb's single back to the circle in the next at-bat. The junior then used heads-up base running to score on a fielding error by the Rebels' pitcher to put UT on the board, 4-1.

Answering in the bottom of the fifth, Ole Miss led off the frame with a single and sent a runner home on Tate Whitley's sacrifice fly, extending their lead to 5-1.

The Lady Vols staged a comeback in the sixth as Gracie Osbron singled with two outs and came around to score on an RBI knock by Amanda Ayala after Hannon notched her third hit of the night to move the freshman to second.

Tennessee mounted a rally again in the seventh, plating one run while putting the tying run on base. Haley Bearden hit a one-out single to left and advanced to third on Seggern's second double of the game. The senior then scored on Ashley Morgan's RBI groundout to the right side. With Seggern on third and two outs, Madison Pacini entered as a pinch hitter. The San Diego, Calif., native battled an 11-pitch at-bat for a walk to put the tying run aboard before a strikeout ended the game.

ON DECK: The Lady Vols look to bounce back in Game 2 of the series at 5 p.m. EST on Saturday. The game will be aired on SECN+/WatchESPN app and a live radio broadcast will be available on AM 990. The radio broadcast can also be streamed on UTSports.com and the Tennessee Gameday app.