March 23, 2002

Game One Box Score

Game Two Box Score

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss swept the University of Kentucky, 5-2 and 9-4, in a softball doubleheader to open up a three-game Southeastern Conference series in Oxford, Miss., on Saturday, March 23 at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. With the sweep the Rebels improve to 17-8, 2-3 SEC, while the Wildcats fall to 15-13, 1-4 SEC.

Two home runs doomed the Wildcats in the first game of the day as Ole Miss downed the Wildcats, 5-2, to open the series. A solo shot in the third brought the Rebels within a run, 2-1, in the bottom of the third and then a three-run dinger in the fifth gave Ole Miss a 4-2 lead and one it would never relinquish.

Freshman Meghan Cooper (7-4) took the loss for Cats, allowing five runs on eight hits in 6.0 innings of work. Junior catcher Lyndsey Angus led the Wildcats offensively, going 3-for-4 with two singles, a double and an RBI. Senior Beth Fogle and junior Nikki Jones each went 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Game two was a different story as the Rebels sent 10 hitters to the plate in the third inning, scoring six, en route to the 9-4 victory. Senior Jennifer Howland (5-4) suffered the loss for the Cats, allowing all nine runs on 10 hits while walking six. Fogle continued to have a hot bat for the Cats, going 2-for-3 with two singles, a walk and two runs scored.

The Wildcats scored first in game one, pushing two runs across in the top of the third. Fogle and Jones each singled to get the inning started. Fogle found her way home on Angus’ single, which advanced Jones to third. Jones then came home as the Ole Miss catcher tried to pick her off of third, but the throw got by the third baseman, allowing Jones to scamper home for the 2-0 lead.

UK tried to up its lead in the top of the fifth as Angus doubled to lead off the inning. Senior Angie Dal Pozzo moved Angus over to third when she flew out to right. Senior Andy Eilertson was then intentionally walked to put runners on first and third with one out for sophomore Rachel Friberg. Friberg seemed to have scored Angus from third with a sacrifice fly to right field, but the UM outfielder threw home to get Angus at the plate and end the Wildcat threat. The Wildcats then yielded three runs in the bottom of the inning and could not put together a significant scoring threat together after that.

Game two had a similar start to it as the Wildcats scored two runs in the first to jump out to the early lead. UK upped the lead to 3-0 after the top of the third, but the Rebels answered with six runs on two singles, two doubles and two walks in their half of the inning for a 6-3 advantage.

The Rebels tacked on two more runs in the fifth on two walks and a triple for an 8-3 lead before the Wildcats again tried to rally. Freshman Brook Bowman and Fogle both had bunt singles to start the sixth inning, with Bowman moving all the way to third on Fogle’s hit. However, Bowman was cut down at the plate as the Wildcats tried a double-steal, again snuffing out a UK scoring chance. Fogle later came home in the inning on an Angus single for the Cats’ fourth run of the game, but UK could not bring anyone else home for the rest of the game.

The Wildcats and Rebels will close out the three-game set with a single game on Sunday. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT. The game can be followed live on the Internet at www.OleMissSports.com.

Game OneKentucky0020000-2 8 3Ole Miss001031X-5 8 2WP: Day (6-3). LP: Cooper (7-4). S: none.

Game TwoKentucky2010010-4 13 1Ole Miss006021X-9 10 2WP: Price (5-2). LP: Howland (5-4). S: none.

-UK-