Offense Silenced in Series-Deciding Loss at No. 24 Ole Miss

OXFORD, Miss. – A run in the first inning and three in the sixth combined with a rough day at the plate for the Kentucky offense handed the No. 24 Ole Miss Rebels a 4-0 series-clinching win on Sunday afternoon. It was the first time all season that Kentucky was held scoreless. 

With Sunday’s result, Kentucky drops to 24-8 overall on the season and remains a game over .500 in Southeastern Conference play at 5-4. Ole Miss improves to 24-11 in all games this season, and now sits at 2-7 in SEC games. 

Shannon Smith is charged with the loss in the circle for Kentucky – as her record falls to 6-3 on the season. The winning pitcher for the Rebels was Kaitlin Lee, who also earned the win in Friday’s 7-1 win for the Rebels. Smith pitched well in the circle, allowing just one run in 4.2 innings of action. Smith allowed five hits, walked just two and struck out five. 

The Wildcats next game will be on Wednesday, April 5 at 7 p.m. ET against in-state foe, Western Kentucky. The game at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington will be shown live on the SEC Network, ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app with Jenn Hildreth (pxp) and former Purdue head coach Carol Bruggeman (color) on the call. 

11. Sunday marked the first time in 11 years that Kentucky lost a series to Ole Miss. This also marks the first time since Rachel Lawson took over as UK’s head coach that the Wildcats have lost a series to the Rebels. 

Sarah Van Schiak, who hit two home runs in game one on Friday, hit the game-winning RBI single up the middle in the top of the first inning to score Elantra Cox, who led off the game with a walk. 

Bailey Vick was the key Kentucky player in the game. The freshman from Paducah, Kentucky went 2-for-2 with a single and a double. She was one of five Kentucky runners left on base in the game. 

In the top of the first inning – Smith allowed a lead-off walk to Elantra Cox, which came around to score on an RBI single from Sarah Van Schiak. Kylee Becker moved Cox to second on a single and a grounder by Strother put her at third with two outs. OM 1, UK 0

Ole Miss played add-on in the bottom of the sixth, starting the inning off with four-consecutive infield singles to make it 2-0 on Kaylee Horton’s RBI single. The second run of the inning came home on a 5-2-3 double play, as pinch runner Paige McKinney scored from second. Elantra Cox then singled to the left side to score Horton and score the third run of the inning. FINAL – No. 24 Ole Miss 4, No. 16 Kentucky 0

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