No. 21 Ole Miss Defeats Central Arkansas In 12 Inning

In the third-longest game in school history, No. 21 Ole Miss walked off, 1-0, over Central Arkansas in a 12-inning affair that took three hours and 13 minutes to complete.
Only two games in school history have lasted longer in terms of innings played – a 14-inning game in 2005, and a 13-inning contest in 2009. Junior RHP Kaitlin Lee was in the circle for all 12, shutting out the Bears (13-26) for her second consecutive complete game shutout.
After allowing a leadoff single in the first inning, she made it five innings before allowing another, going 17-straight batters without allowing a hit. She finished the game with just six hits allowed in nearly twice the amount of regulation innings, and struck out five with just one walk – the only walk of the entire game.
Ole Miss (25-11) had multiple chances to score in regulation, leaving 13 on base for the night. Junior Elantra Cox set an Ole Miss single-game record with a five-hit performance, and tallied a bunt single in the third, but was caught stealing at second. In the next half inning, UCA put two on after a HBP and error, but Lee worked a strikeout, lineout and fielders’ choice to escape the early trouble.
Alyssa Gonzalez led off the home half with a single down the right field line, and Bry Castro pinch ran for her moving to second off a sac bunt, but a would-be double from Paige McKinney was robbed by the Bears’ CF, keeping Ole Miss off the board.
Cox again reached in the sixth after a single back to the circle, and made it all the way to third, but was stranded there to end the inning. The Bears responded with a pair of singles in the seventh, but Kylan Becker handled a deep fly to right.
The Rebels looked to have a chance in the eighth when Kaylee Horton and Cox both singled, before a force out and hard line drive stranded them both.
UCA got its leadoff aboard with a single in the ninth, and after back-to-back sac bunts, the runner moved up to third, but Lee again worked out of it. In the home half, Dakota Matiko led off with a single up the middle, but was cut down on a force out and the inning ended with a double play on a lineout.
After both sides put two on in the tenth, the Rebels again put two in scoring position in the 11th after another single by Matiko, and a pinch hit infield single from Brittany Finney, but a groundout on the infield retired Ole Miss yet again.
The scoreboard finally flipped from all zeros in the 12th after Cox and Becker both reached on infield singles, then Strother punched an RBI single to right field giving the Rebels the only run they needed to secure a 1-0 victory.
Cox finished 5-for-6 with a run scored, while Becker, Strother, Matiko and Horton all added two hits each.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports