Ole Miss spent its second day in California living on both ends of the softball spectrum — a run‑rule romp in the morning, a one‑run gut‑punch in the afternoon.
The Rebels are 2-2 now, still sorting out who they are in February, but they also flashed the kind of depth and firepower that tends to travel once the season settles in.
Game One vs. CSUN
The opener belonged to Lilly Whitten before it belonged to anyone else.
The freshman stepped into her first collegiate start and looked like she’d been doing this for years, punching out three across two scoreless innings and giving Ole Miss the breathing room it needed to wake up offensively.
Once the bats caught up, they didn’t slow down.
Mackenzie Pickens cracked the first run across with an RBI double. Kennedy Bunker immediately followed with a single to score her. Rachel Connors added a two‑run knock. By the time CSUN finally scratched a run across in the bottom half, Ole Miss had already found its rhythm.
Then came the avalanche.
Tenly Grisham and Pickens opened the fourth with back‑to‑back singles, sparking a sequence that included an error, a Persy Llamas sac fly, and the moment that will stick: Madi George turning on a pitch and launching her first collegiate home run.
The Rebels weren’t done. Grace Thompson and Taylor Malvin ripped consecutive RBI doubles, and suddenly it was 11-1.
Reasner added an RBI single in the fifth, Malvin drew a bases‑loaded walk, and the Rebels walked off with a 13-1 run‑rule win that felt as decisive as the score suggests.
Game Two vs. Boise State
The second game was everything the first wasn’t: tight, tense, and defined by inches.
Emilee Boyer carved through Boise State early, striking out five in three scoreless innings and keeping the Broncos off balance. But Ole Miss couldn’t find the breakthrough either, managing only a Llamas single through four innings.
Finally, in the fifth, patience paid off. Three walks loaded the bases with one out. Grisham’s fielder’s choice brought home the first run. Pickens followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0, a lead that felt fragile but real.
It didn’t last.
One mistake in the sixth (a pitch left just a little too hittable) turned into a three‑run home run for Boise State, flipping the game and leaving Ole Miss chasing. The Rebels put runners on in each of the final two innings but never found the swing that could undo the damage.
Ole Miss gets another shot at CSUN on Saturday at noon, a chance to leave the weekend with a winning record and, maybe, a clearer sense of the team it’s becoming.
