Ole Miss Softball vs. JSU in Oxford, MS on February 27, 2026. | Ole Miss Athletics
Ole Miss Softball vs. JSU in Oxford, MS on February 27, 2026. | Ole Miss Athletics

Fast Start Fuels Ole Miss to Run-Rule Victory on Day One of Classic

BY Taylor Hodges

The first inning did most of the talking for Ole Miss on Friday, and the Rebels were happy to let it.

Six runs before Jacksonville State could catch its breath set the tone for an 8-0 run‑rule win on day one of the Ole Miss Classic. It was a game that felt settled almost as soon as it started.

Taylor Malvin’s leadoff single was the spark, and Persy Llamas wasted no time turning it into something bigger. Her two‑run shot put Ole Miss in front early, and the lineup kept stacking quality at‑bats behind her.

By the time the Gamecocks made a pitching change, the Rebels were already rolling. Madi George kept the inning alive with a single, Cassie Reasner worked a walk, and Kennedy Bunker pushed across another run. Grace Thompson added an RBI of her own, and two more free passes, plus a bases‑loaded hit‑by‑pitch for Mackenzie Pickens, pushed the lead to 6-0 before Jacksonville State could escape.

That cushion was more than enough for Kyra Aycock, who quietly handled her business for four shutout innings. She stranded runners in scoring position in three straight frames, mixing in a couple of strikeouts and never letting the game drift out of her control.

Ole Miss added the final touches in the fourth. Llamas reached after taking a pitch off the arm, George singled again, and Reasner shot an opposite‑field RBI single to make it 7-0. Bunker’s second RBI of the day came on a simple groundout, but it was enough to bring the run rule into play.

Lilly Whitten took the ball for the fifth and closed it out with a calm, clean inning with two groundouts, no stress, and an early walk‑off handshake line.

At 13-5, Ole Miss looks like a team settling into who it wants to be: aggressive early, steady in the circle, and deep enough in the order to make every inning feel dangerous.

Day two of the Classic brings a rematch with Jacksonville State at 2:30 p.m. CT and a quick turnaround against ULM right after.

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