Ole Miss pitcher Emilee Boyer reacts after a strikeout Sunday against No. 4 Alabama. | Ole Miss Athletics
Ole Miss pitcher Emilee Boyer reacts after a strikeout Sunday against No. 4 Alabama. | Ole Miss Athletics

Late Rally Comes Up Short as Alabama Sweeps Ole Miss in SEC Opening Series

BY Taylor Hodges

There’s no way to dress up an 0-3 start in SEC play.

Getting swept at home isn’t what Ole Miss wanted out of opening weekend, even if the opponent was the undefeated, No. 4‑ranked Alabama machine that’s been steamrolling everyone in its path.

You don’t shrug off a sweep, but you also don’t declare the season doomed in early March. There’s a lot of softball left, and Sunday showed enough fight to keep the bigger picture in perspective.

The Rebels had every chance to fold after two quiet offensive days, but they didn’t. Emilee Boyer set the tone by going pitch‑for‑pitch with Jocelyn Briski, and for most of the afternoon, she was the reason Ole Miss stayed within reach. Eight strikeouts, a couple of tightrope escapes, and a full seven innings against one of the best lineups in the country. That’s the kind of outing you can build on.

Alabama finally broke through in the fourth, then added another run, and for a while it felt like that might be enough. The Tide have a way of making two runs feel like five. But Boyer kept the game from slipping away, and eventually the offense found a pulse.

It took until the seventh, but the Rebels made it interesting. Persy Llamas kept her strong weekend going with her second hit of the day, Izzy Rettiger came in to run, and suddenly the dugout had some life. Cassie Reasner beat out an infield single, Rettiger moved to third, and Taylor Roman delivered the kind of late‑game swing Ole Miss has been waiting on, an RBI single up the middle to cut it to 2-1.

For a moment, the stadium felt like it might flip. The tying run stood on second, the winning run at first, and the Rebels had cracked open the door.

Alabama turned to Vic Moten, though, and she slammed it shut with a strikeout, securing the 2-1 final score.

So yes, it’s a sweep. No way around that. But it’s also March 9.

The SEC schedule is long, unpredictable, and rarely kind to anyone in the first weekend. Ole Miss showed enough competitiveness, especially in the circle, to suggest this thing won’t spiral.

They’ll head to North Alabama on Tuesday, then get back to work.

There’s time to settle in, time to adjust, and time to prove that opening weekend was just that: a beginning, not a verdict.

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