Ole Miss pitcher Kyra Aycock against No. 4 Tennessee. | Ole Miss Athletics
Ole Miss pitcher Kyra Aycock against No. 4 Tennessee. | Ole Miss Athletics

Ole Miss Softball Takes Series at No. 4 Tennessee, Falls Short of Sweep in Finale

BY Taylor Hodges

Ole Miss didn’t get the sweep in Knoxville, and sure, that would’ve been a pretty loud way to cap the weekend.

But walking out of Sherri Parker Lee Stadium with a series win over the No. 4 team in the country is nothing to shrug at. The Rebels earned that, even if Sunday’s finale ended with a sting.

For a while, it looked like Tennessee might run away with the last one.

The Lady Vols put up three runs in the third on a bases clearing double, and Ole Miss couldn’t quite cash in on its early chances. Emilee Boyer and Erin Nuwer traded scoreless frames to start, but Tennessee found the first big swing of the day.

Ole Miss kept hanging around, though. Mackenzie Pickens and Madi George tried to spark something in the fourth. Laylonna Applin did the same in the fifth. Nothing broke through, but the Rebels kept nudging the door.

Then the sixth inning arrived, and everything flipped.

Pickens drew a walk. Persy Llamas nearly tied the game on her own but settled for a single off the wall.

That brought up George, who has been hitting like someone who doesn’t care about the moment or the ranking on the scoreboard. She battled through the at bat and launched her tenth home run of the season to straightaway center.

Just like that, it was 3-3 and Ole Miss had life again.

Kyra Aycock did her part, too. She came in and steadied things, just like she had all weekend. She got the Rebels out of the sixth and gave them a real shot to steal the sweep.

Tennessee’s final push in the seventh ended it on a bases loaded walk, but it didn’t erase what Ole Miss had already accomplished.

A sweep would’ve been sweet. No doubt about it. But taking two games from a top five team on the road says plenty about where this group is headed.

The Rebels showed fight, showed growth, and showed they can go toe to toe with one of the best teams in the country.

Now they get a quick reset before heading up to Memphis on Tuesday.

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