March 1, 2002

Box Score

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Last season Ole Miss swept three of four games from Southeast Missouri by scores of 8-0. To start the 2002 campaign, the Otahkians were able to put out a little bit more of an offensive output, but still lost games by the margins of 5-3 and 3-1.

In game one, Ole Miss (11-4) struck first in the top of the second inning when SS Desiree Layman and DP Phyllis Manley singled back-to-back to open the inning. They would both come around to score when LF Britte Hardy singled them in. Southeast had a chance to end the inning but an error with two outs prolonged the inning. The Rebels would take advantage of the miscue and add two more runs when CF Brooke Turner tripled to deep center to increase the Ole Miss lead to 4-0.

The Rebels added another run in the third before Southeast got on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning. LF Shelley Conroy hit a bloop single to leftfield that scored pinch runner Stacy DeClue.

The Otahkians (0-2) would try to mount a comeback in bottom of the seventh, scoring two runs, one from a RBI single from Emmy Kisaka and another when Conroy walked with the bases loaded. Southeast's really fell short thought at 5-3.

Conroy finished game one 2-3 at the plate with two RBI's. Freshman Kelly Birk (0-1) took the loss in her first collegiate game, pitching four innings and allowing five runs on seven hits. Junior Lindsay Price (3-1) got the victory for the Rebels, striking out 11 Otahkians in route to a complete-game. She allowed three runs, only one of which was earned.

Southeast struck first in game two thanks to three singles. After 2B Dawn Piantino and DP Brooke Nett both singled, 1B Reagan Hamlin singled in Piantino to put the Otahks up 1-0. Southeast looked like they would score again with runners on second and third and only one out but a strikeout and foul out ended the threat.

Ole Miss tied the game up in the fourth when Layman singled home DP DeDe Justice. The Rebels were looking to tag true freshman Rachel Van Fleet with some more runs and had runners on first and second with only one out before Van Fleet was able to get Manley, playing catcher in game two, to ground into a double play to end the inning.

The Rebels would add three runs in the top of the fifth when RF Becky Testin smashed a mammoth homerun to left field that drove Van Fleet from the game for Southeast. The homerun was the eighth of the year for Ole Miss, one of their single season record of nine.

Senior pitcher Kristen King came into the game in relief for the second time on the day and shutdown the Rebels for the remaining three innings. For the day, King pitched 5 2/3 total innings in the two games, allowing six hits and no runs.

Leslie Day (4-2) got the win for Ole Miss, allowing eight runs and one run over seven innings.

"There were a lot of good things I saw out there," said Southeat Head Coach Lana Richmond. "One of them was Kristen King who gave us six scoreless innings. The homerun in game two got us or we might have won that game."

On the day, three Otahkians, Piantino, Kisaka and Conroy, hit .500. Conroy drove in a team-high two runs on the day.

Southeast will have the rest of the weekend off after the cancellation of their softball tournament due to pending bad weather. Southeast will travel to Carbondale, Ill. to battle rival Southern Illinois in a doubleheader on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m.