Ole Miss falls to Loyola Marymount in NCAA Softball Tournament opener
May 21—No. 2 seed Ole Miss fell to No. 3 seed Loyola Marymount Friday night 4-2 in the first round of the NCAA Softball Tournament in Los Angeles, California. It is double-elimination, so the Rebels will still play again Saturday.
The Lions (37-15) scored four runs off senior Anna Borgen in the first inning on four hits and an Ole Miss (39-18) error. The Rebels loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth but were unable to score.
Borgen was flawless after the first, as she did not allow another base runner before being taken out to start the sixth.
Ole Miss scored a run in the fifth inning on a double from senior Sydney Gutierrez. Freshman Keila Kamoku hit a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth to cut the deficit to two runs, but the Rebels were unable to score in the seventh.
The Rebels outhit LMU 8-5 but left eight runners on base. They were just 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position and 3 for 16 with runners on base overall.
Ole Miss will play the loser of Friday night's Grand Canyon-UCLA game at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. With a win, they would play again at 9 p.m. Saturday.
MICHAEL KATZ is the Ole Miss athletics reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact him at michael.katz@djournal.com.
