Brady’s career day helps Ole Miss topple No. 15 Kentucky
Published 1:30 pm Monday, April 10, 2023
Lexie Brady’s career day at the plate helped Jamie Trachsel earn her 100th victory as a Rebel as Ole Miss softball toppled No. 15 Kentucky 9-3 and Sunday afternoon.
With the victory, Trachsel became the quickest coach to 100 wins in program history, needing only 159 games to reach the century mark. The Rebels (23-18, 3-9 SEC) put on an offensive clinic against the Wildcats, avoiding the sweep at home. Tate Whitley and Savana Sikes each sparked the offense going 3-for-4 on the afternoon, but it was Brady who shined at the plate, hitting a three-run bomb and a double. Catelyn Riley was battled in the circle, holding the Kentucky offense on only one earned run on four hits while striking out five in the complete game effort.
Kentucky jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning. A single, walk and error loaded the bases for the Wildcats, who cashed in on the miscue with a two-RBI single. Looking to respond in the bottom half, Whitley and Sikes recorded back-to-back base hits, and Jalia Lassiter walked a batter later to load the bases for Ole Miss, but Kentucky managed to escape the jam.
Riley responded from the first-inning hiccup and got back on track in the second. She retired the side in order, picking up two swinging strikeouts to send her offense back to the plate.
Not wasting any more time, the Rebel batted around in the bottom of the second, scoring seven runs. Keila Kamoku and Brooke Barnard led off the inning, reaching on free passes to bring Brady to the plate. After taking the first two pitches, Brady crushed her first home run of the season to straight-away center field, throwing her arms up as soon as it came off the bat.
Leading for the first time all series, Ole Miss began to pour it on. Whitley and Sikes notched their second hits of the game, and Paige Smith was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Aynslie Furbush drove in a fourth run on a sacrifice fly for the second out of the inning, but the Rebels were still hungry. Mikayla Allee singled to left field scoring two runs as the defender couldn’t secure the diving catch, and Kamoku finished what she started with an RBI double to bring Allee home and make it a 7-2 game.
The Wildcats got one back in the third and threatened to score more, but Ole Miss’ defense held strong to strand the bases loaded. From there, Riley began to cruise in the circle, retiring the next 11 batters she faced in a row.
Ole Miss extended its lead in the bottom of the fifth, tacking on two more runs. Nyomi Jones singled, and Brady doubled to put two in scoring position with one away. Sikes took care of the rest, knocking in both runners on a base hit up the middle to make it a 9-3 game.
Back out for the seventh inning, Riley got three ground outs to secure the victory for Ole Miss.
The Rebels wrap up their five-game homestand on Wednesday, April 12, with a midweek matchup with Louisiana Tech at 6 p.m. CT.