BATON ROUGE, La. — Despite a strong performance from Mackenzie Pickens, the Ole Miss softball team fell 7-6 to No. 15 LSU on Saturday night. The Rebels (27-20, 2-15 SEC) rallied in the sixth inning but couldn’t complete the comeback against the Tigers (31-14, 8-9 SEC).
Pickens opened the scoring with a solo home run in the first inning, giving Ole Miss a 1-0 lead. LSU responded in the bottom of the frame, scoring two runs on an RBI single and an error to take the lead. The Rebels answered in the second inning, with Kennedy Bunker driving in a run on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2-2. Pickens added a two-run double later in the inning to put Ole Miss ahead 4-2.
LSU responded with three runs in the bottom of the second and third innings, and extended its lead to 6-4 in the fourth. The Rebels kept fighting, and in the sixth inning, a leadoff single by Laylonna Applin sparked a rally. Rachel Connors drew a walk, and Bunker delivered a clutch single up the middle to tie the game at 6-6. LSU regained the lead in the bottom half on a bases-loaded walk.
Ole Miss had one final chance in the seventh. Madi George led off with a walk, pinch ran by Tenly Grisham. Grisham advanced on a sacrifice bunt and a passed ball, putting her in scoring position. However, a pop-up and a near-hit-by-pitch ended the inning and the game, as the Rebels fell short 7-6.
The series concludes Sunday at 1 p.m. CT, with the game streamed on SEC Network Plus. Ole Miss will look to even the series against LSU in the finale.
For more information, visit OleMissSports.com and follow Ole Miss Softball on social media.
