BLOG: Ole Miss softball downs Tulsa in NCAA Tournament opener

Published 8:09 pm Friday, May 20, 2016

The Ole Miss softball team added to its season of firsts Friday.

Playing in their NCAA Tournament debut, the Rebels notched the first tournament win in school history with a 5-1 victory over Tulsa in the opener of the Norman Regional at Marita Hynes Field in Norman, Oklahoma. Ole Miss (40-20) will face No. 3 national seed Oklahoma on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. with a spot in Sunday’s regional final on the line.

Senior right-hander Madi Osias (22-8) went the distance for Ole Miss in the win, scattering four hits and walking three while recording three strikeouts. Caitlin Sill (19-11) was pegged with the loss after allowing four runs on four hits and walking two in four innings.

Email newsletter signup

Ole Miss got to Sill in the third, using a walk and consecutive singles, the second from Ashton Lampton scoring Haley Culley, to take a 1-0 lead. Catcher Sarah Van Schaik provided the big blow a batter later with a three-run blast to center for just her second home run of the season. The Rebels padded their lead in the fifth when Lampton scored on an error.

Tulsa (35-20) got on the board in the sixth with Julia Hollingsworth’s RBI double, but Osias retired five of the last six batters she faced to put the Rebels through in the winner’s bracket. Lampton and shortstop Hailey Lunderman each had two hits for Ole Miss while Maggie Withee accounted for half of Tulsa’s hits.