OXFORD, Miss. – Trailing by a run, Auburn softball (25-16, 5-12 SEC) battled back to tie the game in the third inning, but Ole Miss (31-15, 12-8 SEC) scored five unanswered runs in take game two of the series, 6-1, Saturday night at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
Defensive miscues hurt the Tigers late, as Ole Miss scored three unearned runs in the sixth inning.
The Tigers recorded six hits at the plate with senior Alyssa Rivera leading the way with a 2-for-3 night for her 50th multi-hit game of her career. Tyler King went 1-for-2 and drove in Auburn's run with a sacrifice fly in the third inning.
Maddie Penta earned the start in the circle for the Tigers. In her three innings of work, Penta allowed two runs off two hits, two walks and a pair of hit by pitches. Penta struck out two Rebels in the outing.
KK Dimsukes and Lexie Handley saw action in relief. Dismukes gave up seven hits in her 2.2 innings of work. She was charged with four runs, only one of which was earned. She walked one and struck out a pair in the appearance. Handley faced the final Rebel batter in the sixth inning, forcing a foul out.
"We made some mistakes early on," said head coach Mickey Dean. "Tonight, we didn't play good defense to give us an opportunity to stay in the game or even win the game. We had bad pitches in 0-2 and 1-2 counts. We just didn't play well enough."
After trading a scoreless first, the Rebels took advantage of a wild pitch and a single to left center to put runners on the corners. A double steal would plate the first run of the game.
Auburn answered in the top of the third as Maddison Koepke dropped a fair ball on the line in right field for a single. After moving to second on a sacrifice bunt and taking third on a passed ball, Koepke would score on a sacrifice fly to left from King.
The tied was short lived as Autumn Gillespie slugged a solo home run to left center in the bottom of the third to put the Rebels up, 2-1. Dismukes would hold Ole Miss to its one-run lead until the bottom of the fifth as the Rebels strung together a double and single up the middle to plate an insurance run.
A pair of Auburn errors in the sixth inning allowed three unearned runs to score as the Rebels took the series with a 6-1 victory.
ON DECK
Sunday's series finale against the Rebels is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
Tigers fall in game two at Oxford
Alyssa Rivera swings at a pitch.