AUBURN, Ala. –No. 19 Auburn softball (27-10, 5-3 SEC) had chances on Saturday but couldn't capitalize as Ole Miss (21-15, 2-6 SEC) evened the series with a 4-1 win at Jane B. Moore Field.
Auburn scattered six hits in Saturday's contest. Denver Bryant turned in the lone multi-hit game of the afternoon with a 2-for-3 outing. Aubrie Lisenby plated Auburn's lone run on a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
"We need to hit our pitch," said head coach Mickey Dean. "We kept going after the pitcher's pitch. Every time we got runners on, we kept going after that drop ball and hit it to their infielders. Too many easy plays for them. Credit to the Ole Miss pitcher, she threw well. We just need to have better at-bats tomorrow."
Annabelle Widra earned the start in the circle. She fanned four and scattered seven hits and four runs. Widra (8-2) shut the Rebels out in three of the 4.2 innings she tossed. In one of her strongest outings of the season, freshman Emmah Rolfe tossed 2.1 inning of scoreless relief. Rolfe gave up one hit and a walk and picked up a strikeout.
The Rebels struck first on Saturday as Paige Smith broke the stalemate with a two-run home run in the second inning. Ole Miss added two runs in the fifth, scoring on a wild pitch and double.
Auburn loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the first, but Ole Miss kept the Auburn bats quiet until the home half of the fifth. Icess Tresvik led off the inning with a single up the middle before Auburn took advantage of an Ole Miss error to put runners on the corners. Lisenby plated the first Tiger run of the game, driving in Tresvik off a sacrifice fly to left to cut the Ole Miss lead to 4-1.
The Tigers put a runner on in the sixth, but Auburn could not mount the rally as the Rebels evened the series. Sunday's rubber game is set for 1 p.m. CT at Jane B. Moore Field.