The UNC softball team (2-1) fell to No. 25 Ole Miss (1-0) Friday evening, 6-1, dropping its first game of the season in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
What happened?
After pitching 3.1 hitless innings in relief on Thursday, Lilli Backes returned to the circle and continued to dominate. She set the Rebels down 1-2-3 in the first inning, including two strikeouts.
Kiersten Licea struck first in the bottom of the inning, smashing a rise ball over the left fielder’s head and inside the foul pole. With her teammates surrounding her, she jumped onto home plate and delivered the Tar Heels an early advantage.
The Rebels would answer right back in the second inning, though. With runners on first and third, Keila Kamoku ripped a two-out single past the reaching glove of Backes and tied the game at 1. Backes escaped any further damage by inducing a pop-out to Abby Settlemyre at second base.
She found herself in similar trouble in the third. A double, walk, and hit by pitch gave the Rebels bases loaded, but Backes evaded the jam with a weak grounder to Settlemyre. The offense could not back her up, though, as the Licea home run remained its only hit through three innings.
Fielding woes led to the Rebels’ second run of the game in the fourth. After stealing second base, Jalia Lassiter attempted to steal third. Catcher Annie Kate Dalton’s throw tipped off the outstretched arm of third baseman Destiny Middleton, and Lassiter scurried home to singlehandedly put Ole Miss on top.
Another error in the fifth doubled the Rebels’ lead. Attempting to field a bunt, pitcher Carlie Myrtle threw the ball into right field and allowed the runner to reach second. Mya Stevenson converted on the mishap later in the inning with an RBI single, making the score 3-1.
The Tar Heels' offense went down in short order again in the fifth. Alex Brown struck out to end the frame, and Ole Miss pitcher Catelyn Riley left the circle with a roar of confidence.
