Though the Bears put up a good fight, a tough fourth inning led the Ole Miss Rebels to a 11-0 win in their softball away game Feb. 15, day two of the Ragin’ Cajun Invitational.

sophomore outfielder Renee Christian, freshman infielder Kaitlyn Graham and infielder freshman Mya January were able to make multiple hits against the Rebels and pitcher freshman Madge Layfield made her first appearance of the season, pitching one inning and two hits. 

At the start of the game, the Rebels (6-3) scored their first run in the bottom of the first inning by moving a baserunner with two outs around to score on an error. The Bears (2-7) attempted to respond by putting a runner on in the top of the second, but they were unsuccessful in moving Graham from first base. Christian made it to base with a single in the third inning, but after moving to second on a stolen base, she could not make it any farther.

At the top of the second inning,  Kaitlyn singled through the ride side and the Rebels’ third baseman was able to catch a foul ball by junior infielder/outfielder Lilly Hood, which resulted in an out for the Bears.

At the top of the third inning, the Bears were able to get some hits, but they were pop-ups and senior infielder Kylie Griffin struck out swinging. In the bottom of the third inning, Ole Miss had three hits including a sacrifice fly, which resulted in an additional run to make the score at the bottom of the third 3-0. 

The Bears kept it competitive through the first three innings. However, after the Bears returned to the field at the top of the fourth inning, freshman infielder Addie Graham and senior shortstop Madi Young both struck out swinging and Kaitlyn flew out to the infield. In the second half of the fourth inning, the bottom opened up and the Rebels scored eight runs unanswered against the Bears. The Rebels had seven hits and eight runs under their belt at the end of the fourth inning, resulting in a score of 8-0.

Following the Rebels’ offensive output in the bottom of the fourth inning, the score at the top of the fifth inning, the score was 11-0 after the Bears managed to gain one hit but didn’t score any runs. The game was concluded as Ole Miss did not have to take the field due to their 11-0 lead.

This loss has caused the Bears to fall to 2-6 on the year, and this game marks the eighth loss out of ten games against Ole Miss since 2011. However, the Bears remain optimistic in the face of defeat.

“Regardless of the wins and losses, we are playing for each other and know what we are capable of doing, so we are focusing on continuing to learn and grow every day,” Young said. “We adjusted our approach for our upcoming games by focusing on us as a team and continuing to play for each other.”

Young also said despite its difficulty, having one of the toughest non-conference schedules as a mid-major is helping the Bears grow as a team and will set them up very well for conference.