TROY, Ala. – Belmont Softball opened its 2021 campaign on the road Saturday with a stop at the Trojan Classic, hosted by Troy. The Bruins (0-2) were held off by Ole Miss (2-0), 10-2, before being edged in the nightcap by host-Troy (2-0), 3-1.
After two tightly played innings to begin the game, Ole Miss was the first to make a mark on the scoreboard in the top of the third frame. A double opened the door for a homerun by Paige Smith to clear the bases. The Rebels added one more in the same inning, taking advantage of a dropped fly to send another runner over the plate to take a 3-0 lead. In the following inning, Ole Miss exploded behind a pair of homeruns that put the scoreboard visitors ahead, 7-0. Belmont switched to freshman Alex Clesi (Mandeville, La.) inside the circle to close out the contest.
The Rebels unloaded again in the top of the sixth inning. Using two more homeruns, Ole Miss pulled ahead 10-0. BU continued to fight and made quick moves in its half of the frame. After the first out, senior Cheyenne Cavanaugh (Spring, Texas) reached first on four balls and was moved to second after a ground out. Junior Audrey Lyle (Westlake, Ohio) smashed her first homerun of the season to get the Bruins on the board. Unfortunately, the Bruins were unable to send another runner of the plate to extend the contest and fell, 10-2.
In the nightcap, Belmont and host-Troy were offensively silent through the first three innings of play. This time it would be the Bruins who would make a mark on the scoreboard first. In the top of the fourth inning, Lyle singled and was joined on base by senior Elison Ollinger (Robins, Iowa) who reached on four balls. Sophomore Abi Ledbetter (Livingston, Tenn.) drove a single up the middle to load the bases before Kailey Brown (San Antonio, Texas) hit a hard single to the shortstop allowing Lyle to turn on the jets to get over the plate.
The Trojans were able to knot the score in their half of the same inning. The teams remained locked in the 1-1 stalemate until Troy made a move in the bottom of the fifth. The home team used a pair of singles and a steal to get runners into scoring position before a double sent two over home plate for the lead. BU hustled to make up ground in its half of both the sixth and seventh innings but stranded runners in its attempts. The response allowed Troy to hold on for the slim 3-1 win.
For the day, Ledbetter and Lyle both went 2-for-5 at the plate. Lyle paced the Bruins with a pair of runs and two RBI. Sophomore MyKayla Spurlin (Madisonville, Ky.) knocked the team's first double of the season. Inside the circle, senior Alicia Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) logged a pair of appearances and led the pitching staff with four strikeouts. Brown tallied three strikeouts in the efforts.
Belmont returns to action on Sunday for the final day of the Troy Trojan Classic. The Bruins will take on UAB at 10 a.m. and host-Troy at 1 p.m. Live stats will be available for both contests.
