SCORE: Ole Miss 4, Tennessee 1 | FINAL
***SCROLL DOWN FOR LIVE AT-BAT BY AT-BAT FEED***
Tennessee softball (42-9, 16-8 SEC) is set to begin its 2026 SEC Tournament run on Wednesday evening. The five-seed Lady Vols will meet 13-seed Ole Miss (33-23, 6-18) in the second round of the event, which determines the conference champion.
First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET and will air on SEC Network. The entire SEC Tournament will be played in Lexington, Kentucky, at the home field of the Wildcats.
Tennessee enters the game coming off a series win on the road to close out the regular season. The Lady Vols defeated Missouri 3-1 and 4-2 in the opening pair of games before dropping the final match 4-3 in Columbia. That final loss dropped UT to a five-seed and the single-bye instead of earning a double-bye as a top-four seed.
On the other side, Ole Miss enters after a win over South Carolina in the first round of the SEC Tournament. The Rebels used strong pitching, a solo home run and a timely double to beat the Gamecocks 2-0.
Opponent Scout – Ole Miss
- 2026 Record: 33-23, 6-18 SEC
- 2025 Postseason: Women’s College World Series Appearance
- Head Coach: Jamie Trachsel
- Overall Record: 215-140
SERIES HISTORY:
- Overall: UT leads, 55-15
- Current streak: UT 1 win
- This season: Ole Miss leads 2-1 (Series in Oxford)
POLLS:
- USA Softball/ESPN: RV
- D1 Softball: RV
- Softball America: Unranked
- NFCA/GoRout Coaches: RV
- RPI: No. 22
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Lineups and pitching matchups are below, followed by the LIVE at-bat by at-bat game thread.
TENNESSEE STARTING NINE:
2B Ella Dodge (L)
LF Alannah Leach (L)
RF Gabby Leach (L)
1B Emma Clarke (R)
DP Taelyn Holley (L)
C Elsa Morrison (R)
CF Sophia Knight (L)
SS Bella Faw (R)
3B Maddi Rutan (R)
OLE MISS STARTING NINE:
C Kennedy Bunker (L)
2B Mackenzie Pickens (R)
1B Persy Llamas (L)
DP Madi George (L)
SS Cassie Reasner (R)
RF Laylonna Applin (R)
LF Tenly Grisham (L)
3B Ryan Starr (R)
CF Taylor Malvin (L)
Pitching Matchup:
Tennessee RHP Sage Mardjetko (12-1, 0.99 ERA, 0.83 WHIP)
vs.
Ole Miss RHP Kyra Aycock (12-9, 4.09 ERA, 1.60 WHIP)
Uniforms
Tennessee: Pinstripes, orange hats
Ole Miss: Navy blue, white hats
GAME THREAD
1st Inning:
T1
-Kennedy Bunker grounds out to first
-Mackenzie Pickens flies out to center
-Persy Llamas grounds out to first
END HALF INNING
B1
-Ella Dodge draws eight-pitch walk
-Alannah Leach grounds out to first, Dodge moves to second
-Gabby Leach strikes out swinging
-Emma Clarke grounds out to the pitcher
END INNING
Score: Ole Miss 0, Tennessee 0
2nd Inning:
T2
-Madi George singles to right field past the first baseman
-Cassie Reasner grounds into fielder’s choice to shortstop
-Laylonna Applin grounds into fielder’s choice to shortstop
-Tenly Grisham strikes out swinging
END HALF INNING
B2
-Taelyn Holley strikes out swinging
-Elsa Morrison singles to shortstop
Morrison advances to second on a passed ball
-Sophia Knight grounds out to the pitcher, Morrison advances to third
-Bella Faw singles to right field, Morrison scores
-Maddi Rutan pops out to right field
END INNING
Score: Ole Miss 0, Tennessee 1
3rd Inning:
T3
-Ryan Starr grounds out to the pitcher
-Taylor Malvin strikes out swinging
-Kennedy Bunker strikes out looking
END HALF INNING
B3
-Ella Dodge singles to right field
-Alannah Leach flies out to the left field warning track
-Gabby Leach hit by a pitch
-Emma Clarke pops out to shortstop
-Taelyn Holley grounds out to pitcher
END INNING
Score: Ole Miss 0, Tennessee 1
4th Inning:
T4
-Mackenzie Pickens singles down the left field line
-Persy Llamas singles to left field
-Madi George reaches on a fielding error by Ella Dodge, Pickens scores from second
*Casidy Patterson pinch running for Llamas
-Cassie Reasner pops out to catch on bunt attempt
-Laylonna Applin grounds into fielder’s choice to second base, Patterson advances to third
*Karlyn Pickens enters to pitch for Sage Mardjetko
Applin steals second
-Tenly Grisham singles to second, Ella Dodge had to make a diving play to keep it in the infield, Patterson scores, Applin caught in a pickle and tagged out between third and home
END HALF INNING
B4
-Elsa Morrison flies out to right field
-Sophia Knight flies out to center field
-Bella Faw grounds out, but sent back to the plate due to Ole Miss not re-entering its first baseman, who was involved in the play, takes ball four to walk on the next pitch
-Maddi Rutan pops out to left field
END INNING
Score: Ole Miss 2, Tennessee 1
5th Inning:
T5
-Ryan Starr walks
-Taylor Malvin strikes out swinging
-Kennedy Bunker grounds out to first, Starr to second
-Mackenzie Pickens hit by pitch
Wild pitch moves both runners into scoring position
-Persy Llamas walks
-Madi George singles up the middle, Starr and Pickens score, Llamas to second
-Cassie Reasner grounds out to pitcher
END HALF INNING
B5
-Ella Dodge walks
*Emilee Boyer enters to pitch for Kyra Aycock
-Alannah Leach grounds into fielder’s choice to second
-Gabby Leach grounds into fielder’s choice to first
-Emma Clarke flies out to right field
END INNING
Score: Ole Miss 4, Tennessee 1
6th Inning:
T6
-Laylonna Applin lines out to third
- Remarkable diving catch by Maddi Rutan
-Tenly Grisham strikes out, but reaches first on a wild pitch
*Rachel Connors pinch hits for Ryan Starr
-Connors flies out to center
-Taylor Malvin singles on chopper to second base
-Kennedy Bunker singles to left field, Grisham called safe at home on the field, but call is changed after review to out
END HALF INNING
B6
-Taelyn Holley strikes out swinging
-Elsa Morrison pops out to shortstop in shallow center field
-Sophia Knight singles to center
-Bella Faw lines out to shortstop
END INNING
Score: Ole Miss 4, Tennessee 1
7th Inning:
T7
-Mackenzie Pickens flies out to right field
-Persy Llamas walks
-Madi George lines out to third
Llamas advances to second on a wild pitch
-Cassie Reasner strikes out swinging
END HALF INNING
B7
*Meredith Barnhart pinch-hitting for Maddi Rutan
-Meredith Barnhart grounds out to second
-Ella Dodge pops out to pitcher
-Alannah Leach reaches on fielding error by second baseman
-Gabby Leach strikes out swinging
END GAME
Score: Ole Miss 4, Tennessee 1
