Ole Miss walks off with victory over Lady Vols

Two home runs by Ole Miss in the bottom of the seventh inning were too many for Tennessee's softball team Sunday afternoon.

Rebels second baseman Lisa Conchos' one-out drive over the left-field wall tied the score. One-out later, Ashley Dowdy repeated the feat, giving Ole Miss a dramatic 7-6 walk-off victory in Oxford, Miss.

Both homers came off Lady Vols freshman pitcher Cat Hosfield, who allowed seven runs (all earned) on seven hits with three walks and two strikeouts.

No. 12 Tennessee (35-11-1, 11-8-1 SEC) squandered a 4-0 lead after its first at-bat in a game that was delayed nearly two hours by severe weather in the Oxford area. With the victory, Ole Miss (20-25, 7-18) won the weekend series. The teams split a doubleheader Saturday.

UT third baseman Jessica Spigner was 4-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs. First baseman Jen Lapicki had two hits and scored a run. Second baseman Nicole Kajitani had a hit and scored two runs.

Right fielder Erinn Webb also drove in two runs. She was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and had an RBI pop-up to short left center.

Hosfield (26-9) was hurt by the home run from the start. A pair of first-inning walks were followed Molly Goza's first-pitch drive to center field for her first career homer. With one swing, Tennessee's early four-run lead had been cut to 4-3.

Tennessee is back home this week at Lee Softball stadium for a mid-week non-conference game against Appalachian State. The game starts at 7 p.m. The Lady Vols are at Georgia next weekend.