by BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Ole Miss softball program’s offense got going and freshman Miali Guachino delivered a gem in game one, as the Rebels earned a day two sweep at the Paradise Classic.
Led by Guachino, the Rebels (3-1, 0-0 SEC) rolled past Wisconsin (1-1, 0-0 Big Ten), 7-1 in game one, before earning a 9-1, run rule victory over Missouri State (0-1, 0-0 MVC) in the second game of the day.
GAME ONE | Ole Miss 7, Wisconsin 1
Taking the circle for her first collegiate start and third appearance was the freshman Guachino, who came out of the gate on fire. The Pala, Calif., native recorded five strikeouts through two innings and quickly stifled any momentum for the Badgers, who got runners in scoring position due to a pair of defensive errors and a hit-by-pitch.
The Rebel offense picked up Guachino in the third inning, as Taylor Malvin and Angelina DeLeon singled and Jaden Pone drew a walk to load the bases with no outs. From there, Persy Llamas and Aliyah Binford helped the Rebels take a 2-0 lead behind a pair of sacrifice flies.
While Wisconsin got a run back on double steal in the bottom half of the frame, the Rebels continued to press the issue on offense. Singles by Mackenzie Pickens and Taylor Malvin, followed by a DeLeon walk reloaded the bases in the fourth inning. Pickens would come home on a wild pitch, before Malvin came home on a groundout to make it 4-1.
The strikeouts continued to pile up for Guachino, who struck out three straight batters after two singles by the Badgers to lead off the bottom of the fourth. Her efforts helped the Rebels put the game out of reach, as Llamas drew a walk, then was lifted for Star Ferguson, who came home from first base on an Aliyah Binford RBI triple to make it 5-1. Jamie Mackay added an RBI double to extend the lead to 6-1 and another run would come home late on a double steal.
Guachino capped off the five-inning masterpiece with 11 strikeouts and only allowed three hits. Her 11 strikeouts were the first time a Rebel freshman has recorded 10 or more strikeouts in a game since Becky Nye had 10 against Arkansas on Apr. 15, 2007. The right hander now has 19 strikeouts through 10.1 innings of collegiate work
