Tennessee’s fourth-ranked softball team suffered its third consecutive Southeastern Conference setback and its first at home Friday night, dropping a 2-1 decision to Ole Miss.
The Rebels entered Sherri Parker Lee Stadium having lost all nine of their league contests.
Kennedy Bunker’s leadoff home run to right field off Sage Mardjetko gave Ole Miss a quick 1-0 lead, and the Rebels broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning when Izzy Rettiger scored on a Mardjetko wild pitch. Mardjetko racked up 12 strikeouts, but she allowed two runs on five hits and a walk.
It was the first loss of the season for Mardjetko, who is now 7-1 with a 0.90 earned run average.
Tennessee, which drew seven walks and collected three hits but left nine on base, dropped to 29-4 overall and to 6-4 in SEC play. The Lady Volunteers were ranked No. 1 with a 28-1 record after prevailing the previous Friday night at Florida, but they lost both Saturday and Sunday to the Gators.