LEXINGTON, Ky. – For the Mississippi University for Women's softball team, making its first-ever trip to face Transylvania University was like, well, watching a horror movie. The Owls team (14-8) – which had won 13 of its last 16 games and coming off of a big sweep at Spalding on Saturday – was run-ruled twice (13-0 and 9-1) in five innings and suffered its first shutout of the 2023 campaign versus the Pioneers (14-7).
 
The very first inning of the day was a foreshadowing of what was to come for The W. Transylvania started its first at-bats with three-consecutive extra-base hits and five reaching base safely. When the dust had settled, Owls' starter Jade Rushing (3-2) was chased after retiring just two Pioneers and MUW was looking at an 8-0 deficit, from which it never recovered.
 
Alysa Newman – the reigning USCAA Player of the Week – went 2-for-2. As a team, The W had five total hits, compared to 12 by the Pioneers.
 
The second game began normally before it, too, got out of control in the later frames. Owls' ace Rylie Grisham was sailing along in a 1-1 ball game through three innings, having allowed just a first-inning run. An RBI double by Madison Crosby in the top of the third had evened matters at 1-1 for Grisham.
 
But in the fourth, Grisham (6-2) was touched up for three runs. Reliever Bailey McClellan came on in the fifth and was rudely greeted with five earned runs, herself.
 
Meanwhile, the Transylvania hurlers limited the Owls to three hits. All three hits came at the Nos. 1-3 spots in the MUW batting order by Jessica Deming (1-3), Crosby (1-2), and Riley Phillips (1-2).