LAFAYETTE, La. — Louisiana erased an early five-run deficit and stunned No. 21 Ole Miss 8–5 on a walk-off, three-run home run by Brooke Otto on Friday night at Lamson Park in a Top-25 matchup.
Ole Miss jumped out quickly behind Madi George’s two-run homer in the first inning, then added three more runs in the second to take a 5–0 lead. The Rebels took advantage of timely hitting and small-ball execution to apply early pressure.
The Cajuns steadied themselves in the circle as starter Julia Tipton battled through traffic, striking out five and keeping Louisiana within striking distance. That stability allowed the offense to chip away, one run at a time.
Louisiana got on the board in the third inning when Mia Liscano scored on an RBI single by Kennedy Marceaux. Lily Knox followed with a run-scoring hit to trim the deficit to 5–2. Marceaux delivered again in the fourth with another RBI single, and in the fifth, Madyson Manning scored on Knox’s sacrifice fly to make it a one-run game.
The Cajuns tied it in the sixth when Otto walked and later scored on a bases-loaded force play. That set the stage for the seventh, when Knox and Cecilia Vasquez reached on back-to-back singles before Otto launched a three-run homer to left field to end it.
“We learned we have a resilient group,” Louisiana coach Alyson Habetz said. “We kept nibbling every inning. Our hitters stayed with the plan, our pitching kept us in it, and we found a way to win it.”
Louisiana finished with 10 hits, led by Knox, Otto and Marceaux, who each scored two runs. Ole Miss was held to four hits.
Tipton allowed five runs three earned on three hits and four walks over 76 pitches before giving way to Sage Hoover, who earned the win by tossing two scoreless innings with one strikeout.
With the victory, Louisiana improved to 5–2 on the season before later falling 6–5 to Prairie View A&M Panthers. The Cajuns will face Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Islanders on Sunday AT 1PM
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