The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Softball Set to Travel this Weekend
6/21/1999 | Softball
April 14, 1999
Ole Miss (23-22 overall, 5-11 SEC)
Ole Miss travels to Knoxville and Lexington this weekend to take on the Volunteers (25-17, 7-9) and Wildcats (18-28, 3-9). The Rebels take on the Vols on Friday, April 16, at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Ole Miss will play Kentucky on Sunday, April 18, at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
The Series
The Rebels are winless in five games against the Volunteers. Ole Miss lost three games to the Vols last year, two at home and one in the Mardi Gras Tournament. Ole Miss is 6-0 all-time against Kentucky and has held the Wildcats scoreless in three of the six games.
Last Week
The Rebels lost the first three games of the series against Alabama, but rebounded to win the fourth game 3-1. Sophomore Jennifer Hughes picked up the win to improve to 10-6 on the season. The win was the first-ever for the Rebels against the Crimson Tide.
Tennessee Rebels
Five Ole Miss players call Tennessee home. Junior pitcher Amanda Fine (Brentwood), junior outfielder Heather Swinney (Nashville), freshmen Paige Cochrane (Memphis), Audra Wadsworth (Covington) and Jessica Hamilton (Nashville) all hail from the Volunteer state.
Hot Hitting Rebels
Over the last two weeks Heather Swinney, Paige Cochrane and Kara Chapman have found their groove at the plate. The trio has combined for 22 of the Rebels 52 total hits in the last 10 games, and had nine of Ole Miss' 20 hits in the Alabama series. During that span, Swinney has hit safely in eight of the past 10 games for a .364 average with five doubles and three RBI. Cochrane has hit .308 over the last five games with an RBI, while Chapman has hit safely in six of the past eight games for a .318 average.
Rebs Break Steals Record
With four steals over the weekend against Alabama the Rebels broke their previous record for stolen bases in a season. Mandy Shklar's first-inning steal in game one eclipsed the old record of 51 set in 1998. So far, the Rebels have swipped 55 bases this season on 78 attempts. Shklar and Stephanie Vaglica lead the Rebels with 15 swipes apiece.
Rebels Set Highs
So far this season five Rebels have set career highs at the plate. Kaci Coffee has set highs in runs, hits, doubles, triples, home runs and RBI. Rachel Davenport set career bests in runs, doubles, hits and stolen bases, while Mandy Shklar set a career best in home runs and doubles. Heather Swinney set highs in runs, triples and RBI, while Kara Chapman has set personal bests in runs, hits, and RBI.
Rebels Win MSU Series
Ole Miss won its fourth-ever SEC series by taking three of four games from Mississippi State. The Rebels previous series wins came against Kentucky in 1997 and 1998 and Mississippi State in 1997. The series win was also the third for the Rebels at home (UK in 1998 and MSU in 1997).
Cardiac Kids
Seven of Ole Miss' 19 wins this season have come in the Rebels final at bat. Ole Miss trailed going into their final at-bat in four of the seven games and were tied in the other three. Of the seven comeback wins, six came with the Rebels scoring the winning run with two outs. Ole Miss is 3-2 in extra-innings games this season, 7-6 in one-run games and 7-5 in two-run games.
Rebels vs. the Top 25
So far this season the Rebels have played six teams ranked in the top 25 and have a record of 3-8. Ole Miss opened the season with a 13-3 loss to No. 11 Oklahoma at the UT-Arlington Classic. The Rebels then defeated No. 11 South Florida (2-0) and No. 23 Iowa (1-0) before losing to No. 9 South Carolina (2-0) at the USF-Speedline Invitational. The Rebels also lost to No. 3 Fresno State (5-2) at the FSU Invitational. Ole Miss also dropped two games (6-5, 11-2) to No. 10 South Carolina during conference play.
All-Tournament Rebels
Shortstop Mandy Shklar and pitcher Amanda Fine earned all-tournament honors at the Speedline Invitational. Fine went 3-0 during the tournament picking up wins over South Florida, Iowa and Ball State. Shklar powered the Rebels' offense, hitting .444 against South Florida, Iowa and South Carolina.
Hamilton Out for the Season
Freshman left fielder Jessica Hamilton broke her right leg and will miss the rest of the season. Hamilton, a 5-foot-9 lefty from Nashville, Tenn., had started the first 12 games of the season for the Rebels before suffering the injury in the seventh inning against New Mexico State. Hamilton was hitting a team-high .429 with three doubles and seven runs scored.
Super Soph
In her first year with the Rebels, sophomore pitcher Jennifer Hughes is making her presence felt on the mound. In 106 innings of work Hughes has struck out a team-high 86 batters and has struck out a team-high eight batters in a game three times this season. A transfer from San Jacinto Junior College, Hughes has a 10-6 record with two saves in 21 appearances, has a team best 1.85 ERA and has allowed only 11 walks.
1999 Highlights
RF Heather Swinney
Started 44 games, 33 in RF, four games at 1B, four at C and one at DP. . .Scored four runs and doubled twice vs. Alabama. . .Doubled, drove in one run and scored two vs. LSU. . .Hit safely in career-best nine straight games . . .Tripled, doubled, drove in two runs and scored two runs vs. Mississippi State. . .Hit second home run of season vs. Oklahoma State. . .Knocked in career high 4 RBI vs. Iowa St.
CF Stephanie Vaglica
Started 45 games, all in CF. . .Tied for team lead with 15 stolen bases. . .Had RBI and stolen base vs. LSU . . .Tripled vs. Nicholls State. . .Went 3-for-5 with 2 RBI vs. Miami-Ohio. . .Drove in two runs and scored two vs. Wisconsin. . .Hit .545 during S.W. Missouri St. Classic with three runs scored. . .Went 3-for-4 against SFA with two stolen bases.
LF Jessica Hamilton
Started 12 games in LF. . .Suffered season-ending injury in seventh inning vs. New Mexico State. . .Has team high .429 BA. . .Finished season with three doubles. . .Reached base safely in 10 of 11 games for the Rebels. . .Went 1-for-2 with an RBI, one run scored and a double against SFA . . .Scored two runs and doubled against Belmont.
OF/DP Kara Chapman
Has started 31 games, 26 games in LF, four in RF and one at DP. . .Singled and scored vs. Alabama. . .Had an RBI and stolen base vs. LSU. . .Went 2-for-3 with a stolen base vs. Nicholls State. . .Doubled and scored a run in game one vs. UGA. . .Singled in game winning run in 11th inning vs. Mississippi State. . .Drove in two runs and scored a run in MSU series. . .Went 4-for-5 with 2 RBI and two runs scored in Belmont series.
OF/DP Paige Cochrane
Has started 24 games, seven in LF, eight in RF and nine at DP. . .Hit safely in three of four games vs. Alabama . . Singled and drove in a run vs. Nicholls State. . .Had 1 RBI, one run scored and stole a base in game two vs. UGA. . .Stole two bases and scored two runs vs. Toledo . . .Drove in two runs against SW Missouri State and Western Michigan. . .Went 1-for-2 with a double vs. Central Michigan.
SS Mandy Shklar
Started 45 games at SS. . .Second in SEC in fielding percentage at SS. . .Leads team with 12 multiple hit games . . .Has four three-hit games. . .Drove in a run and scored two vs. South Carolina. . .Went 6-for-13 with 3 RBI, HR, 2 2B in MSU series. . .Went 2-for-3 and scored a run vs. South Florida. . .Drove in two runs and stole two bases vs. Temple. . .Hit first career home run against Stephen F. Austin. . .Went 5-for-8 with a double and two runs scored in double-header against Belmont.
3B Kaci Coffee
Has started 45 games at 3B. . .Tied for team lead with 21 RBI. . .Leads team with eight multiple RBI games. . .Hit safely in career-best seven straight games. . .Hit safely in three of four games vs. Alabama and scored a run . . .Doubled and scored a run vs. Nicholls State. . .Had 4 RBI, 3 2B in MSU series. . .Set career highs with three runs scored and two stolen bases vs. Furman. . . Had career high three hits against Iowa St . . .Hit first career home run against Oklahoma.
2B Rachel Davenport
Has started 45 games at 2B. . .Third in SEC with .954 fielding percentage for 2B. . .Went 3-for-5 with two runs scored vs. Nicholls State. . .Doubled and scored a run vs. UGA. . .Scored three runs in MSU series. . .Has hit safely in nine of last 12 games. . .Has four multiple hit games . . .Went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI vs. Fresno State.
1B Korrie Kashuba
Started 42 games, 40 at 1B and two as DP. . .Second in SEC with .993 fielding percentage for 1B. . .Has four multiple RBI games. . .Singled and drove in two vs. Alabama . . .Had three hits and scored a run vs. LSU. . .Drove in two runs vs. MSU. . .Scored two runs and stole a base vs. Robert Morris. . .Went 1-for-3 with 2 RBI against S.W. Missouri St. . .Went 2-for-3 with an RBI and scored a run against SFA. . .Drove in only runs in 2-0 win over Texas Tech.
DP/1B Mackenzie Emel
Started 10 games, nine at DP and one at 1B. . .Doubled and drove in a run in game one vs. UGA. . .Went 2-for-3 vs. Western Michigan.
C Allison Willrath
Has started 40 games, 39 games at C and one at DP . . .Tied career high with five game hit streak. . .Singled and scored a run vs. Nicholls State. . .Doubled, drove in run and scored two runs vs. MSU. . .First career stolen base vs. Robert Morris. . .Went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored against NE Louisiana . . .Doubled home game-winning runs in game one against Belmont. . .Went 4-for-7 in Belmont series with 4 RBI and two doubles.
1999 Pitching Highlights
Amanda Fine
Has appeard in 20 games, starting 15. . .Has 9-7 record with a save. . .Second on team with 2.25 ERA. . .Second on team with 64 strikeouts. . .Has thrown 11 complete games and four shutouts. . .Threw five-hit shutout vs. Nicholls State. . .Has appeared in seven games as DP . . .Singled vs. Nicholls State.
Kari Abney
Has appeared in 11 games, starting eight. . .Has 2-4 record with 3.50 ERA. . .Third on team with 21 strikeouts . . .Struck out season high five batters vs. LSU. . .Pitched two complete games vs. LSU giving up combined 10 hits, three earned runs and seven strikeouts. . .Pitched 6.1 innings in picking up shutout win over New Mexico State . . .Pitched five innings, allowing three runs, in picking up 8-6 win over SFA.
Jennifer Hughes
Has appeared in 21 games, starting 13. . .Has 10-6 record with two saves. . .Leads team with 1.85 ERA and 86 SO . . .Has strikeouts to walk ratio of 7.8 to 1. . .Allowed four hits in complete game win vs. Alabama. . .Picked up Rebels only win vs. LSU giving up six hits and one run . . .Pitched seven innings giving up one run on seven hits in 4-1 win over Nicholls State. . .Had three wins in MSU series. . .Gave up one run in 16.1 innings vs. MSU .
Brittany Maxey
Has appeared in seven games, starting four. . .Has 1-2 record . . .Pitched complete game shutout vs. Iowa State . . .Has also appeard in 10 games as DP. . .Doubled vs. Alabama. . .Singled vs. LSU . . .Drove in two runs vs. New Mexico State. . .Went 1-for-2 with an RBI and run scored vs. Miami-Ohio.
Bobbi Wurth
Has appeared in six games, starting five. . .Has 1-3 record . . .Has walked four batters in 19.2 innings of work . . .Allowed two hits and one run in six and one-third innings vs. Western Michigan.
SEC Standings
East SEC ALL South Carolina 9-3 36-9Georgia 6-2 21-14Tennessee 4-8 22-16Florida 3-9 17-20Kentucky 2-6 17-25
WestLSU 9-1 28-6Mississippi State 8-4 24-14Alabama 8-4 25-15Ole Miss 4-8 22-19Auburn 4-8 20-21-1Arkansas 3-7 26-21
