The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebel Fastpitch Team Focus Now on Upcoming Season-Opening Tournament
6/21/1999 | Softball
Feb. 9, 1998
OXFORD, Miss -- With the start of the 1998 season less than a week away, the Ole Miss fastpitch softball team is gearing up for its first game of the year.
The Rebels, coming off an inaugural 22-41 campaign in 1997, kick off their second season of existence by traveling to Arlington, Texas, to compete in the UTA/Pepsi Intercollegiate Tournament Friday through Sunday.
The Rebels begin its three-game pool play against UT-Arlington Friday at 10 a.m., before facing Tulsa at 5 p.m. Ole Miss resumes pool action Saturday at 11:15 a.m., against Texas A&M, then it moves onto a double-elimination tournament.
After culminating four weeks of practice with a pair of scrimmages over the weekend, head coach Joyce Maudie feels her team is ready to get started.
"As a team, we are anxious to begin the season," Maudie said. "I am very happy with the hard work and positive attitude exerted by this team during the last several weeks. I think we have come a long way, but we still have a long to go."
The Rebels return nine starters from last year's squad that started out slow but recovered late in the season and eventually won nine-of-12 games during the stretch. Combined with the experience the returners gained, Ole Miss also welcomes eight newcomers that dramatically raise the talent and depth of the team.
"I am very pleased with the direction this team is going," Maudie said. "From a defensive standpoint, they are really coming together. We are really going to emphasize defense and play solid in that area. If we can do that and manufacture some runs, we will be in a good position."
A big part of that defense is three newcomers who will assume starting roles in the infield. Sophomore transfer Mandy Shklar, who played at Tulsa last year and earned Golden Hurricane Defensive Player of the Year honors, will take over at shortstop. She will be joined up the middle by freshman Rachel Davenport at second base, who earned the job after an impressive fall.
At the corners will be sophomore transfer Kaci Coffee, who started 43 games at Ohio University in 1997 and posted a .910 fielding percentage. The role returning starter in the infield, senior April Caraway, will solidify the infield at first base after recording a team second-best .968 fielding percentage.
"We have reached a point that to determine where we are, the only thing we can do is to step in and play against the best teams in the nation," Maudie said. "This weekend will be a good measuring stick for us."
