The University of Mississippi Athletics
Softball Hosts Tennessee and Kentucky
6/21/1999 | Softball
April 9, 1998
OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss fastpitch softball team will look to put an end to its current eight-game losing skid this weekend as the Rebels return home to Oxford to host SEC East Division rivals Tennessee and Kentucky Friday and Saturday.
Ole Miss (18-32, 2-14 SEC) welcomes Tennessee to Rebel Stadium Friday for a 3 p.m. doubleheader. The Rebels wrap up competition this weekend with a 1 p.m. doubleheader with Kentucky Saturday.
Head coach Joyce Maudie knows this is a critical weekend in the Rebels' chances to finish among the top eight teams in the Southeastern Conference and qualify for the league tournament, which will be held May 8-10 in Columbus, Ga.
"We are definitely looking forward to returning home this weekend, but we have our work cut out for us against Tennessee and Kentucky," Maudie said. "As a team, we have to come out ready to play this weekend and be more aggressive at the plate. It's going to take a good defensive effort on our part and we have to manufacture runs to be successful."
The Rebels are currently two games back of the eighth place spot, which is held by Arkansas. Tennessee holds the seventh place spot with a 6-10 league slate.
After finishing in second place in the SEC East a year ago, Tennessee has struggled this season. UT has a 21-23 overall record and now stands in fourth place in the East Division. The Lady Volunteers, who are coming a four-game split with South Carolina, are led by Kelli Fitzgerald (.341, 13 doubles). UT also has three other players who are batting .300 or above in Lisa Warren (.333, 24 runs, 7 doubles), April Phillips (.327, 11 runs) and Kenyail Norris (.320, four home runs, 24 RBI). Sarah Ayers has picked up the slack on the mound, going 15-13 with a 2.13 ERA.
Ole Miss and Tennessee met back on Feb. 20 at the Mardi Gras Classic in Monore, La., as Ayers threw a two-hitter en route to an 8-0 Tennessee victory.
Kentucky enters this weekend with a 15-26 overall and a 3-9 SEC record. The Wildcats went 1-3 with Georgia over the weekend, breaking an eight-game losing skid in the final contest of the four-game set. The Wildcats are led by freshman Leslie Kwiatkowski, who is batting a team-best .336 at the plate with 14 extra-base hits and 17 RBI. Redshirt freshman Tiffany Kruse is contributing with a .291 average and 10 extra-base hits while batting .350 in SEC contests. On the mound, Kentucky relies on the arm of sophomore Keary Camunas, who is 12-11 with a 2.55 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 167.1 innings pitched.
Ole Miss counters with sophomore pitcher Bobbi Wurth, who is among the nation's leaders in pitching saves. Wurth has a 3-4 record with a 3.64 ERA. But with three saves on the year, Wurth is tied for fourth place in the nation. Wurth's three saves also leads the SEC and is a Ole Miss record for a single season and a career.
This will be the last homestand for the Rebels until they return to Oxford, Miss., to host Arkansas in a four-game set April 28-29. The series with the Lady Razorbacks will be the final home games of the year for Ole Miss.
