The University of Mississippi Athletics
Softball Opens Conference Play
6/21/1999 | Softball
March 19, 1999
Ole Miss (16-11 overall, 0-0 SEC)
The Rebels open conference play with two double-headers against Mississippi State (15-10, 0-0) on Friday, March 19 and Saturday, March 20. Game one begins at 5 p.m. on Fri., and noon on Sat.
Ole Miss looks to end MSU streak
The Mississippi State Bulldogs enter this weekendis series riding a four-game win streak over the Rebels. State also leads the overall series with a 5-3 mark. Ole Miss won three of four against MSU in its inaugural season in 1997.
Ole Miss in Conference Openers
The Rebels hope to improve on their record in SEC openers when they meet MSU this weekend. The Rebels lost both games of a double-header to Florida (8-0, 5-2) in 1998 and to South Carolina (6-0, 3-0) in 1997.
Rebels on the Airwaves
This weekend marks the first time Rebel softball will be broadcast on radio. WQLJ (93.7 FM) will carry the first game of both double-headers beginning at 4:45 p.m. on Friday and 11:45 a.m. on Saturday. Gary Darby will call the play-by-play for the Rebels.
Rebels vs. the Top 25
During their 16 game tournament road trip the Rebels went 2-2 against ranked opponents. Ole Miss defeated No. 11 South Florida (3-1) and No. 23 Iowa (1-0) and lost to No. 9 South Carolina (2-0) at the USF-Speedline Invitational. The Rebels also lost to defending national champion and thrid-ranked Fresno State (5-2) at the Florida State Invitational. Ole Miss is 2-3 overall against top 25 teams. The Rebels lost to No. 11 Oklahoma 13-3 in the first game of the season.
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 Rebelsi offense, hitting .444 against South Florida, Iowa and South Carolina.
The Streak
Ole Miss set a team high with a nine-game consecutive win streak. The streak started Feb. 27, with a 4-0 win over Iowa State and ended March 7, with a 2-0 loss to No. 9 South Carolina in the semifinals of the Speedline Invitational. During the streak Ole Miss outscored its opponents 32-12 and recorded three shutouts. The previous longest win streak for the Rebels was six games in 1998.
Rewriting the Record Books
Through 27 games this season the Rebels are on pace to shatter eight offensive team records. The Rebels are within six stolen bases of eclipsing the current record of 51 set in 1998. The 1999 Rebels have also hit four home runs which is just three off the team record of seven set in 1997. Ole Miss is also on pace to set records in hits, batting average, doubles, triples, runs batted in and runs scored.
Hamilton Out for the Season
Freshman left fielder Jessica Hamilton broke her left 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.
Dr. K
In her first year with the Rebels, sophomore pitcher Jennifer Hughes is making her presence felt on the mound. In 47.2 innings of work Hughes has struck out a team-high 50 batters and has struck out a team-high eight batters three times this season. A transfer from San Jacinto Junior College, Hughes has a 4-3 record with two saves in 11 appearances, has a team best 1.76 ERA and has allowed only six walks.
Timely Hitting
The Rebels have continued their clutch hitting this season, driving in 45 two-out RBI. Right fielder Heather Swinney leads the team with eight two-out RBI followed by 3B Kaci Coffee and SS Mandy Shklar, each with seven.
Carrying the Load
So far this season Amanda Fine has pitched in 75.1 of the 186.1 total innings by Rebel pitchers. The junior from Brentwood, Tenn., has appeared in 15 of the Rebels 27 games and has an 8-4 record with one save and a 2.01 ERA. Fine has also struck out 49 batters and recorded three shutouts.
Heating Up
In her last 16 games, 3B Kaci Coffee has hit .417 with five doubles, seven RBI and six runs scored. The junior from Collinsville, Okla., has also reached base safely in 16 of the last 19 games.
Cardiac Kids
Six of Ole Missi 16 wins this season have come in the Rebels final at bat. Ole Miss trailed going into their final at bat in four of the six games and were tied in the other two. Of the six comeback wins, five came with the Rebels scoring the winning run with two outs. Ole Miss is 2-1 in extra-innings games this season, 4-4 in one-run games and 6-2 in two-run games.
Second Look
Ole Miss hitters have taken advantage of their second look at opposing pitchers, outscoring their opponents 53-20 in middle innings. The Rebels have put up 22 runs in the fourth inning, 18 in the fifth and 13 in the sixth inning. Ole Miss has scored 93 runs on the season with 57 percent of those runs coming during the middle innings.
1999 Highlights
RF Heather Swinney
Started 20 games in RF, four games at 1B and two at C. . .Has hit safely in seven straight games . . .Hit second home run of season vs. Oklahoma State. . .Went 2-for-3 with 3 RBI and a triple vs. Furman. . .Leads team with 16 RBI . . .Knocked in career high 4 RBI vs. Iowa St . . .Set career high with eight-game hit streak . . .Hit first home run of the season against Oklahoma.
CF Stephanie Vaglica
Started 27 games in CF. . .Second on team with 12 stolen bases. . .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 13 games, eight games in LF, four in RF and one at DP. . .Went 1-for-2 and scored a run vs. Furman. . .Went 4-for-5 with 2 RBI and two runs scored in Belmont series.
OF/DP Paige Cochrane
Has started 14 games, seven in LF, three in RF and four at DP. . .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 27 games at SS. . .Leads team with 14 stolen bases. . .Second on team with five doubles . . .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. . .Also went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI and three runs scored against SFA. . .Went 5-for-8 with a double and two runs scored in double-header against Belmont.
3B Kaci Coffee
Has started 27 games at 3B. . .Second on team with 15 RBI. . .Has hit safely in career best four straight games. . .Had 2 RBI vs. Wisconsin. . .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 at 2B in every game for Rebels . . .Hitting .333 with runners on base. . .Has reached base safely in five of last six games . . .Went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI vs. Fresno State.
1B Korrie Kashuba
Started 22 games at 1B and two as DP . . .Third on team with 9 RBI. . .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 seven games, six at DP and one at 1B . . .Has reached base safely in six consecutive games. . .Went 2-for-3 vs. Western Michigan.
C Allison Willrath
Has started 25 games at C. . .Tied for third on team with 7 RBI. . .First career stolen base vs. Robert Morris. . .Drove in a run and scored a run vs. Miami-Ohio. . .Went 2-for-3 and scored a run against Iowa St . . .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 15 games, starting 10 . . .Has 8-4 record with a save. . .Second on team with 2.04 ERA. . .Second on team with 49 strikeouts. . .Has thrown nine complete games and three shutouts. . .Went 3-0 at Speedline Invitational with wins over No. 11 South Florida, No. 23 Iowa and Ball State. . .Has pitched in team-high 75.1 innings. . .Pitched complete game three-hitter against Texas Tech. . .Threw complete game one-hitter against Belmont.
Kari Ceriani
Started five games. . .Has 2-1 record with 3.00 ERA. . .Third on team with 10 strikeouts . . .Has walked only six batters in 25.2 innings of work. . .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. . .Tied career high with four strikeouts vs. Belmont.
Jennifer Hughes
Has 4-3 record with two saves. . .Leads team with 1.76 ERA. . .Leads team with 50 strikeouts. . .Has allowed six walks in 47.2 innings of work. . .Gave up two runs on three hits in win vs. Wisconsin. . .Pitched seven innings allowing one run on five hits and no walks in 4-1 win over S.W. Missouri St. . .Pitched six innings allowing three runs with one strikeout vs. NE Louisiana.
SEC Standings
East SEC ALL South Carolina 3-1 26-7Florida 1-3 13-9Tennessee 0-0 15-7 Georgia 0-0 13-10Kentucky 0-0 10-16
WestLSU 0-0 17-5Arkansas 0-0 21-12Mississippi State 0-0 15-10Ole Miss 0-0 16-11Alabama 0-0 13-11Auburn 0-0 12-11-1
