The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Softball Takes On Auburn In Key SEC Series
4/19/2000 | Softball
April 19, 2000
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss softball team will travel to Auburn to battle the Tigers in two pivotal Southeastern Conference double-headers.
The Rebels (19-34, 6-14 SEC) hold a half-game lead over the Tigers (29-24, 5-14) for the eighth and final spot for the SEC Tournament.
"Obviously this is a big series for both teams. Both teams will be playing with a lot of intensity and the team that capitalizes on the other's mistakes will have the upper hand," Ole Miss head coach Candi Letts said.
Ole Miss is coming off a two-game split with the Tennessee Lady Vols, who also trail the Rebels by a half-game for the eighth tournament spot.
The Rebels are 4-8 all-time against Auburn, but hold a 3-1 edge over the Tigers in Auburn.
The Tigers swept all four games from the Rebels last season in Oxford. Ole Miss took leads into the sixth inning in two of the four games, but were unable to hold the leads as the Tigers rallied for wins in both games.
Offensively, senior shortstop Mandy Shklar has had the hot bat for the Rebels. Shklar went 4-for-5 with two stolen bases and two runs scored in a double-header against Kentucky on Friday.
Shklar has hit safely in 22 of the last 30 games and has a .303 batting average during that span.
In addition to the SEC Tournament implications, head coach Candi Letts will be looking for her 200th career win this weekend. Letts picked up her 198th and 199th with victories over Kentucky and Tennessee over the weekend.
"It would be great to get that win this weekend. Of course, just getting one win would not make me happy. I'd like to get a few more to go along with it," Letts said.
Letts has a 199-178-1 career record in seven years as a head coach and has a 44-70 mark in two years at Ole Miss.
Game one of the double-header on Friday is set for a 1 p.m. start, with game two slated for a 3 p.m. start. Saturday's twin bill is also set for a 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. start time.