The University of Mississippi Athletics
Softball Rebels Travel to No. 6 Alabama
4/12/2001 | Softball
April 12, 2001
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss softball team faces its highest-ranked opponent of the season in No. 6 Alabama this weekend in Tuscaloosa. Game times for Saturday's doubleheader are set at 4 and 6 p.m. (CT), while Sunday's finale will be at 1.
The Rebels (17-28, 4-11 SEC) are in the midst of an eight-game SEC road swing. Ole Miss opened the road trip last weekend at Florida, going 1-2. The Rebels were leading or tied with the Gators entering the sixth inning of all three games, but held on for only one. Rebel LHP Jennifer Hughes shut out UF, 2-0, in game one, but Ole Miss dropped games two and three, 3-4 and 2-4, on sixth-inning rallies by the Gators.
Amanda Lehotak continued her hot conference hitting last weekend in Gainesville. The sophomore shortstop has been the Rebels' top hitter in SEC action, batting .319 to go with two triples and four RBI. Last weekend, Lehotak led the team at the plate with a .500 average (5-for-10), a homer and two RBI.
Alabama (35-5, 14-4 SEC) has been among the nation's elite this season, but skids into the week. After opening 34-1, the Crimson Tide has dropped four of its last five, suffering a 3-0 series sweep at the hands of fifth-ranked LSU last weekend and splitting a doubleheader with Chattanooga on Wednesday.
Nonetheless, Alabama is 16-1 in Tuscaloosa this year and boasts the SEC's best offense with a .325 team average, 224 runs-scored and 30 home runs. Senior centerfielder Kelly Kretschman, a 2000 first team All-America, tops the Tide with a .446 average, 10 homers and 25 RBI.
