The University of Mississippi Athletics
This Week in Ole Miss Softball
4/16/2001 | Softball
April 16, 2001
UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
Arkansas series (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Georgia series (Oxford, Miss.)
Wednesday, Apr. 18
at Arkansas [DH], 6 & 8 p.m. (CT)
Thursday, Apr. 19
at Arkansas, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Apr. 21
vs. Georgia [DH], 1 & 3 p.m. (CT)
Sunday, Apr. 22
vs. Georgia, 1 p.m.
THIS WEEK'S AGENDA
Ole Miss (17-31, 4-14 SEC) closes out its eight-game road swing this week at Arkansas, before hosting Georgia this weekend in the final home series of the year. The Rebels have struggled through a 1-5 mark thus far on the road trip, with the lone win coming in the opener of the Florida series.
Arkansas (27-24, 9-12 SEC) lost its series at Tennessee last weekend, 1-2, but has won five of its last seven. The Lady Razorbacks are tied for second in the SEC in pitching with a 1.24 staff ERA. Heather Schlichtman and Rachel Talley both rank among the top eight pitchers in the conference in ERA and boast seven and four shutouts, respectively. Leading the `Backs at the plate is junior catcher Danica Howlett with a .291 average and 17 RBI.
After suffering through a nine-game losing skid, Georgia (25-24, 5-16 SEC) has rebounded for five wins in seven games, including a surprising two-game sweep of Florida last weekend. Reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week Nicole Urban has three straight complete-game wins vs. UF and Georgia Tech. Offensively, freshman centerfielder Nicole Barber ranks sixth in the league in batting at .374 and first in stolen bases with 42 in 44 attempts. The Bulldogs easily lead the SEC in stolen bases, swiping 108 in 122 tries.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Arkansas is 14-2 all-time vs. Ole Miss and 8-0 in Fayetteville. The Lady `Backs ended the Rebels' SEC Tournament hopes last year with a four-game sweep in Oxford to end the season. The finale lasted 11 innings to tie the UM record for longest game. Lindsay Price went the distance in the 7-3 UA win.
Ole Miss and Georgia have split their eight meetings, and the last two years, the visiting team has dominated. A year ago, the Rebels swept a doubleheader in Athens behind Holly Burris, who pitched both games and supplied the offense with four hits and four RBI in the twin bill. In 1999, the Bulldogs swept the doubleheader in Oxford. UGA took game two, 4-3, in 10 innings, despite a complete-game effort by Jennifer Hughes.
TIME CHANGE
Game times for the Saturday home doubleheader with Georgia have been changed from 5 & 7 p.m. to 1 & 3. The Sunday game remains at 1 p.m. The three-game set with the Bulldogs is the Rebels' final home series of the year. Ole Miss will hold ceremonies to honor its five senior players - Jamie Cummings, Rachel Davenport, Mackenzie Emel, Jennifer Hughes and Tina Sclafani -prior to Sunday's finale.
ALABAMA SERIES
Ole Miss held No. 6 Alabama scoreless in 14 of 18 innings, but could not match the Tide offense in suffering three shutout losses. It was only the second series sweep endured by the Rebels this season.
In the game one pitchers' duel, Jennifer Hughes limited Bama to five hits, but UA's Shelley Laird held the Rebels hitless until the seventh and finished with a one-hit shutout, 3-0. The second game saw Ole Miss outhit Alabama 6-4 through five innings but fail to capitalize on the baseknocks. The Tide picked up three runs in the second inning and three more in the sixth for the 6-0 win. In the finale, UA collected six of its seven hits in a seven-run third inning and made it stand in the 7-0 win.
POORE BASHES BAMA PITCHING
The Alabama pitching staff that shut down the Rebels' scoring was not able to quiet the bat of Jennifer Poore. The freshman hit .500 (6-for-12) for the three-game set, collecting six of Ole Miss' nine hits. She notched her third career three-hit performance in game two and broke up no-hitters in the other two games. Poore also caught a runner stealing from behind the plate and did not allow a stolen base.
A native of San Diego, Poore is making her claim to All-SEC honors at catcher in only her first collegiate season. She is currently leading all starting conference backstops in batting average at .349 and stolen bases with five. In doubles, she is one short of the high with eight, and in RBI, she ranks third among catchers with 22. Defensively, Poore has picked off eight runners - twice as many as any opposing starting catcher. Only teammate Phyllis Manley rivals her with six. Poore is second in runners caught stealing with 16, and only two starters have allowed fewer passed balls than her three.
