The University of Mississippi Athletics
This Week In Ole Miss Softball
4/25/2001 | Softball
April 25, 2001
UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
LSU series (Baton Rouge, La.)
Saturday, Apr. 28
at LSU [DH], 11 a.m. & 1 p.m. (CT)
Sunday, Apr. 29
at LSU, Noon
THIS WEEK'S AGENDA
Ole Miss (18-36, 5-19 SEC) closes out Southeastern Conference play this weekend in Baton Rouge, facing No. 5 LSU. The Rebels roll in off a 5-0 win over Georgia in the 2001 home finale, to run their record to 6-1 this season on Sundays at home. However, UGA took two out of three in the series to eliminate Ole Miss from SEC Tournament contention.
Sitting atop the SEC, LSU (43-8, 21-3 SEC) has lost only once in its last 13 games, with sweeps over Mississippi State, fifth-ranked Alabama and Kentucky. The Tiger pitching staff ranks first in the conference and sixth in the nation with a 0.81 team ERA, 27 shutouts and an opponents' batting average of .132. Junior righthander Britni Sneed is one of college softball's best arms with a 26-5 mark, a 0.74 ERA and 272 strikeouts. Offensively, LSU has seven starters hitting over .300 led by senior shortstop Stephanie Hasting, who is batting .372 with 11 doubles and 38 RBI.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Ole Miss is 2-14 all-time against LSU. The Rebels' last win came two years ago in game one of a four-game set in Baton Rouge. In what could be a rematch in this year's series, Jennifer Hughes defeated Britni Sneed in a 2-1 pitcher's duel. Ole Miss used three hits and a Tiger error to plate a pair of unearned runs off Sneed in the second inning. Hughes limited LSU to one run on six hits in the complete-game victory.
The Tigers won all four meetings last year in Oxford. Lindsay Price went 0-2 despite only three earned runs allowed in two complete games.
GEORGIA SERIES
In her final home start, Jennifer Hughes tossed a four-hit shutout of Georgia, 5-0, Sunday on the Rebels' Senior Day. The win gave Ole Miss a salvage of its final home series of the 2001 season.
Ole Miss exploded in the first inning with its first five batters all scoring before UGA starter Nicole Urban could record an out. Holly Burris opened the barrage with a two-run single, and Kristi DiMarco, who hit 4-for-8 to lead the Rebels in the three-game set, followed with an RBI-double. Jessica Hamilton drove home two more with her single to right field.
An Ole Miss seventh-inning rally fell short in game two. The game remained knotted at 1-1 until the top of the seventh, when Georgia plated two runs off an Alyssa Mauro RBI-triple and a Julie Raiskmus run scoring-single. In the bottom of the seventh, Burris ripped her second home run of the season to cut the lead to one but the Rebels' comeback bid would fall short, 3-2.
In game one, Burris pitched six strong innings, scattering nine hits and two runs. However, UGA hurler Nicole Urban matched her in a one-hit shutout, 2-0
HUGHES FINISHES STRONG
Jennifer Hughes showed her Rebel pride on Senior Day. The LHP from Missouri City, Texas, tossed a complete-game shutout of Georgia in her final career start at Ole Miss Softball Complex, limiting the Bulldogs to four hits with eight strikeouts. It marked her seventh shutout of the season and the ninth of her career. The victory also lowered her career ERA to 1.91, which is easily the lowest in school history.
In her third season at Ole Miss after transferring from San Jacinto Junior College, Hughes leads the Rebels in nearly every statistical category and achieving career highs in ERA, complete games, innings-pitched and strikeouts. Her 2001 earned run average of 1.62 is in line to set a new single-season school record, and she has already established all-time UM highs this season for consecutive winning decisions with six in a row and strikeouts in a game with 14 vs. Creighton.
WHATLEY TO JOIN REBELS
Ole Miss signed RHP Lindsey Whatley to a national letter of intent Tuesday, as announced by Rebel head coach Candi Letts. A native of Huntsville, Ala., Whatley boasts a career ERA of 1.14 with a 82-34 record and 893 strikeouts at Huntsville High School. She is a three-time Alabama All-State Honorable Mention selection and played on the 2000 Gold Elite ASA 18-and-Under Team that placed ninth nationally. Whatley also pitched for summer teams the Huntsville Sharks and the Huntsville Storm. She helped the Storm reach the 16-and-Under World Series and finish 12th out of 240 teams. She pitched five games on the final day of the Series.
Whatley joins Nicole Alger, a pitcher and utility player from Tulsa, Okla., Megan Kozar, an infielder/outfielder from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and Brooke Turner, an outfielder from Southaven, Miss., in the Rebels' 2001 signing class.
REBELS IN THE MEDIA
Ole Miss' three-game series with LSU this weekend will be broadcast live on the LSU Sports Network. The games will be aired on Tiger affiliates across the state of Louisiana as well as on the school's web site, LSUsports.net.
In addition, Jennifer Poore was the subject of a recent article in her hometown newspaper, The San Diego Union-Tribune. The write-up profiled the freshman's journey across the country and her outstanding rookie season with the Rebels. The article is also posted on the Tribune's web site at www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/fri/sports/news_1s20areacol.html.
Furthermore, the upcoming edition of the Ole Miss Spirit will include a feature story on Jamie Cummings, and her MVP senior season.
