The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Closes SEC Softball Play at No. 5 LSU
4/27/2001 | Softball
April 27, 2001
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OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss softball team wraps up Southeastern Conference action this weekend in Baton Rouge against No. 5 LSU. Saturday's doubleheader starts at 11 a.m.(CT), and Sunday's finale is at noon.
The Rebels (18-36, 5-19 SEC) roll in off a 50 win over Georgia in the 2001 home finale, to run their record to 61 this season on Sundays at home. However, UGA took two out of three in the series to eliminate Ole Miss from SEC Tournament contention.
Senior LHP Jennifer Hughes (10-12) tossed Sunday's shutout of the Bulldogs, limiting UGA to four hits with eight strikeouts in her final career start at Ole Miss Softball Complex. 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.
Kristi DiMarco and Holly Burris swung hot bats for the Rebels in the Georgia series. DiMarco, a junior centerfielder from Palmdale, Calif., hit 4-for-8 to lead the Rebels in the three-game set, while Burris, a sophomore DP/LHP from Germantown, Tenn., went 4-for-9 with a homer and three RBI.
Sitting atop the SEC, LSU (43-8, 21-3 SEC) has lost only once in its last 13 games, with sweeps over Mississippi State, fifthranked 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.
Ole Miss is 2-14 alltime against LSU. The Rebels' last win came two years ago in game one of a fourgame set in Baton Rouge. In what could be a rematch in this year's series, Hughes defeated 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 completegame 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.
All three games of this weekend's series 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, www.LSUsports.net.
