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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Softball Looks to Continue Hot Start in Florida
2/7/2002 | Softball
Feb. 7, 2002
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss softball team will be in the hunt for its second straight tournament title this weekend at the Central Florida/Triple Crown Sports Tournament at Treaty Park in St. Augustine, Fla.
The Rebels (2-0) open with first-year program and tourney host Central Florida (2-2), Friday at 2 p.m. ET, followed by Marshall at 7 p.m. in the Thundering Herd's season-opener. On Saturday, Ole Miss matches up with Purdue, who returns 13 letterwinners from last year's 34-24-1 squad, at 11:30 a.m., and with Florida A&M, who is off to a 2-0 start, at 2 p.m.
The tournament's championship and consolation games will be held on Sunday. Other teams participating in the event include Bethune-Cookman, Stetson and SEC-rivals Georgia and Tennessee.
Ole Miss opened its 2002 season last weekend with a first place finish at the Diamond Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M., going 2-0 against Indiana and New Mexico. The Rebels knocked out the Hoosiers, 9-1, on Sunday to mark the first 2-0 start in school history.
On Friday, Ole Miss officially began the new season with a 10-9 comeback victory over tournament-host UNM. The Rebels rallied from six runs down, the biggest comeback in the program's history, to get by the Lobos in 11 innings, which also tied the longest game in UM history.
The Rebels hit .371 as a team for the weekend, led by DeDe Justice. The freshman catcher from Vero Beach, Fla., batted 4-for-6 with two home runs and four RBI. Justice was one of Ole Miss' six position newcomers that all started both games.
Ole Miss makes its home debut at the Rebel/Easton Invitational, Feb. 16-17 with Evansville, Tennessee-Martin and Nicholls State joining UM at Ole Miss Softball Complex.
