Softball Adds Home Tournament for this Weekend

Feb. 26, 2003

OXFORD, Miss. - Winter weather continues to disrupt the Ole Miss softball season, as this weekend's Holiday Inn-Select Tulsa Festival has been cancelled due to snow amounts of up to 12 inches in the Tulsa, Okla., area. With the schedule change, the Rebels have quickly organized a home tournament - the Ole Miss Snowfall Classic - for this weekend in Oxford.

Games are set for Friday, beginning at 3 p.m. CST, and all day Saturday and Sunday, starting at 9 a.m. each day, at Ole Miss Softball Complex. Joining the Rebels are Central Connecticut, Drake, Evansville, Northern Illinois and UT-Martin.

The Rebels open the Classic Friday at 3 p.m. against Central Connecticut. On Saturday, Ole Miss matches up with Northern Illinois at 1 p.m. and Drake at 5. The Rebels wrap up the event with Evansville, Sunday at 3:45 p.m.

"Everyone in the country is trying to find a place to play," said UM head coach Candi Letts. "Everyone is really excited about getting back on the field, and we think the weather should cooperate this weekend.

"We had a great week of practice this last week, and we feel ready and really looking forward to some real games."

Ole Miss (3-5) will be facing competition for the first time since Feb. 16, when it dropped a pair of home games to Nicholls State and Jacksonville State as part of the Rebel/Easton Invitational. The Rebels will be hoping for better weather this weekend than they received for that home tournament, when all but six games of the original 17-game docket were rained out.

Central Connecticut will be opening its 2003 season Friday as well as making its first meeting against Ole Miss. Drake (8-3) and Northern Illinois (4-2) will also be first-time opponents for the Rebels. Evansville (3-1) holds a 5-2 series edge over Ole Miss, and the two clubs split a pair of games a year ago.

The Rebels were already scheduled to face both CCSU and Drake this weekend in Tulsa, while Evansville was prepared to host its own tournament, with UTM among the participants.

2003 OLE MISS SNOWFALL CLASSIC

Friday, Feb. 28
3 p.m., Ole Miss vs. Central Connecticut
6 p.m., Drake vs. UT-Martin

Saturday, Mar. 1
9 a.m., Drake vs. Northern Illinois
11 a.m., Evansville vs. Central Connecticut
1 p.m., Ole Miss vs. Northern Illinois
3 p.m., Central Connecticut vs. UT-Martin
5 p.m., Ole Miss vs. Drake
7 p.m., Evansville vs. UT-Martin

Sunday, Mar. 2
9 a.m., Central Connecticut vs. Drake
11:15 a.m., Northern Illinois vs. Evansville
1:30 p.m., Northern Illinois vs. UT-Martin
3:45 p.m., Ole Miss vs. Evansville

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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