The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Look To Continue Win Streak Against Evansville
2/25/2005 | Softball
Feb. 25, 2005
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss (11-4) looks to continue its winning ways and extend a five-game winning streak this weekend as the Rebels continue to play at home in a three-game series against Evansville (5-6) this weekend.
Ole Miss and Evansville will play a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday and conclude the series with a single game at noon on Sunday. All games will be played at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
"This is a great opportunity for us to play a tough and scrappy team in Evansville," said Ole Miss head coach Candi Letts. "They are a good team and they will fight hard for a win. We will have to come out focused and step up to the plate like we did last weekend if we want to be successful against them."
Ole Miss enters the weekend contests with a five-game winning streak and has tied the second best start ever for a Rebel softball team. The Rebels hope to continue that streak and can match the highest win total to open a season with three wins this weekend.
The pitching staff has been a highlight for the Ole Miss squad to date, with Tara Willitt (4-0) leading the way with an 0.89 ERA as she has worked 23.2 innings, striking out 14 batters and walking one. She has also allowed only one earned run in that time.
DeDe Justice continues to lead the Rebels at the plate with a .381 average, three home runs and 11 RBI. The Rebels bats came alive over the weekend behind Justice as Chloe Kloezeman and Brooke Turner hit their first home runs of the season, while Lauren Rowe hit her second against Texas A&M.
Ashley Warner leads the Purple Aces at the plate with a .424 batting average for the season. She has knocked home four RBI on the season and scored seven runs. Abby Liden has led the Aces in home runs with two on the season, while three other batters have notched round trippers this season. Juliet Nickelson is the bat the Purple Aces turn to for runs, as she has driven in nine RBI on the year to lead the team.
Danny Murphy leads Evansville in the pitching circle with a 0.22 ERA and a 3-2 record for the Purple Aces. Murphy has pitched 31.1 innings and struck out 11 batters while walking only four in that time. She has allowed only one earned run and 17 hits in that time. Murphy has also pitched two shutouts and three complete games.
Ole Miss and Evansville have faced off eight times with the Purple Aces holding a 6-2 advantage in the series. The only two Rebel wins are far apart, with Ole Miss winning the third ever meeting on February 20, 2000 at the Ole Miss Invitational. The most recent win came on February 17, 2002 at the Rebel/Easton Invitational.
All eight games have been played in Oxford.
