![#21 [12] South Carolina](https://images.sidearmdev.com/crop?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Folemisssports.com%2Fimages%2Flogos%2Fsouth_carolina.png&width=48&height=48&type=webp)
.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
Softball To Host Mississippi Valley State On Wednesday
3/27/2006 | Softball
March 27, 2006
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss softball team (12-22, 1-8 SEC) will host in-state foe Mississippi Valley State, of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, in a 6 p.m. contest on Wednesday at the Ole Miss Softball Complex, a game which was originally scheduled to be played in Itta Bena.
The two teams flip-flopped the 2006 home and away games, so the April 19 matchup will now be held in Itta Bena instead of Oxford.
The Rebels are coming off a mid-week series against SEC rival Arkansas, in which Ole Miss won one of three. After taking the first game 2-1 on Tuesday on the strong pitching of junior Cathie Hacker and senior Dana Brill, the Rebels surrendered a sixth-inning lead in the nightcap to lose a 4-3 heartbreaker. Arkansas finished the series victory by running away with a 9-0 win on Wednesday.
This weekend, The Rebels were off for the first and only weekend of the 2006 campaign.
Overall, Ole Miss is hitting .239 as a team. Freshman shortstop Lisa Conchos maintains her team lead in batting average, which she has had since the first game of the season, hitting at a .340 clip heading into the matchup with the Devilettes. She also leads the club with 15 runs scored and nine multiple-hit games.
Junior outfielder Brittany Warner is hitting at a .291 clip, while sophomore Lauren Rowe is right behind her with a .287 average, while also providing the Rebels' power with a team-leading four home runs and 19 RBI.
Brill tops the team with a 2.13 ERA and six wins. She has 93 strikeouts in 92 innings pitched, including 47 K's in her last 36 1/3 innings in the circle. In the 2-1 win over Arkansas on Tuesday, the Houston, Texas, native recorded her 24th career victory, which ties her with Lindsay Price (2000-03) for fourth place on the all-time Rebel chart.
Brill, junior Mary Jane Callahan and Hacker have a combined 2.60 ERA as a staff, with 191 strikeouts in 218 1/3 innings. They are holding opponents to a .239 batting average on the season.
The Devilettes of Mississippi Valley State are 9-21 overall, but boast a 6-1 record in the SWAC. Playing a very competitive schedule, they have suffered defeats to nationally-ranked Alabama, LSU, Washington, California and Louisiana-Lafayette this season.
Mississippi Valley State is batting .233 as a team. Leading the team in hitting is junior Nakelya Moragne, who is batting .364. Senior Tamara Phillips has a team-high 14 RBI.
The pitching staff has a 6.07 ERA as a team. Sophomore Traci Roper is the leader in the circle with a 4.00 ERA in 16 appearances and 11 starts. She has nine complete games, including one shutout.
Ole Miss is 2-0 all-time against Mississippi Valley State, with both wins coming in the 1997 season. The Rebels defeated the Devilettes in Oxford, 12-0 and 22-1. The Rebels have amassed a 9-1 all-time record against SWAC teams, including a 2-0 mark so far this year with 12-1 and 8-0 wins over Grambling State.
