The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebel Softball Continues Road Trip Wednesday In Itta Bena
4/18/2006 | Softball
April 18, 2006
OXFORD, Miss. - Continuing an eight-game road swing, the Ole Miss softball team will travel south to Itta Bena, Miss., for a 5 p.m. game against Mississippi Valley State on Wednesday.
The game was originally scheduled to be a 6 p.m. contest in Oxford, but was moved to be played in Itta Bena when the March 29 game was relocated from Itta Bena to Oxford.
The Rebels defeated the Devilettes on that day by a 5-4 decision in extra innings. Senior Mandy Ott drove in freshman Lisa Conchos with an RBI single in the 10th inning that gave Ole Miss its third win in three tries all-time over the in-state foe.
Ole Miss most recently was swept by No. 6 Tennessee in Knoxville by scores of 4-0, 9-3 and 3-1. Conchos recorded a base hit in each game of the series, extending her team season-best hitting streak to eight games.
In fact, Conchos, who has led the Rebels in batting average the entire season, is just two games shy of the Rebels' all-time best hitting streak of 10 games, set by April Caraway in the inaugural 1997 season and tied by DeDe Justice a year ago.
The Phoenix, Ariz., product also boasts team highs with 19 runs scored, a .369 on-base average and 11 multiple-hit contests. She is one of eight players remaining in the Southeastern Conference to have struck out less than 10 times, as she has fanned just three times in the last 28 contests.
Sophomore second baseman Lauren Rowe has been the supplier of the Rebels' power this season, as she leads the club with five home runs, eight doubles and 23 RBI.
In the circle, junior left-hander Mary Jane Callahan and senior righty Dana Brill have logged the innings, with 150 1/3 and 123 1/3 innings pitched, respectively. Callahan has completed 19 of her 22 starts on the season and has 112 strikeouts, while Brill has 115 strikeouts and three shutouts.
The Devilettes (17-23, 12-3 SWAC) are led offensively by junior Nakelya Moragne, who owns a .418 batting average in 26 games played. Senior Balencia Young has played all 40 games and is hitting .356 with a team-high 26 runs, four triples and 16 stolen bases.
Senior Jalana Brown is tops on the Devilette club with a 3.68 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 107 2/3 innings pitched, with a 7-7 record.
The Rebels (15-31, 3-17 SEC) will continue their quest for the program's first SEC Tournament appearance when they travel to Columbia, S.C., for a three-game series this weekend with the South Carolina Gamecocks.
