The University of Mississippi Athletics
Softball Visits South Carolina This Weekend
4/21/2006 | Softball
April 21, 2006
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss softball team will continue an eight-game road swing with a three-game series this weekend in Columbia, S.C., to face off against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Game times are set for 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. EST on Saturday, followed by a Noon EST contest on Sunday.
The Rebels most recently won a 5-3, extra-innings contest over Mississippi Valley State in Itta Bena on Wednesday. Ole Miss scored twice in the top of the eighth inning and senior right-hander Dana Brill shut down the Devilettes in the bottom of the frame to secure the Rebels' second extra-innings victory over the Devilettes this season.
Sophomore second baseman Lauren Rowe had the first three-hit game of her career, going 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI, and junior left-handed pitcher Mary Jane Callahan, who started in the circle, had three hits for the first time this season, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored.
Despite a 3-17 league record (16-31 overall), Ole Miss still has a legitimate chance to make the program's first SEC Tournament appearance. The Rebels' remaining conference schedule consists of teams with a combined 21-57 mark in SEC play.
The combined record of those opponents the Rebels have already faced is 91-52, which includes SEC East leader Georgia and SEC West leader Alabama.
Freshman shortstop Lisa Conchos continues to lead the Rebel offense with a .328 batting average, 19 runs scored and 11 multiple-hit performances. On Saturday, she will be looking to extend her current hitting streak to a school-record tying 10 games.
Rowe has a team-high five home runs and 25 RBI. Both marks are approaching top-five status in the Rebels' all-time single season record books.
South Carolina is 24-25 overall on the year with a 4-16 mark in SEC play. The team has been carried by its pitching staff, which has a combined 2.11 ERA and 323 strikeouts in 322 innings. The offense has struggled to a .228 batting average through 49 games.
Christie Hamilton has been the go-to pitcher for the Gamecocks, having started 19 contests and tossed 15 complete games. She is 12-13 with a 2.01 ERA and 148 strikeouts in 136 IP. All four Gamecock pitchers have an ERA under 3.00.
Ashton Payne leads the team with a .271 batting average and 27 runs scored. McKenna Hughes is tops with six home runs and 26 RBI.
The Gamecocks lead the all-time series with the Rebels 16-5. Ole Miss won a 4-1 decision in game one of last year's series in Oxford, but fell 5-2 and 2-0 to drop the three-game tilt.
