OXFORD, Miss. The Ole Miss softball team (13-18, 4-4 SEC) will look to improve on its best Southeastern Conference start in school history when the Rebels travel to Kentucky this weekend for a three-game series against the Wildcats (15-10, 2-6 SEC).
Ole Miss and Kentucky will meet for the 29th time in the all-time series on Saturday, with a doubleheader slated to begin at 1 p.m. ET. First pitch on Sunday is also scheduled for 1 p.m. The Rebels have a 22-6 advantage in the all-time series, including a 3-0 sweep last year in Oxford.
“Kentucky has shown this year that they are an improved team this year,” said Ole Miss head coach Missy Dickerson. “We also feel that we are improved. We will have to bring our “A” game to win, as it is with any conference road games. With our wins against No. 1 Tennessee and No. 9 LSU, we know that we can compete with anybody and other people are starting to see that. We have a chance to put ourselves in a good position if we can play tough and take care of business this weekend.”
The Rebels sit in third place in the SEC West and fifth overall with their 4-4 league record. That mark is tied with the 2000 squad for the best in program history through eight conference games.
Ole Miss has been led all season with a powerful offensive attack, including 21 home runs and 34 doubles. The Rebels notched just 10 round-trippers in 60 games a year ago. Freshman third baseman Lauren Grill leads the club with nine homers, which is just two shy of the Ole Miss freshman record. Sophomore second baseman Lisa Conchos and junior first baseman Lauren Rowe have added four long balls apiece.
A stout pitching rotation has guided the Rebels through the first part of conference play. Ole Miss ranks second in the SEC with a 0.98 ERA in league games, led by senior left-hander Mary Jane Callahan’s 0.54 mark. The reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week is 3-1 in league play with 19 strikeouts in 26.0 innings.
Kentucky could aptly be referred to as the “Bat Cats” this year, as the Wildcats feature one of the SEC’s best lineups. The team ranks in the SEC’s top two in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, doubles, triples and home runs. A majority of their games have been high-scoring on both sides, though, due to the team’s 4.15 ERA, which ranks last in the league.
The Wildcats own a 2-6 league record after taking one game from Auburn in a three-game series and dropping a doubleheader to Mississippi State before winning one-of-three against Georgia.
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