The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Travel To Samford Wednesday
4/7/2015 | Softball
Dates: April 8, 2015
Opponent: Samford Bulldogs
Location: Birmingham, Ala.
Venue: Samford Softball Field
Capacity: 200
Dimensions: L-200, C-220, R-200
Surface: Natural Grass
Series: Ole Miss leads 8-3
   Last meeting: UM won 3-0 in 2013
TV: None
Webcast: www.SamfordSports.com
Live stats: OleMissSports.com
OLE MISS NOTABLES
· Ole Miss closes out a span of 7-of-8 contests on the road with Wednesday night's game at the Samford Bulldogs.
· Senior Allison Brown was named SEC Player of the Week after hitting .778 with four runs and 4 RBI at Arkansas.
· The Rebels improved to five wins in SEC play at Arkansas, passing the win total in SEC play from the 2014 season.
· The series sweep of Arkansas was the first road sweep in a three-game series for Ole Miss since 2005.
· The three-game sweep of an SEC team was the first for Ole Miss since a sweep of South Carolina in 2012.
· Ole Miss posted back-to-back series wins in SEC play for the first time since 2008 with the wins over MSU and Ark.
· The MSU wins marked the first series win over a nationally-ranked team since 2009 and MSU since the 2010 season.
· Alex Schneider leads the team with seven home runs while Madi Osias has six and 10 have home runs in 2015.
· The Rebels have 32 home runs this season, passing total of 30 a year ago only 38 games into the 2015 season.
· Elantra Cox is fourth in the SEC in steals this season, going 23-for-29 on the year in the leadoff spot for Ole Miss.
· Ole Miss has stolen more bases this season than it attempted in 2014, going 69-for-81 in the 2015 campaign.
· Ole Miss scored its most runs in an inning against SEC foes with an eight-run first inning in game three vs. MSU.
· The Rebels are eighth in the league in batting, hitting at a .309 clip and have stolen the third most bases.
· This weekend's series with No. 8 Georgia starts a stretch of 13 consecutive home games for the Rebels.
COX, SCHNEIDER, STROTHER SET TONE FOR REBEL OFFENSE
A trio of young players set the tone for the Rebel offense at the top of the order with freshman OF Elantra Cox setting the table in the leadoff spot and sophomore OF Miranda Strother driving in runs in the three-spot of the offensive lineup. Schneider rounds things out in the cleanup spot.
· Cox sets the table and puts pressure on the basepath for the Rebels, ranking among SEC leaders in batting
  average (.404) and ranking fourth in steals (23-of-29) to lead the Rebels. She has scored 27 runs - tied for
  most on the team with Schneider.
· Strother ranks 14th in the SEC in batting average, hitting at a .404 clip. She is tops on the team in RBI with 23
  and fourth in runs scored with 21.
· Schneider leads the team with seven home runs, has scored a team-leading 27 runs on the season along with
  Cox and has drawn a team-high 17 walks to tie with Allison Brown through 38 games this season.
MULTIPLE-HIT, MULTIPLE-RBI GAMES
Several Rebels have multiple-hit games this season, but the trio of Miranda Strother, Elantra Cox, Allison Brown and Bri Payne pace the squad with each turning in five or more multiple-hit performances this season. Cox and Stother lead the way with 13 multiple-hit games, while Brown has turned in eight games with multiple hits and Payne has five. All told, 16 different Rebels have tallied multiple-hit games on the season.
Those multiple-hit games have sometimes translated into multiple-RBI games, but there hasn't always been a correlation. Strother leads the squad in multiple-RBI games with eight, while junior OF/DP Bri Payne and senior 3B Allison Brown are behind her with five games of multiple-RBI. In all, 12 Rebels have tallied multiple-RBI games on the season.
REBELS PLAY ROLE OF ROAD WARRIORS
Ole Miss knew when the season started it would be with an extended stretch of games on the road, but that all changed when weather forced a change in the schedule. Originally slated for an 11-game road swing to open the season before coming home things all changed when weather forced cancelleation of the Red and Blue Classic. Ole Miss opened the season on a 17-game road trip and played 20 of its first 21 games on the road before coming home for a 10-game home stand. Ole Miss now closes out a stretch of 7-of-8 road contests at Samford.
REBELS COMPETE IN STACKED SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
The Southeastern Conference grabbed its second national championship in three seasons last year when the Florida Gators defeated conference mate Alabama for the championship. It came just two years after the Crimson Tide claimed the 2012 national championship. SEC member Tennessee played in the championship series in the 2013 season and Florida also played in the 2011 championship series giving the league four consecutive national championship series appearances along with the two national titles.
That competitive toughness hasn't let up in the 2015 season with the Southeastern Confernece featuring 9-of-13 teams ranked nationally in the top 25 and an 11th and 12th team receiving votes in the polls. The Rebels play seven series in league play with six coming against teams ranked in the national polls or receiving votes. A trip to Arkansas is the only weekend on the schedule not coming against competition attracting attention on a national level.
REBELS CLOSING IN ON 2014 OFFENSIVE MARKS
The Rebels are 38 games into the first season of competition under head coach Mike Smith and are already closing in on or passing offensive production from a year ago. The marked improvement has already translated into success for the Rebels.
· Through 38 games, the Rebels have stolen 69 bases successfully after only attempting 60 steals in 2014.
· Ole Miss has hit 32 home runs to date, three shy of a total of 30 home runs hit last season.
· With a 22-16 record, the Rebels have matched last season's win total with 18 games remaining on the schedule.
 Ole Miss has 17 non-conference and five SEC wins in 2015 after posting 19 non-conference victories a year ago
 and only three SEC wins.
