The University of Mississippi Athletics
Softball Set for Wednesday Doubleheader at Southern Miss
2/22/2016 | Softball
Ole Miss Game Notes - Southern Miss
Games 11-12
Dates: Feb. 24, 2016
First Pitch: 4 p.m./6 p.m.
Opponent: Southern Miss Golden Eagles
Location: Hattiesburg, Miss.
Venue: Southern Miss Softball Complex
Capacity: 1,000
Dimensions: L-200, C-220, R-200
Surface: Natural Grass
Series: Ole Miss leads, 19-10
Webcast: SouthernMiss.com
Live stats: Twitter Updates: @OleMissSoftball
Leading Off
- Ole Miss heads into Wednesday's doubleheader off to its best start in school history, going 8-2 thus far.
- The Rebels have gone 4-1 in each of the first two tournaments of 2016 leading to the program record.
- After losing the Troy Classic opener by a run to McNeese State, the Rebels made a strong recovery winning the final four contests of the tournament.
- The 8-2 start to the season tops the 7-3 records through 10 games set back in the 1999 and 2002 seasons.
- Two true freshman currently lead all Ole Miss hitters in shortstop Hailey Lunderman and utility player Ashton Lampton.
- Lunderman leads the squad with a .500 average and 17 hits; she also has a seven-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in 10-straight contests. Lampton has emerged into the team's No. 2 hitter after a big weekend in Troy, and is hitting .429 on the year in just three starts, and is tied for the team lead in home runs with two, and also tied for the most RBI on the team with nine.
- As a pitching staff the Rebels have a 2.33 team ERA and an opposing batting average of just .178.
- Junior college transfer Alyssa Clayton leads the staff with a 3-0 record and 2.02 ERA in five starts, two of which were three-hit, complete game shutouts.
- Sophomore transfer pitcher Elisha Jahnke made the first start of her Division I career in Troy, giving up just two runs off four hits in the win, also the first of her D-I career.
- Ole Miss heads into Wednesday's doubleheader versus Southern Miss having won five straight against the Golden Eagles. The Rebels lead the overall series, 19-10, entering the contests.
- Through just 10 games in 2016, all 11 newcomers entering the season have made their Ole Miss debuts.
- Wednesday's games mark the end of 12-straight on the road for the Rebels.
- Ole Miss returns home for three-straight weekends beginning this weekend with the Ole Miss Classic, followed by the Red & Blue Classic (March 4-6), and the SEC opener versus Missouri (March 11-13).
- Following Wednesday's road games, Ole Miss returns home for 16-straight at home, playing nearly half of the 29-game home slate within a three week period.
Scouting Report
Southern Miss enters the midweek doubleheader 6-5 on the year with two home wins. The Golden Eagles competed in the Mardi Gras Invitational last weekend in Mobile, going 2-2 with wins over Samford (4-3) and SIU-Edwardsville (3-2). Southern Miss dropped a 6-0 contest to Mississippi State, and also fell to South Alabama, 10-2, in eight innings.
The Golden Eagles carry a .268 team batting average into the doubleheader, led by a .480 clip from Rachel Johnson. She's the team's leading hitter with 12 hits, followed by 11 hits each from Katie Cleary and Morgan McKeever. Cleary leads the club with 13 RBI, while Tori Dew is second with eight. As a unit the Golden Eagles haven't been too aggressive on the base paths, only 4-for-5 on the year. The squad has committed 11 errors through 11 games to average a fielding percentage of .964 entering Wednesday's games.
Samantha Robles has anchored the Southern Miss pitching staff, having thrown in 43 of the 71.2 total innings on the year. She's 3-2 with a 3.09 ERA in six starts and four complete games. Robles has allowed 19 earned runs and struck out 25 hitters with a .281 batting average against. Danielle Block has thrown 16.2 innings of work and has a 5.46 ERA with a 1-1 record in six appearances. As a unit the pitching staff has a team ERA of 4.30 with a .326 opposing batting average.
Ole Miss enters the series having won five in a row and leads the overall series 19-10. The Rebels claimed a doubleheader sweep over the Golden Eagles in Oxford last spring, 7-0 and 3-1. Ole Miss also swept the last doubleheader in Hattiesburg, 7-4 and 4-3 (8 inn.). Overall, the Rebels are 7-4 against the Golden Eagles in games played in Hattiesburg entering Wednesday's doubleheader.
Rebels Off To Best 10-Game Start In School History
Ole Miss has gone 4-1 in each of its two tournaments to open the season (Paradise Classic/Troy Classic), and is 8-2 through 10 games, the best start in program history. The Rebels' best 10-game start prior to 2016 was a 7-3 mark set in 1999 and again in 2002.
Ole Miss returns home for three-straight weekends at the Ole Miss Softball Complex looking to build on the 8-2 mark entering home tournament play.
Clayton On Cruise Control In First D-I Season
Junior college transfer Alyssa Clayton has been everything the Rebels needed and more through the first two weekends of play. In five appearances (all starts), the Section, Alabama native is an undefeated 3-0 on the young season with a 2.02 ERA in 27.2 innings. She's allowed just 21 hits, eight runs and struck out 15 hitters.
She's twice went the distance with just three hits allowed; first against St. Mary's (2/12) in her Ole Miss debut, before going the distance in the Rebels' run-rule victory over Eastern Illinois (2/21). She also didn't allow a single run in both of those outings and allowed a combined three runs in two of the other starts.
For all Ole Miss Softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball, on Facebook at Ole Miss Softball and on Instagram at Instagram.com/olemisssoftball. Fans can also follow head coach Mike Smith on Twitter at @msmithsb16. Additionally fans can get a behind the scenes look at Ole Miss Athletics on Snapchat under the handle, @WeAreOleMiss.
