Ole Miss Continues Homestand with Red & Blue Classic

March 2, 2016

Ole Miss Game Notes - Red & Blue Classic | Tournament Central

Games 18-22
Dates: March 4-6, 2016
First Pitch: Fri: 4 p.m., 6:30 p.m., Sat: 4 p.m., 6:30 p.m., Sun: 12:30 p.m.
Opponents: Penn State, UMASS, Belmont
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Venue: Ole Miss Softball Complex
Capacity: 1,000
TV: SEC Network+
Will Kollmeyer, play-by-play
Brittany McKinney, analyst
Graham Doty, analyst (Sunday)
Live stats: OleMissSports.com
Twitter Updates: @OleMissSoftball

PROMOTIONS
- Firefighter Friday (Friday)
- Alex Schneider Poster Giveaway (Friday)
- Kylan Becker Poster Giveaway (Saturday)
- Team Poster Giveaway/Postgame Autographs (Sunday)

LEADING OFF

Ole Miss continues its 16-game home stand this weekend with play in the Red & Blue Classic.
The Rebels head into the weekend riding a six-game win streak and will face two schools in Penn State and UMASS for the first time in program history. Ole Miss and Belmont have squared off 10 times entering the weekend.
Pitching has been the name of the game early on for the Rebels, as the team's 1.73 ERA ranks 18th in the NCAA and seventh in the SEC. Senior Madi Osias is off to a 7-1 start in the circle with a 2.05 ERA, ranking 11th nationally in wins, while Elisha Jahnke ranks 18th in ERA (0.78) and 15th in hits allowed/seven innings (3.50).
Ole Miss swept its home-opening tournament last weekend winning the five contests by a combined score of 27-3, allowing just three runs and 13 hits over the five games.
The 14-3 start for the Rebels is tied for the best in school history, matching the 1999 team's mark to this point.
Four Rebels take substantial streaks into the weekend in Hailey Lunderman and Kylan Becker's five-game hit streak, while Elantra Cox has a six-game streak. Dakota Matiko has reached base in seven-straight contests.
The Rebels are 5-0 when scoring a run in the first inning, and 11-0 when scoring first.
The middle innings have been key for the Rebel offense, as the team has outscored opponents 36-6 in the fifth and sixth innings combined, including a 26-4 advantage in the fifth frame thus far.

SCOUTING REPORT
Penn State comes into Oxford having never faced the Rebels, and is 7-7 on the year after three-straight weeks of tournament play in Florida. The Nittany Lions went 1-4 in their first tournament in Boca Raton, before taking 4-of-5 games in Jacksonville over Georgetown, Radford, Pittsburgh and Jacksonville. Last weekend Penn State split four games at the Citrus Classic with wins over Yale and Fordham. Shelby Miller leads the way for the Nittany Lion offense with a .490 average and 14 RBI on the year. She and Alyssa VanDerveer both have two home runs, and as a team PSU is hitting .317 on the year. Marlaina Laubach has led the way for the pitching staff with a 2-2 record in five starts, while Christy Von Pusch is 2-1 with a 0.86 ERA in four starts. As a team the Nittany Lions have a 2.77 ERA and .282 batting average against.

After losing 11 straight to open 2016, Belmont has won two-straight games over ULM and Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Jordan Spicer leads the club with a .410 average and 10 RBI, while Jessica Wilson has a team-best two home runs and seven RBI. Shelby Willard has six starts on the year in the circle and is 0-5 with a 3.59 ERA in 27.1 innings pitched. As a unit the Bruins have a 3.51 team ERA in 13 contests in 2016.

UMASS has only played eight games on the year entering weekend play, with a 2-6 record through two tournaments. The Minutewomen lost five straight before earning their first win at the ECU Pirate Clash, picking up victories over Bucknell and Saint Francis (PA). As a team UMASS is hitting just .212 on the year led by Jena Cozza's mark of .360 and six RBI. Taylor Carbone's .333 clip ranks second on the club. The UMASS pitching staff has been anchored by Meg Colleran and Carbone. Colleran is 1-4 on the year with a 2.91 ERA in 33.2 innings pitched, while Carbone is 1-1 with an 8.69 ERA and .382 batting average against.

SERIES HISTORY
Ole Miss has never faced off with Penn State and UMASS entering weekend play, but holds a 10-0 advantage over Belmont.

The two sides last met in Nashville in 2013, when the Rebels took a 10-2 decision. Prior to that, the Rebels and Bruins previously met eight times in Oxford dating back to 1997, with the Rebels winning all eight by a combined score of 58-15.

REBELS SWEEP OLE MISS CLASSIC
Ole Miss dominated its first home tournament in the Ole Miss Classic, run ruling two opponents and only allowing three runs over the five-game span. The Rebels shut out Northern Iowa, 5-0, in the home opener, before topping Stephen F. Austin, 4-2, later in the day.

Saturday the Rebels took care of UTSA in six innings, 9-1, and got the job done again a game later, an 8-0 final score in five innings. The Rebels and UNI Panthers faced off in Sunday's championship game, as Ole Miss escaped with a 1-0 victory.

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.

RebelsCalendar

Players Mentioned

Kylan Becker

Kylan Becker

Elantra Cox

Elisha Jahnke

Hailey Lunderman

Dakota Matiko

Madi Osias

Alex Schneider

The University of Mississippi Athletics