The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Hit the Road for Louisiana Tech
5/3/2016 | Softball
Game 54
Ole Miss (36-17, 10-11 SEC) at Louisiana Tech (29-18, 10-8 C-USA)
Date: May 4, 2016
First Pitch: 5 p.m. CT
Location: Ruston, La.
Venue: Lady Techster Softball Complex
Capacity: 1,000
Dimensions: L-190, C-220, R-190
TV (Webstream Only): LATechSports.com
Series: Ole Miss leads, 6-4
Last Meeting: March 19, 2014
Ole Miss won, 3-0
Oxford, Miss.
Live stats: Twitter Updates: @OleMissSoftball
LEADING OFF
- Ole Miss plays its final road and midweek game of the regular season Wednesday at Louisiana Tech.
- The Rebels have fared 26-6 in non-conference matchups this season, including 4-4 mark away from home.
- Wednesday's matchup will be just the fourth true road midweek game for Ole Miss, after picking up victories at Memphis and Southern Miss earlier this year.
- Louisiana Tech and Ole Miss will be meeting for the 11th time Wednesday, as the Rebels lead the series 6-4.
- Wednesday's meeting will be the first in Ruston since the 2009 season when the two teams split a doubleheader.
- The Rebels have won two straight over the Lady Techsters after a 3-0 shutout in 2014, and a 8-0 win in 2011.
- Ole Miss is coming off its road test at No. 14 Georgia, where the Rebels snapped a 13-year drought to the Bulldogs by winning the middle game of the series.
- The Rebels have now set school records for overall wins (36), home victories (20) and road wins (10).
- In the final week of the regular season, Ole Miss jumped up one spot to No. 29 in the NCAA RPI.
- Senior pitcher Madi Osias earned SEC Pitcher of the Week honors, and freshman outfielder Kylan Becker earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors on Monday.
- Osias went 2-0 on the week, earning school record wins No. 18 and 19 on the season, pitching two complete game shutouts over UAB and No. 14 Georgia. Becker went 7-for-8 (.857) at the plate with two RBI earning her first weekly award of her young career.
- Freshman Hailey Lunderman, a Top 25 finalist for Schutt Sport/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year, is just one hit from tying, and two from breaking the single season record for hits in a season.
- Junior Miranda Strother is also on the brink of two single season records, just two runs and four stolen bases from setting new single season marks.
- The Rebels' record-breaking 123 stolen bases continues to rank fifth in the NCAA and second in the league.
- Ole Miss heads into the midweek tilt with 159 walks, nine away from setting a new single season mark.
- Ole Miss is the NCAA's sixth-best fielding team with a .976 percentage, a mark that also ranks second in the SEC.
- The Rebels are 24-2 this season when scoring first, and 14-2 when scoring in the first inning.
SCOUTING REPORT
Louisiana Tech, picked to finish fifth in the C-USA Preseason Poll, is led by fourth-year head coach Mark Montgomery. The Lady Techsters are 29-18 overall and 10-8 in league play, and have had a record breaking season offensively. LA Tech heads into the midweek No. 97 in the RPI playing its final home contest of 2016.
The Lady Techsters have fared 0-3 against teams from the SEC this season, dropping two to LSU and one game to Mississippi State. LA Tech is 16-7 through all but one of its home contests, going 10-1 in the first 11 home games. The Lady Techsters are 3-2 in their last five after picking up a series win over Southern Miss, and 7-3 in their last 10 overall.
Louisiana Tech has one of the nation's top offenses, averaging 6.11 runs per game, first in C-USA and top-35 nationally. The club also ranks top-40 in home runs (56) and slugging (.495). Two players have double-digit home runs, led by Anna Cross' 13 blasts and team-best 40 RBI. She's slugging at a clip of .694, while Pauline Tufi has 11 home runs and 36 RBI. Morgan Turkoly has driven in 34 runs this season, and scored 37 times, tops on the club. Kristen Miles' .371 clip leads the way for a team that's also hitting .299. The Lady Techsters are 65-of-82 on the base paths led by Miles' 12-for-12 effort, and 10 each from Turkoly and Tori Charters.
As a pitching staff LA Tech has a 3.12 ERA led by Bailey Allen's 2.15 mark, who's started 24 games in the circle. She's totaled a 14-6 record on the year, going the full distance in six starts with 85 strikeouts and 30 walks and a .235 opposing average. Preslee Galloway is 7-2 in 11 starts with a 3.56 ERA, while Carolina Sanchez has 10 starts and a 4-10 record and 4.55 ERA.
REBELS SNAP 13-YEAR DROUGHT TO GEORGIA
Ole Miss entered its weekend series at No. 14 Georgia (April 29 - May 1) having not won a game against the Bulldogs since 2003. After an 8-0 loss in the opener on Friday, the Rebels responded in a huge way pitching the Bulldogs their first shutout of the year, which marked the first win for Ole Miss over Georgia since April 13, 2003. The win in Athens was also the first in 14 seasons, as the Rebels overall snapped a 32-game losing streak to the Bulldogs.
OSIAS, BECKER EARN SEC WEEKLY AWARDS
Senior pitcher Madi Osias and freshman outfielder Kylan Becker both had big weeks against UAB and No. 14 Georgia, earning them SEC Pitcher of the Week, and SEC Freshman of the Week honors, respectively. Osias earned the second weekly award of her career after becoming the Rebels' single-season wins leader picking up wins No. 18 and 19. In both of her appearances, she went the distance, ptiching two shutouts with just seven combined hits allowed, holding opponents to just a .152 average. Becker became the first Ole Miss freshman to earn the award since Haley Culley did back on March 4, 2013, after going 7-for-8 (.875) at the plate helping the Rebels to two big wins. In the win over UAB, she posted one of the Rebels' three triples, helping tie the school record for triples in a game. After going 2-for-2 in the opener against Georgia, Becker came back in games two and three with two clutch RBI.
ON DECK
The Rebels return home for the regular season finale this weekend to host No. 9 Tennessee Friday through Sunday at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
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.
