.png&width=48&height=48&type=webp)
The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Softball Set for Hatter Invitational
2/23/2017 | Softball
OM Notes - Hatter Invitational 
Games 10-14 (Hatter Invitational)
Dates: Feb. 24-26, 2017
Opponents: Colgate, No. 23 South Florida, Stetson
Location: DeLand, Florida
Venue: Patricia Wilson Field (1,000)
TV: Stream only for Stetson game
Tournament Central: GoHatters.com
Twitter Updates: @OleMissSoftball
Tournament Schedule & Game Coverage
Friday, Feb. 24
12:30 p.m. CT: Ole Miss vs. Colgate | Live Stats
5:30 p.m. CT: No. 23 South Florida vs. Ole Miss | Live Stats
Saturday, Feb. 25
10 a.m. CT: Colgate vs. Ole Miss | Live Stats
3 p.m. CT: Ole Miss vs. Stetson | Live Stats | Watch Live ($)
Sunday, Feb. 26
9 a.m. CT: Ole Miss vs. No. 23 South Florida | Live Stats
Series History
Colgate Series: Never met
South Florida Series: USF leads 4-1
Last Meeting: Feb. 19, 2011
USF won 8-0
Clearwater, Florida
Stetson Series: Never met
LEADING OFF
- Ole Miss continues its road trip across the country with a five-day trip to DeLand, Florida for the Hatter Invitational.
- After a 7-2 start, matching last year's record through nine games, the Rebels continue to receive votes in both polls.
- Playing in the Hatter Invitational for the first time ever, Ole Miss will face Colgate and Stetson for the first time in school history.
- Friday and Sunday's matchup with No. 23 South Florida marks the second-straight week Ole Miss will face a top-25 opponent.
- The Rebels are coming off a 4-1 weekend at the Houston Classic, where they scored a combined 62 runs in five games, run-ruling Rhode Island twice, and Incarnate Word and Houston once.
- Ole Miss ranks fourth nationally in scoring (9.00 runs/game), 10th in OBP (.460), 13th in AVG (.365) and 22nd in SLG% (.541).
- Dating back to the final game of the Easton Invitational, Ole Miss has scored at least eight runs in six-straight contests, the first time in school history to accomplish the feat.
- The Rebels have also accomplished a program first in earning four-straight wins in run rule fashion.
- Six times this season, Ole Miss has posted a 5-run frame or better; of the 81 runs scored, 72 percent have come in innings 3-5.
- Third baseman Dylinn Stancil, who leads the team in average at .455, was named this week's SEC Freshman of the Week after going 7-for-11 with eight RBI and five runs scored in Houston.
- All five of Ole Miss' pitchers have contributed to the team's 2.51 ERA, totaling three shutouts and five complete games thus far.
- Junior Alyssa Clayton (2.62 ERA) and freshman Morgan Bruce (1.47 ERA) are both 2-0. Junior Kaitlin Lee is 2-2 in four starts, sophomore Brittany Finney is 1-0 in one start, and junior Elisha Jahnke has yet to earn a decision in two appearances.
SCOUTING REPORT
Colgate, a team Ole Miss has never faced, enters weekend play in Florida at 1-3 on the year after playing in the USC Upstate/Furman Classic last weekend. Led by fifth-year head coach Melissa Finley, the Raiders finished 12-29 in 2016, and went 7-11 in Patriot League action. The team opened its 2017 season with a 9-3 win over Georgetown, and has since dropped three-straight to Furman (3-2), Towson (9-2) and USC Upstate (8-0). The Raiders are batting .183 as a team through four games, led by Holly Geranen's .286 clip. Katie Bushee leads the club with four RBI. In the circle, four pitchers have combined for a team ERA of 6.58 and OBA of .351. Kyle Griswold is 1-0 with a 5.79 ERA through 9.1 innings pitched, while Jessica Hay (0-1, 6.35) and Brittany Bendel (0-2, 6.75) are responsible for the three losses.
The Bulls, ranked as high as No. 23 in the national polls, are 6-3 overall after hosting one tournament and traveling to another in the Sunshine state. Winners of 45 games a year ago, the Bulls played in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional, and have qualified for NCAA Tournament play three of the last four seasons. Led by 21-year head coach Ken Eriksen, USF opened the season 3-1 at their first of four home tournaments, picking up wins over Illinois State (5-4), Delaware (6-4) and most notably, a victory over No. 6 Michigan (6-4). The Bulls have also defeated Binghamton, Hofstra and Oklahoma State thus far, while dropping its three contests to No. 3 Florida (8-0), Wisconsin (3-1) and No. 14 James Madison (5-0). With a .300 team average on the year, Astin Donovan leads the offense with a .448 average and 13 hits. Bethaney Keen has a team-high six RBI and four extra-base hits, while two other players are hitting .370 or better. The Bulls have a respectable 2.48 team ERA, as Susan Wysocki has yet to allow an earned run through 9.1 innings of work. Kalen McGill has thrown a team-high 23.1 frames with a 2.40 ERA and 1-2 record, while Hannah Parker is 2-0 and Cheyenne Eggens is 2-1.
Led by longtime head coach Frank Griffin, the Hatters show the best record of any team in the tournament at 9-1 on the year through two weekends of play. Their only loss thus far came to Kansas (4-0) back in the Stetson Lead Off Classic. With a .317 team average on the year, Kelsey Waters leads the way batting at a clip of .433, while four other players are hitting at least .300. Blake Crews has the early lead in RBI with 17 to lead the nation's fourth-ranked offense with 84 total runs. Three Stetson pitchers have combined for a 3.29 team ERA through 68 innings, led by Brooke Hutto's 1.27 mark and 2-0 record, while Tori Perkins has already won six games in 47 innings pitched with a 2.98 ERA.
FLORIDA REBELS
Sophomore outfielder Kylan Becker is the lone Floridian on the 2017 roster. A native of Miami, Becker attended Coral Reef HS where she was first team all-state and All-Dade County Player of the Year. Associate Head Coach Ruben Felix also has an extensive history in the state of Florida, where he served as the top assistant coach four years at UCF prior to joining Ole Miss.
TOURNAMENT CONNECTIONS
- Colgate sophomore C/1B Pami White and Ole Miss freshman RHP Morgan Bruce both hail from Roanoke, Va. White attended Cave Spring HS, while Bruce attended Northside HS.
OFFENSIVE ONSLAUGHT IN HOUSTON
The Rebels went into the Houston Classic last weekend with a .283 average and three extra-base hits with 19 runs scored. But, thanks to an explosive weekend offensively, the Rebels are now hitting .365, and have tallied 22 extra-base hits with 81 runs. See below for a detailed breakdown of the Rebels' offensive numbers in Houston.
- 19 extra-base hits (10 doubles, 8 home runs, 1 triple)
- 62 runs scored in five games, nearly a quarter of last season's run total
- Team slugging clip of .694, led by five players who slugged at least .700 on the weekend
- Reached base 30 times via walk or hit by pitch (23 BB, 7 HBP)
- .425 team average with 8 players who hit .300 or better
- Of the 18 players who were officially credited with an at-bat, all 18 reached base at least once
- 15 players finished the tournament with RBI, and eight tallied at least five hits
OLE MISS RUN RULES FOUR-STRAIGHT FOR FIRST TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY
Nine games in, Ole Miss has five run-rule victories already, with the last four outings resulting in shortened, 5-inning blowouts. After coming up short to the defending national champions, 11-8, in the Houston Classic opener, the Rebels went on to defeat Incarnate Word (11-1), Rhode Island (13-0, 18-4) and Houston (12-3), all in five innings. The four-straight run rule wins is the first time in school history, and the five total on the year is already just one shy of the 2016 season total for run-rule victories.
THE STREAK OF 8 RUNS ROLLS ON
Dating back to their matchup with Loyola Marymount on Feb. 12, the Rebels have scored eight runs in six-straight contests, the first time in school history to accomplish the feat. Ole Miss put up eight runs against the Lions in the final game in California, and also scored eight against the No. 4 Sooners to open the Houston Classic. Since, the team has scored 11, 13, 18 and 12 runs, the first time to ever tally double-digit run totals in four consecutive contests.
Dylinn Stancil EARNS SEC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONORS
Third baseman Dylinn Stancil was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week for this past week, after her performance at the Houston Classic last weekend. Stancil, who has started all nine games at third base thus far, went 7-for-11 (.636) at the plate, driving in eight runs while scoring five. The Temecula, California native has reached safely in six-straight games thanks to a six-game hitting streak, and is the team's leading hitter at .455 on the year. In the first game against No. 4 Oklahoma, she went 1-for-3 with a run scored, before posting a four RBI game against Incarnate Word on Saturday. In the 11-1 win over the Cardinals, she went 2-for-2 including a 3-run, opposite field home run to right, and also had an RBI single. In the two matchups with Rhode Island, the freshman tallied an RBI in each, before going 2-for-3 against the host Cougars in the final game with two RBI off a double to help seal the 12-3, five inning victory. Stancil earned the Rebels' second Freshman of the Week honor in as many seasons, after now sophomore Kylan Becker picked up the same accolades last May.
ON DECK
Ole Miss hosts Louisiana Tech in the home opener next Wednesday, March 1, to kick-off a 14-game homestand. The Rebels will host the Red & Blue Classic next weekend, their first of two-straight home tournaments.
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.
