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The University of Mississippi Athletics
No. 22 Ole Miss Hosts SELA in Midweek Tilt
3/14/2017 | Softball
Game 24
Date: March 15, 2017
First Pitch: 4:30 p.m.
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Venue: Ole Miss Softball Complex (1,000)
TV: SEC Network +
Will Kollmeyer (play-by-play)
Brittany McKinney (analyst)
Mobile: ESPN App
Live stats: Series: Ole Miss leads 5-1
Last Meeting: April 7, 2014
Southeastern Louisiana won 3-2
Hammond, La.
Twitter Updates: @OleMissSoftball
PROMOTIONS
- $1 Hot Dogs & popcorn
LEADING OFF
- Ole Miss welcomes Southeastern Louisiana to Oxford Wednesday for what will be the seventh meeting all-time.
- The Lions and Rebels have met in Oxford four times previously, with Ole Miss winning all four by a combined score of 27-3.
- The midweek tilt will be the final tune-up before SEC play gets underway this weekend vs. No. 7 Texas A&M.
- With a 20-3 record thus far, the Rebels have matched last year's record through 23 games, which is best in school history.
- Ole Miss ran its school record win streak to 16 games last weekend, before falling to Oklahoma State in the Ole Miss Classic.
- In Sunday's most recent outing vs. Jackson State, the Rebels run ruled the Tigers, 10-1, to finish 3-1 in weekend play.
- The Rebels remained at No. 22 in the latest USA Today/NFCA Coaches' poll, and are No. 24 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.
- All 13 SEC schools appear, in some way, in both of the national polls this week; the coaches' poll has nine SEC teams in the top 25 and the four others receiving votes, while the USA Softball has 10 ranked inside the top 25, and three receiving votes.
- Ole Miss continues to show off its offensive prowess, ranking fourth nationally in average (.378), fourth in OBP (.461), fourth in scoring (8.30 runs/game), 10th in slugging (.546) and ninth in stolen bases per game (2.48).
- Not to be outdone, the pitching staff has held its own as well, with a 2.24 ERA that ranks top-50 nationally. The Rebels have held opposing hitters to a .225 average, and generally pitch to contact, ranking third in the SEC with just 41 walks issued.
- The Rebels have thrown seven shutouts already, and have pitched 15 games with two earned runs or less allowed.
- Defensively, Ole Miss ranks 23rd in the NCAA in both fielding percentage (.974) and double plays per game (0.52). Those numbers rank fifth and tied for second in the SEC, respectively.
- Averaging 8.30 runs per game, the Rebels have tallied nine games this season with double digit run totals, and 16 of the 23 outings have resulted in at least eight runs scored.
- The Rebels are undefeated (18-0) when scoring first, and have posted 62 runs in the first two innings combined (31 in each).
- 77 percent of the runs scored this season have come in innings 1-4, as the fourth has been the biggest thus far with 46 runs.
- Junior OF Elantra Cox continues to lead the SEC in average (.581), riding a school record 16-game hit streak. She ranks third in the country in total hits (43) and on-base percentage (.613), and is also second in the SEC with 17 steals.
- Senior OF Miranda Strother, the career record holder in triples (11), ranks seventh in the NCAA in that category with four, and is also sixth in the SEC in runs per game (1.09). She's six runs from tying the career record, and is tied for third in career steals.
- Sophomore SS Ashton Lampton leads the team in HRs (6), as half of her hits this season have been for extra bases. She ranks 28th in the NCAA in RBI (26) to also lead the team. As a team, Ole Miss has hit 19 home runs already, just seven off the 2016 season total.
- Freshman RHP Morgan Bruce has the nation's 35th-best ERA (0.98), and has yet to allow an earned run in five starts.
SCOUTING REPORT
Led by second-year head coach Rick Fremin, the Lions of Southeastern Louisiana head into the midweek matchup at 9-14 overall, coming off opening weekend of Southland Conference play. Wednesday's contest will be the ninth-straight road game for the Lions after playing in the 2017 UT Volunteer Classic two weekends ago in Knoxville, and last weekend's conference opener at Abilene Christian. After picking up only one win in Tennessee over Delaware, the Lions dropped three-straight in Texas, and have lost seven of their last eight. SELA hosted Mississippi State at the end of February falling 9-1, the first of two run-rule losses to SEC foes (8-0, Tennessee - March 2). At the Troy Trojan Classic in late February, the Lions earned a pair of wins over the host Trojans (85, 2-1), but fell to Pittsburgh twice and Lipscomb once. A midweek tilt with Louisiana Tech back on Feb. 22 marked their first road game of 2017, where they fell by a 5-1 score. In the two weeks' prior, the Lions hosted two tournaments and went a combined 6-2 losing only to Nevada and Southeast Missouri.
The pitching staff of Southeastern Louisiana has tallied a 4.06 ERA through 23 games, led primarily by two pitchers in Rachel Hayes and Lacey Hill who have pitched 97 of the innings. Hayes has the team lead with a 3.16 ERA and 3-5 record through eight starts. Hill has a 4-4 record through 13 appearances and a 3.31 ERA, as the duo have nearly identical stats on paper. Below them, Alley McDonald is closest with 17.0 innings pitched and a 5.35 ERA in two starts, while Caitlyn VanHemelryck is 0-2 with a 4.90 ERA in five starts. Ali McCoy, Tanner Wright and Kasey Nielson have combined for the other 24 innings thus far.
Offensively, the highlight for the Lions has been in stolen bases, as they're sixth in the NCAA in stolen bases per game (2.74), and seventh in total steals with 63. In 2016, Southeastern Louisiana finished first nationally with 172 stolen bases, led by now departed Katie Lacour's 58 steals. This season, both Jaquelyn Ramon and Maddie Edmonston have 17 steals each, while Kalyn Watts and Kinsey Nichols also have seven each. At the plate, the Lions have a .245 team average led by just two players hitting over .300. Among the regular starters, Nichols leads the way with a .375 clip, while Mahalia Gibson has a team-best 15 RBI. Edmonston leads the team in runs scored despite a .188 average, as the squad is averaging 3.61 runs per game thus far.
LAST TIME VS. SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA
April 7, 2014 • Hammond, Louisiana • SELA 3, Ole Miss 2: Ole Miss cruised in game one of a doubleheader three years ago in Hammond, before falling in game two on a walk-off home run. In game one, the Rebels tallied 10 hits and scored at least one run in every inning, cruising to a run-rule victory in six innings. Haley Culley led the charge at the plate going 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBI. Jamie Morgan also had a strong game with two hits and two RBI. Carly Hummel struck out six in four innings giving up just two hits, before Shelby Jo Fenter closed it out with a pair of strikeouts. In game two, Emily Gaitan threw a strong 6.1 innings, but couldn't hold onto the 2-1 lead as the Lions walked off. Allison Brown and Marina Parra finished with an RBI each in game one of the DH.
ROSTER CONNECTIONS
Southeastern Louisiana head coach Rick Fremin has an extensive history in the state of Mississippi as the head coach of both Jackson State (2011-15) and Belhaven (2006-10). He also spent the 2005 season as an assistant at Millsaps College.
RUNS, RUNS, AND MORE RUNS
The Rebels are scoring at a rate per game more than any other team in the SEC (8.30), good enough for fourth in the country. Ole Miss has totaled nine games this season already with double-digit run totals, and 16 of the 23 outings have resulted in at least eight runs scored. The Rebels rank second in the SEC in six major offensive categories (.378 AVG, 191 runs, 232 hits, .461 OBP, 166 RBI, 57 steals), and are third in slugging (.546).
| Rank | Team | Games | Runs | Runs Per Game |
| 1. | Arizona | 25 | 212 | 8.48 |
| 2. | Louisiana | 22 | 186 | 8.45 |
| 3. | Southern | 13 | 108 | 8.31 |
| 4. | Ole Miss | 23 | 191 | 8.30 |
| 5. | Oregon | 24 | 195 | 8.13 |
WIN STREAK ENDS AT 16
Ole Miss carried its school record win streak to 16 games, spanning nearly one month, before a 5-1 loss to Oklahoma State ended it on March 11. The 16-game streak is tied for fourth longest in the NCAA this season, active or snapped.
OLE MISS CLAIMS PROGRAM WIN NO. 500
Ole Miss won its 500th game in program history in Friday's 12-6 victory over Eastern Kentucky. In the last three years alone during head coach Mike Smith's tenure, the Rebels have accounted for 18 percent (91 wins) of the 501 total, after two straight record-breaking seasons in terms of win totals (2015: 30, 2016: 41).
Elantra Cox: A CLOSER LOOK
Ole Miss junior OF Elantra Cox has led the team offensively thus far in nearly category; but, she doesn't just lead in terms of numbers, she's made it look easy with dominating results through 23 games. Take a look below for the breakdown of some of Cox's numbers, including national ranks, streak notes, and school record marks.
Hit Streak (16)
- School record, 4th longest in SEC
- 2nd longest active in SEC
- Bama's Merris Schroder (18)
Batting Average (.581)
- 1st in SEC; 3rd in NCAA
- .140 better than season record
- 1st in career AVG (.406)
Hits (43)
- 3rd in SEC & NCAA
- 16 off top-8 season record
- 14 multi-hit games (1st in SEC)
On-Base % (.613)
- 3rd in SEC; 6th in NCAA
- 3rd in career list (.441)
- Reached base in all but 3 games
Stolen bases (17)
- 2nd in SEC; T-17th in NCAA
- 8 off tying career record (75)
- Steal(s) in 13-of-23 games
A DIVERSE DEFENSE
For the most part, Ole Miss has settled on its consistent starters across the field. While the personnel have been the same, they are diverse in where they hail from. All eight are from eight different states, making it quite the diverse defense. (C: New York - Syrett, 1B: Kansas - Finney, 2B: Alabama - Horton, SS: Mississippi - Lampton, 3B: California - Stancil, LF: Tennessee - Cox, CF: Georgia - Strother, RF: Florida - Becker).
ON DECK
No. 22 Ole Miss opens its 2017 SEC slate this weekend hosting No. 7 Texas A&M in a three-game series in Oxford.
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.
