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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebel Softball Kicks Off in Gulf Shores
2/7/2018 | Softball
Ole Miss Game Notes - Sand Dollar Classic
Games 1-5
Dates: Feb. 8-10, 2018
First Pitch (All Times CT): Thur.: 4 p.m./7 p.m.; Fri.: 10 a.m./1 p.m.; Sat.: 12 p.m.
Opponents: Virginia Tech, Florida A&M, Lamar, Lipscomb, Penn State
Location: Gulf Shores, Ala.
Venue: Gulf Shores Sportsplex
Dimensions: L-200, C-220, R-200
TV: None
Live stats:OleMissSports.com
Twitter Updates: @OleMissSoftball
LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss makes its first appearance in the Sand Dollar Classic. It is the Rebels' first appearance in a regular-season tournament in Alabama since taking part in the Troy Classic in Troy, Ala. in 2016.
- The Rebels enter the season ranked in both national polls, being slotted No. 14 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and No. 15 in the USA Softball Poll.
- 13 letterwinners return from the 2017 team, including all five pitchers and six positional starters from a year ago.
- Ole Miss has a daunting 2017 slate on the horizon, with 10 opponents ranked in one or both of the preseason polls.
- The trip to the Yellowhammer will be a homecoming for three Rebels, with Kaylee Horton, Alyssa Clayton and Abbey Latham all hailing from Alabama.
- The Rebels are coming off their best season to date after winning the 2017 SEC Tournament and advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals for the first time ever.
- Ole Miss' 43 wins in 2017 were a school record, as were the Rebels' marks in runs (318), hits (495), triples (16), RBIs (274), total bases (677), walks (187) and shutouts (17).
- Outfielders Elantra Cox and Kylan Becker were both named Preseason All-SEC, marking the first time in program-history that the Rebels landed multiple players on the list.
- Cox and Becker also became the first players in school-history to be named to the USA Softball Preseason Collegiate Player of the Year Top-50 "Watch List." The duo are the only outfield teammates to make the watch list.
SCOUTING REPORT
Virginia Tech finished 19-34 overall in 2017, including 5-19 in ACC play. Entering the 23rd season under head coach Scot Thomas, the Hokies return junior outfielder Emma Strouth, who ranked second on the team with a .338 batting average and was tied among returning players for the second most home runs with seven. In the circle, Virginia Tech returns leading pitcher Carrie Eberle for her sophomore season after posting a 9-11 record last season.
Florida A&M garnered a 23-32-1 record a season ago, going 14-2 in the MEAC and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth-straight year. The Rattlers, entering their 27th season with head coach Veronica Wiggins at the helm, return their top-three hitters among players that started at least 25 games in 2017. Outfielder Alexis Day registered a .325 batting average with seven doubles, five triples and four home runs. Infielder Toni Anderson returns for her final season in Tallahassee after leading FAMU with 12 home runs last season, posting a .298 average along the way. The Rattlers will lean on senior pitcher Veronica Burse in the circle. Burse posted a 6.42 ERA in 34 appearances, striking out 57 batters to 52 walks.
The Lamar Cardinals are coming off of a 34-31 season under fourth year coach Holly Bruder. With the top-three hitters for the Cardinals gone from last year's team, Lamar will depend heavily on junior second baseman Kelly Meeuwsen, who finished last season with a .306 batting average and 30 RBIs. Senior Laura Napoli is the primary returning pitcher for Lamar after starting 24 contests. Napoli pitched 121.2 innings, posting a 4.88 ERA with 76 strikeouts and 43 free passes.
Under the tutelage of 13th year head coach Kristin Ryman, Lipscomb concluded 2017 with a 36-20 record. Senior infielder Caitlin Plocheck, last season's leading hitter with a .333 batting average, will return to Lipscomb after leading the Bisons in home runs (9) and doubles (17). Mandy Jordan will also be back following a sophomore campaign in which she tallied a 23-11 record with a 1.46 ERA. In her 230.0 innings of work, Jordan registered 26 strikeouts.
Penn State, entering the fifth season of the Amanda Lehotak era, garnered a 23-33 record last season, including an 8-15 mark in Big Ten play. Utility player Tori Dubois returns after batting .346 in 2017. Dubois also tied for the team lead with six home runs, scoring 31 runs on the year. Jessica Cummings is the leading returning pitcher in innings pitched. The senior threw 45.2 frames in 2017, posting a 4.60 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 23 walks.
OLE MISS PICKED SEVENTH IN SEC PRESEASON POLL
Ole Miss was picked 7th in the 2018 Preseason SEC Softball Poll. A year ago, the league's head coaches picked the Rebels 10th in the poll, before they went on to finish eighth with a 10-14 record and won the program's first-ever SEC Tournament Title. In each of the three seasons of the Mike Smith era, Ole Miss has outperformed its projection in the conference preseason poll.
REBELS ON NATIONAL TV
Ole Miss will play at least nine games on national television in 2018. The Rebels will appear on SEC Network seven times as well as ESPN2 and ESPNU each once, with four of those being played at home at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. In addition, all other home games will be available through WatchESPN and the ESPN app as part of the SEC Network + digital steaming platform.
Date Time (CT) Game Network
March 6 6 p.m. Ole Miss vs. Boston College SEC Network
March 10 2:30 p.m. Ole Miss at Texas A&M SEC Network
March 11 1 p.m. Ole Miss at Texas A&M SEC Network
April 15 6 p.m. Ole Miss at Mississippi State ESPN2
April 16 6 p.m. Ole Miss at Mississippi State* SEC Network
April 28 3 p.m. Ole Miss at Arkansas SEC Network
April 29 4 p.m. Ole Miss at Arkansas ESPNU
April 30 6 p.m. Ole Miss at Arkansas* SEC Network
May 4 6 p.m. Ole Miss vs. Georgia^ SEC Network
* - SEC Network Game of the Week | ^ - SEC Network Bases Loaded Coverage
C.O.M.P.E.T.E
Ole Miss enters the 2018 season with a new mantra, C.O.M.P.E.T.E. The acronym stands for commitment, out work, mental toughness, passion, effort, trust the process, end in OKC.
RANKED REBS
In the 22-year history of Ole Miss softball the Rebels had never been ranked in either of the two primary national polls to start a season. That changes in 2018 as Ole Miss enters the year slotted within the top-15 in both sets of rankings. The Rebels are ranked No. 14 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, while coming in at No. 15 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll. Maintaining its distinction as the top conference in all of softball, the SEC boasts nine selections in both polls.
ALABAMA REBELS
The Sand Dollar Classic will be a homecoming of sorts for three Ole Miss players that hail from the Yellowhammer State. They include utility player Kaylee Horton (Jasper/Curry HS), left-handed pitcher Alyssa Clayton (Section/Pisgah HS) and first baseman/designated player Abbey Latham (Livingston/Demopolis HS).
EXPERIENCE RETURNS FOR 2018 CAMPAIGN
• Ole Miss returns 13 players from the 2017 squad, icluding nine who appeared in at least 30 games.
• All five pitchers return to the lineup, representing 424.1 innings of work last season.
• Kaitlin Lee's 349.2 innings pitched in the circle was the sixth highest total in the nation in 2017 and the second highest mark among power-five players.
• Kylan Becker and Elantra Cox both started 62 of Ole Miss' 63 games last season and will continue to make up 2/3 of the Rebel outfield.
OLE MISS ADDS LARGE, IMPACTFUL FRESHMAN CLASS
While Ole Miss returns a wealth of experience in 2018, the Rebels also have plenty of new faces. Ole Miss welcomes a freshman crop of seven players, one off of last year's total and the third most in program-history, with many likely to make an impact early in their careers.
Utility player Ally Mena and third baseman Amanda Roth will compete for starting roles within the infield, while Abbey Latham will compete for time at first base and in the designated player role. Meanwhile, utility players Mary Terral and Jessica Puk will provide position flexibility and may be utilized in a myriad of different roles. While Ole Miss will have all five pitchers from last season back this season, left hander Anna Borgen and righty Ava Tillmann will also push for innings in the circle, giving Ole Miss pitching depth matched by few programs.
REBELS ADD THREE IMPACT TRANSFERS
Ole Miss added three key transfers to its 2018 roster in redshirt-sophomore C Autumn Gillespie, junior OF Celeste Wood and junior C/3B Izzy Werdann. Gillespie and Wood came to Oxford from UCF and Michigan State, respectively, while Werdann transferred in after two seasons at JUCO power Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
Autumn Gillespie (UCF)
• Hit 3 home runs during Ole Miss' fall season
• Sat out 2017 season due to transfer rules
• Started all 12 games in 2016 before injury
• Posted a .361 batting average
• Threw out 62% of attempted steals
• Tied the single-season UCF record with 3 pickoffs
Celeste Wood (Michigan State)
• Started the first 22 games of 2017 for MSU
• Batted .387 with 21 RBI, 4 doubles and 3 home runs
• Earned 1 Big Ten Player of the Week honor
• Named NFCA Third-Team All-Region in 2016
• Batted .372 to rank 11th in the Big Ten
• Drove in 40 runs, 10th most in MSU-history
Izzy Werdann (MGCCC)
• Named the MACJC Player of the Year in 2017
• Also garnered NJCAA All-America laurels
• Batted .384 with 13 home runs and 57 RBIs
• Selected to MACJC All-State team in 2016
• Posted a .323 batting average with 41 RBIs
REBELS TO BE TESTED IN 2018
Ole Miss will face an extremely challenging slate of games in 2018.
• Of the 33 opponents Ole miss will face, 12 received a bid to the NCAA Tournament last season (Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Florida A&M, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State, North Dakota State, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Texas A&M)
• Of the 12 opponents, five were No. 1 seeds (Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Oregon, Texas A&M), two were No. 2 seeds (South Carolina, Texas), three were No. 3 seeds (Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi State) and two were No. 4 seeds (Florida A&M, North Dakota State)
• Three of those teams advanced to the Women's College World Series (LSU, Oregon, Texas A&M)
• The Rebels will play six opponents who are ranked in either or both of the preseason top-25 polls
• If you include teams that received votes in either poll, that number grows to 10
• Ole Miss' 2018 opponents racked up 1,009 wins last season, posting a .540 winning percentage
OLE MISS STRONG IN TOURNAMENT PLAY
The Rebels will begin their season with 18-straight games in tournaments. If history is any indication that may be a good omen for Ole Miss. During the three seasons of the Mike Smith era, Ole Miss is 47-9 in regular season tournament games. The Rebels registered a 19-3 record in such games last season, while going 18-2 in tourneys in 2016. Even in the least successful of the three seasons, Ole Miss still managed a .714 winning percentage in tournament games in 2015 after going 10-4.
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 softball and all of Ole Miss athletics on Snapchat under the handle, @WeAreOleMiss.
