The University of Mississippi Athletics
Softball Season Preview: Pitchers
2/7/2018 | Softball, Blog
Part two of our Ole Miss softball preview takes a look at the Rebel pitchers. This group was headlined by Kaitlin Lee last season with Brittany Finney, Morgan Bruce and others providing solid options as well. Head Coach Mike Smith believes this year's team will be even deeper inside the circle. See below for an idea of what to expect.
As Ole Miss began to garner more national attention during its 2017 postseason run, Lee became a fan-favorite and was seen as a major driving force the Rebels' postseason success. Transferring from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Lee posted a 23-11 record with a 1.82 ERA. She logged 249.2 innings, struck out 118 and walked just 37 hitters. Lee pitches to contact with good command and can work both sides of the plate. She earned Second Team All-SEC honors and has garnered a reputation as one of the better pitchers in the toughest conference in college softball. She will be the Rebels' primary arm once again in 2018 in her final collegiate season.
Finney won a national championship as a freshman at Oklahoma before transferring to Ole Miss last year. The Kansas native immediately became an important piece of the puzzle for the Rebels. She swings a good bat and contributed at first base and designated player while also posting a 6-1 record with a 1.80 ERA in 11 appearances and six starts. Finney whiffed 33 batters in 42.2 innings and was the usual secondary option for the Rebels in the postseason. She allowed one run in Ole Miss' final game at UCLA and gave the Rebels a good opportunity to pull out a win. She will be used in a variety of different ways this year, including in the circle.
Bruce posted an 8-5 record as a freshman with a 2.85 ERA in 21 appearances and 12 starts. She tossed 5.1 innings of shutout, three-hit ball in a win over a ranked LSU team and did not allow an earned run in each of her first five collegiate starts. Bruce had a promising freshman campaign and proved to be more than capable of being a viable option when Smith needs one.
A senior lefty, Clayton complied a 6-2 record with a 2.74 ERA in limited innings coming off an injury in 2016. She made seven starts and totaled two shutouts with three complete games. Opponents hit .215 off of the senior in her 46 innings of work. When Smith talks about being deeper in the circle this year, a healthy Clayton is certainly a big part of that.รย
Jahnke, a senior right-hander, made eight appearances a year ago with one start. She logged 12.1 innings and struck out 12 hitters in that span and posted a 1.70 ERA. Jahnke will provide depth to the Rebel rotation and may see some starts in spot duty.
The Ole Miss pitching staff will have tremendous experience with all five pitchers back from a year ago. However, Borgen and Tillmann will also have plenty of opportunities to see action during their freshman campaigns. Borgen, a lefty out of Dallas Christian School in Texas, was a three-time first team all-state honoree, posting a 44-7 career record. Tillmann, meanwhile, garnered all-state honors her junior and senior years at Cedartown High School in Georgia and concluded her career as the school's all-time leader with 817 strikeouts.รย
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.
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