The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
UC Riverside
Softball Faces Six-Game Slate in Golden State
2/13/2019 | Softball
Rebels Set to Play LMU, UC Riverside, Cal Poly, Oregon State, UCLA and Boise State
Dates: Feb. 14-17, 2019
First Pitch (All Times CT): Thur.: 4 p.m. | Fri.: 11 a.m./1:30 p.m. | Sat.: 4 p.m./6:30 p.m. | Sun.: 11 a.m.
Opponents: Loyola Marymount, UC Riverside, Cal Poly, Oregon State, UCLA, Boise State
Location: Los Angeles/Westwood/Long Beach, California
TV: LMU Sports Network (LMU Game Only)
Live stats: OleMissSports.com
Twitter Updates: @OleMissSoftball
LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss is coming off of a 3-1 weekend to open its season at the Friends of Jaclyn Tournament, earning wins over host UCF, No. 21 Minnesota and George Mason.
• The victory over the Golden Gophers was the earliest win over a ranked opponent for the Rebels since 2009, when Ole Miss took two games in a three-game series at No. 9 Louisiana-Lafayette.
• Just like in the preseason, the Rebels appear in both the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and the USA Softball Poll, receiving votes in both sets of rankings. Ole Miss is also ranked No. 24 in the Fastpitch News Top-25.
• The Ole Miss pitching staff was extremely strong during the Rebels' stay in Orlando, picking up a pair of shutouts and allowing just four runs all weekend. The Rebels recorded 23 strikeouts in their 25 innings in the circle, allowing just three walks over the course of the four games.
• In her four frames of work against George Mason, sophomore Anna Borgen was nearly un-hittable. The lefty took a perfect game into the fourth inning, allowing just one hit to the Patriots while striking out five.
• Junior Kaylee Horton opened the season on a tear, posting a .385 average with four runs scored, stealing successfully on 5-of-6 attempts.
• Despite recording a hit in just one of seven at-bats, sophomore Jessica Puk leads the Rebels with a .455 on-base percentage thanks to recording a pair of walks and two hit-by-pitches.• Senior Brittany Finney leads the Rebs' with a .636 slugging percentage on three singles and a home run. Finney also registered the second complete-game shutout of her career in Ole Miss' season opening win at UCF.
• The Rebels will face four teams that appear in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll during their stay in the Golden State. UCLA is ranked No. 2 (No. 1 in the USA Softball Poll), while Loyola Marymount, Oregon State and Boise State are all receiving votes.
SCOUTING REPORT
• Loyola Marymount is off to a perfect start to its season at 4-0, having defeated Utah State, Idaho State, Northwestern and Buffalo during the opening weekend of the season, taking each game by a single run. The Lions are coached by Sami Strinz-Ward, who is in her fifth season as the head coach at her alma mater.
Through four games, the Lions are led offensively by freshman Hailey Jackson, who batted .500 over the first weekend of her collegiate career with a double and a pair of runs scored. LMU also has a pair of other players batting over .400 in senior Irma Sanchez and sophomore Andrea Gonzalez. Sanchez sits at .429 with three doubles with a pair of runs scored and driven in, while Gonzalez has posted a .417 average with two doubles as well.
All three of Loyola Marymount's pitchers have appeared in three games, with senior Hannah Bandimere and junior Samantha Monti eating up the majority of the innings. Bandimere leads the team with 12.2 innings of work in the circle, having yet to allow a run while striking out 14 batters with a 2-0 record. Monti also sits at 2-0 and has also not yet surrendered a run, allowing just three hits in her 11.0 innings with 15 strikeouts.
• The first opponent for the Rebels at the Stacey Winsberg Memorial Tournament, UC Riverside, sits at 3-2 after defeating Portland State and splitting games against San Diego and Marshall last week. The Highlanders are led by head coach Nikki Palmer, who is in her third season with the program.
Junior Danielle Ortega has started her season with a .462 average to lead the squad, also pacing the Highlanders with five runs scored, recording a double and a triple. Senior Brittney Garcia isn't too far behind at .400, posting a team-high five RBis while scoring four more runs.
UCR has utilized three pitchers heavily thus far, with junior Melanie Olmos leading the team with 12.1 innings in a pair of starts. Olmos has been saddled with a 6.57 ERA after allowing nine earned runs. Junior Haley Marschall has been extremely effective in her 11.0 innings, tallying a 0.82 ERA with just one earned run allowed in three appearances, although the righty has allowed four unearned runs.
• Cal Poly has started its season 2-2 after splitting its four games in San Diego last week. The Mustangs lost their first two games against Portland State and Marshall before bouncing back with wins over Portland State and San Diego. Cal Poly is coached by Jenny Condon, who is entering her 15th season with the program and is the winningest coach in school-history.
Junior Hailey Martin leads the team with a .429 average, driving in three runs and scoring two more with a pair of doubles among her six hits. Freshman Maddie Amos has driven in four runs with a .333 average, registering a pair of doubles. Despite posting just a .286 average, senior Makenna Young paces the Mustangs with five RBIs.
In the circle, junior Steffi Best has started a pair of games, recording a 2.10 ERA with 10 runs earned but only three earned. In her 9.1 innings, freshman Krystyna Allman has been dominant, allowing just one unearned run in her three appearances with just a .167 opponent batting average. The Mustangs typically pitch to contact, striking out just 10 batters in 30 totalinnings.
• One of two Pac-12 teams the Rebels will face this weekend, Oregon State won all five of its games at the Kajikawa Classic. During their stay in Tempe, Arizona, the Beavers defeated CSUN, Weber State, Seattle, Missouri and Western Michigan. The Beavers are led by Laura Berg, who is in her seventh season as the head coach at OSU.
Freshman Frankie Hammoude was on a tear all week, recording a .545 batting average with three home runs, nine RBIs and four runs scored. Sophomore Missy Nunes also put up big numbers, batting .467 with a trio of homers, a double and 10 runs driven in.
Sophomore Mariah Mazon pitched 18.2 innings in three appearances and two starts, posting a 1.50 ERA with 21 strikeouts to just three walks, while winning three games. Senior Meehra Nelson also made a pair of starts, surrendering six earned runs in 11.0 innings for a 3.82 ERA, striking out 17 and surrendering just a pair of free passes.
• Ranked No. 1 in the NFCA Coaches Poll, UCLA took all five of their games during opening weekend, defeating UT Arlington, Fresno State, Hawai'i, Georgia State and Saint Mary's. Head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez is in her 13th season in Westwood, having recorded a 549-166-1 record.
In a roster packed with talented players, senior Taylor Pack leads the team with a red-hot .615 average, registering three doubles, a home run, five RBIs and three runs. Three other players are batting over .500, with sophomore Briana Perez next up at .588, followed by senior Zoe Shaw (.571) and junior Bubba Nickles (.533). Nickles also leads the team with seven RBIs and a pair of home runs.
All-American Rachel Garcia leads the pitching staff with 12.2 innings of work in the circle, going 2-0 with a 0.55 ERA, striking out 22 batters with just a pair of walks allowed. Sophomore Holly Azevedo has tossed 12.0 innings, posting a 1.75 ERA with three earned runs surrendered despite allowing just six total hits.
• The final opponent of the week, Boise State split it's first four games with wins over Boston College and Northwestern State, while dropping games against NSU & No. 16 Texas. Maggie Livreri is in her first season as the head coach at BSU, coming to Boise from the University of Utah.
Sophomore Ashlyn Adams and senior Morgan Lamb are the only Broncos batting over .300, both sitting at .333. Adams has also registered a pair of RBIs and runs scored with a triple, both tied for team highs.
Junior Kelsey Broadus has pitched the majority of the action for Boise State, winning both of her decisions with a 2.05 ERA in 13.2 innings, despite walking nine batters.
PICKING THEM UP, SETTING THEM DOWN
The Ole Miss pitching staff got off to a strong work during the opening weekend of the season in Orlando. Not only did the Rebels only allow just five runs over the course of the four games, but the pitching staff recorded a gaudy number of strikeouts. Ole Miss pitchers fanned 23 batters in only 25 innings of work, with four of the Rebs' five pitchers recording more strikeouts than innings in the circle. What's more, the pitching staff surrendered a total of just three walks all weekend.
RUNNIN' REBS
During the Mike Smith era, Ole Miss has always been known for using its speed on the basepath. That was no different during the first week of the season as the Rebels ran all over the field against their competition at the Friends of Jaclyn Tournament. During the four games, Ole Miss successfully stole on 14-of-15 attempts, while using small-ball to score a good chunk of its runs. The 14 stolen bases is the second most in the SEC through this early part of the season, one shy of Alabama, which has played an extra game. Junior Kaylee Horton in particular was in a thieving mood, swiping five bags on six attempts. Conversely, Ole Miss' opponents attempted just one steal on the weekend, with catcher Autumn Gillespie gunning the runner down.
CALIFORNIA GURLS
Ole Miss has five players from the Golden State on its roster, the most of any state. The list of California Rebels includes Alyssa Pinto (Lodi/Lodi HS), Mikayla Allee (Corona/Norco HS), Autumn Gillespie (Redlands/Redlands East HS), Savannah Diederich (Hacienda Heights/Los Altos HS) and Gabby Alvarez (Riverside/Martin Luther King, Jr. HS). Additionally, Ole Miss head coach Mike Smith is a native of San Diego and graduated from The Master's College in Santa Clarita.
WHAT A DEBUT
Des Moines Area Community College transfer Molly Jacobsen was handed quite a test for her Ole Miss debut, being given the starting nod for the Rebels' matchup with No. 21 Minnesota. Well, the lefty came through with flying colors. Jacobsen threw an absolute gem in the circle against the Golden Gophers, surrendering just four hits and a single run in a complete-game performance. The junior struck out eight Gophers along the way, including the final four batters of the game.
