The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Tulsa
Softball Hits Lone Star State for Texas Invitational
2/21/2019 | Softball
Rebels Ready for Five-Game Slate Against Tulsa, Sam Houston State and No. 11 Texas
Dates: Feb. 22-24
First Pitch: Fri.: 11 a.m./1:30 p.m. | Sat.: 10 a.m./1 p.m.
Sun.: 10 a.m.
Opponents: Tulsa, Sam Houston State, Texas
Location: Austin, Texas
Venue: Red & Charline McCombs Field
TV: Longhorn Network (select games tape delayed)
PxP: Tyler Denning or Alex Loeb
Analyst: Erin Miller or Megan Willis
Live Stats: OleMissSport.com
Twitter Updates: @OleMissSoftball
LEADING OFF
• All five of Ole Miss' games at the Texas Invitational will be broadcasted nationally on the Longhorn Network. Both games Friday and Sunday's contest will be televised live, while both of Saturday's games will be tape delayed at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., respectively.
• Ole Miss is coming off of a 3-2 weekend in the Golden State at the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament. During their stay in Southern California, the Rebels defeated UC Riverside, Cal Poly and Oregon State.
• The Rebels' victory over Oregon State was the 900th of head coach Mike Smith's coaching career. Smith currently stands at 152 wins at Ole Miss, two shy of becoming the school's all-time winningest coach.
• Kylan Becker and Abbey Latham were on fire during the California trip. Becker batted .563 during the tournament, scoring six runs. Meanwhile, Latham tallied a base knock in half of her 12 at-bats registering a pair of doubles, a home run and six RBIs.
• For the third-straight week, the Rebels appear in both the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and the USA Softball Poll, receiving votes in both sets of rankings.
• The Rebels have used their speed to create havoc on the bases this season, leading the SEC with 30 stolen bases on 36 attempts this season. Ole Miss has recorded seven more steals than the conference's next closest team, Alabama.
• The trip to Austin is a homecoming of sorts for five Rebels who hail from the State of Texas. Tate Whitley, Sydney Gutierrez, Amanda Roth and Anna Borgen are all natives of the Lone Star State, while Associate Head Coach Ruben Felix grew up in El Paso.
• Texas is ranked No. 11 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, coming in at No. 10 in the USA Softball Poll. The Longhorns will be the fourth Rebel opponent of the season to appear in at least one of the two polls, joining Ohio State, Minnesota and UCLA.
SCOUTING REPORT
• The Tulsa Golden Hurricane are in their 14th season with head coach John Bargfeldt at the helm, making him the program's longest tenured head coach in its history. After losing their first three games by a combined 34-3 margin, Tulsa has rebounded with seven-consecutive wins to sit at 7-3 on the season. Ole Miss will be the second SEC competition of the season for the Golden Hurricane, with LSU cruising to a pair of wins over Tulsa by respective scores of 19-1 and 11-0.
A two-time All-American Athletic Conference honoree and one-time NFCA All-Region player, senior outfielder Julia Hollingsworth has led the way for Tulsa with a .543 batting average, three triples, 10 runs scored and six RBIs, posting an impressive .714 slugging percentage. Hollingsworth has also been clean in the field, keeping a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. Senior infielder Morgan Neal has also been productive for the Golden Hurricane, sitting at .323 at the plate with four doubles, matching Hollingsworth's six runs driven in.
For the first time in four years, Tulsa is without All-American pitcher Emily Watson, with the rest of the Golden Hurricane pitching staff looking to fill Watson's ever-large shoes. Freshman Chenise Delce has logged a majority of the innings, recording 28.0 frames in the circle. Delce is 3-1 on the season in four starts, posting a 1.50 ERA with 30 strikeouts to just six walks. Sophomore Samantha Pochop has made four appearances and three starts, recording a 3.23 ERA with 24 strikeouts and only three walks, while junior Kassidy Scott has earned a 6.53 ERA in her 15.0 innings, making six appearances.
• Garrett Valis is in his first season as the head coach at Sam Houston State, replacing longtime Bearkat skipper Bob Brock, under whom Valis served as an assistant coach for four seasons. The Bearkats are 5-6 on the young season, having split its last six games. In its most recent action, SHSU defeated Texas State in a road matchup, upending the Bobcats 4-3 in eight innings.
Sophomore outfielder Karlee Canada leads the Bearkats with a .353 batting average, while freshman infielder Kyndal Kutac is close behind at .333, leading SHSU with three home runs. Despite boasting just a .250 batting average, sophomore infielder Brooke Malia paces Sam Houston State with 11 runs driven in, knocking five extra-base hits with three doubles and a pair of homers.
The Bearkats have had three primary pitchers share time in the circle this season, with senior Lindsey McCleod leading the way with 31.1 innings of work. McCleod has posted a 2-4 record with a 3.73 ERA. Freshman Regan Dunn has appeared in six games with three starts, posting a 3.57 ERA in 22.2 frames, while junior Karina Sanchez has pitched 15.0 innings with a 1.20 ERA.
• Texas is in its first season with Mike White as its head coach, with white making the move to Austin after spending nine seasons turning Oregon into a national powerhouse. During his time with the Ducks, White led UO to five Women's College World Series appearances and five Pac-12 Championships. The Longhorns are off to a 7-1 start to their season, coming off of a 2-2 week end at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational. UT is 1-1 against SEC competition, falling to LSU and defeating Kentucky.
Joining White from Oregon, right handed pitcher Miranda Elish leads the Longhorns offensively with a .500 batting average, recording a pair of doubles, a homer, six RBIs and three runs scored. Sophomore Janae Jefferson leads a group of three other UT players batting above .400 at .462, scoring six runs while driving in four more. Two more former Oregon Ducks are close behind in sophomores Mary Iakopo and Lauren Burke, who are batting .438 and .417, respectively.
More than just a threat at the plate, Elish has also led the Longhorns in the circle. The junior is 2-0 on the year with a 0.41 ERA in her 17.0 innings, striking out 17 and surrendering just three walks. Freshman Shealyn O'Leary also boasts a sub-1.00 ERA at 0.64, going 2-0 in her 11.0 innings of work. Nevada transfer Brooke Bolinger has also tossed 11.0 frames, posting a 2.55 ERA with 18 strikeouts and five walks, while sophomore Ariana Adams has registered a 2.63 ERA in her 8.0 innings.
MR. 900
With Ole Miss' win against Oregon State last week at the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament, Rebel head coach Mike Smith reached 900 career wins as a head coach. The bulk of Smith's wins came during his eight-year run at Cal Baptist, racking up 467 victories with the then NAIA program. During his four plus seasons in Oxford, Smith has accumulated 152 wins, putting him just two shy of becoming the school's all-time winningest softball coach.
DRIVING 'EM HOME
Last season, catcher Autumn Gillespie led the Rebels with 30 RBIs for the season. Through nine games, a pair of Rebels are well on pace to shatter that mark. Sophomore Abbey Latham leads the team with 10 RBIs in just 24 at-bats, while senior Brittany Finney isn't far behind with eight. Finney has been especially effective driving in runs when she starts in the circle, with five of her eight RBIs coming in pitching performances.
CALIFORNIA LOVE
Despite the weather remaining cool and mostly dreary during Ole Miss road trip to California last week, Kylan Becker and Abbey Latham still managed to heat up in the Golden State. During the Rebels' five games, Becker batted .563 with six runs scored, while Latham posted a .500 average at the plate with two doubles, a homer, six RBIs, three runs scored and five stolen bases.
WHATEVER IT TAKES
Ole Miss hasn't been afraid to use a little small ball to get its run production going in 2019. The Rebels have been willing to scratch runners across via double steals, sacrifice hits or even trading outs for runs. In fact, of Ole Miss' 38 runs so far this season, 14 have been produced via something other than a base-hit.
FAST STARTS
The Rebels have wasted absolutely no time in getting action rolling so far this season. The Rebels have scored in the first inning in seven of their nine games, posting a 5-2 record in those ball games. Ole Miss has failed to put a runner on in the opening frame just once, going down in order against Minnesota.
RUNNIN' REBS
During the Mike Smith era, Ole Miss has always been known for using its speed on the base path. Th 2019 season has been no different as the Rebels have used their speed and aggressive nature on the bases to create havoc for opposing defenses. The Rebels have stolen successfully on 30-of-36 attempts, easily leading the SEC with seven more swiped bags than the next closest team (Alabama). The Rebels have four players in the top-10 in the SEC in steals, with Kylan Becker, Kaylee Horton and Abbey Latham each tied for fourth with six and Jessica Puk close behind in a tie for seventh with five.
TEXAS FOREVER, SIX
Ole Miss has four players from the Lone Star State on its roster, second most of any state. The list of native Texans includes Tate Whitley (Angleton/Angleton HS), Sydney Gutierrez (Pearland/Pearland HS), Amanda Roth (Carrollton/Hebron HS) and Anna Borgen (Heath/Dallas Christian HS). The list is set to get larger as well, with two of Ole Miss' six signees for next season's freshman class hailing from the Lone Star State.
THE NEW KID'S ALRIGHT
Through her first three appearances in a Rebel uniform, junior college transfer Molly Jacobsen is proving to be quite an addition in the circle for Ole Miss. The former Des Moines Area Community College player is 2-0 on the season with a save to her credit, having allowed just a single run for a 0.41 ERA. The lefty has gone the distance in both of her starts, registering a complete game shutout against Oregon State. In her 17.0 innings of work, the Adel, Iowa native has yet to surrender a walk, striking out 16 along the way and holding opponents to a .153 batting average.
