The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Central Arkansas
Softball Ending Long Road Swing Wednesday at Central Arkansas
2/26/2019 | Softball
Rebs Compete in First Midweek Tilt Ahead of This Weekend's Ole Miss Classic
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OLE MISS (8-6, 0-0 SEC) at CENTRAL ARKANSAS (9-6, 0-0 SOUTHLAND) February 27, 2019 Conway, Ark. Farris Field (1,000) |
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| Ole Miss Notes • Central Arkansas Preview • SEC Notes | ||||||||
| Wednesday, February 27 |
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LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss is playing the final contest of a 15-game streak away from home to open its season. The Rebels will make their home debut this weekend as hosts of the Ole Miss Classic.
• The Rebels are coming off of a 2-3 weekend at the Texas Invitational in Austin, Texas. Ole Miss took a pair of matchups with Sam Houston State, losing once to Tulsa and twice to then No. 11 Texas.
• With the second victory over Sam Houston State, Rebel head coachMike Smith picked up his 154th win at Ole Miss, making him the school's all-time winningest head coach.
• Sophomore Jessica Puk had a weekend to remember in Austin. The native Iowan went 8-for-15 (.533) with three doubles, a pair of home runs, two runs scored and four RBIs. Puk went deep twice in Friday's affair with SHSU, the first multi-home run game of her career.
• After hitting just 27 home runs in 2018, Ole Miss has already hammered 12 round trippers this season, putting the Rebels on pace for over 44 during the regular season alone.
• Brittany Finney and Abbey Latham are tied for the team lead in homers with four apiece, while Puk is close behind with three to her credit. Last season, Latham led the Rebels with seven home runs total.
• The Rebels have used their speed to create havoc on the bases this season, ranking second in the SEC with 34 stolen bases on 43 attempts this season. The Rebels 43 steal attempts are the most in the conference.
• Both sophomore Ava Tillmann and junior Molly Jacobsen have been extremely stingy with free passes in the circle. The pair rank in the top-10 in the SEC in walks allowed, with Tillmann tied for second with just two on the year and Jacobsen tied for eighth with four surrendered in her first season in a Rebel uniform.
SCOUTING REPORT
The Central Arkansas Bears are in their 11th season under head coach David Kuhn. A native of Greenville, Mississippi, Kuhn got his start in head coaching in the Magnolia State at Delta State, where he is the winningest coach in the history of Lady Statesmen softball. During his time in Conway, Kuhn has led the bears to over 300 wins, reaching the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament in 2015.
The Bears are off to a 9-6 start to their season, winning five of their last seven games. UCA recently completed the Michelle Short Memorial Classic at their home Farris Field, dropping a pair of contests to North Alabama and South Dakota State before bouncing back with an 11-0 victory over Jackson State. The Rebels and Bears have played one common opponent thus far in George Mason. Ole Miss set aside the Patriots 8-0 in five innings at the Friends of Jaclyn Tournament, while Central Arkansas was defeated by GMU 5-3 at the Medeira Beach Invitational.
The Bears are led offensively by senior infielder Cylla Hill, who is batting .444 with seven doubles, two triples, a home run, nine runs driven in and 12 scored. Junior first baseman Kaylyn Shepherd is another one to keep an eye on at the plate, sitting at .400 with three homers and 10 runs scored and driven in apiece. Sitting second on the team with a .696 slugging percentage, senior infielder Libby Morris poses a dangerous power threat, leading the team with four big flies and 16 RBIs, posting a .348 average. UCA is not afraid to run, having stolen successfully on 39-of-41 attempts, including 10-for-10 by senior outfielder Oakley Sisemore and 9-for-9 from junior outfielder Kayla Crutchmer.
Central Arkansas takes a pitcher-by-committee approach to the circle, with seven different players having made a pitching appearance in 2019. Freshman Jordan Johnson has seen the most work at 28.1 innings, registering a 2.71 ERA with a .189 opponent batting average, going 2-0 in seven appearances. Senior Rachel Haberman sits at 3-2 in 18.2 innings in eight appearances, recording a 2.25 ERA. Meanwhile, sophomore Rio Sanchez has thrown 17.0 frames, going 2-2 in four starts with a 3.71 ERA.
KING OF THE HILL
With Ole Miss' 2-1 victory over Sam Houston State on Feb. 23, head coach Mike Smith earned his 154th victory at the helm of the Rebel softball program, making him the winningest coach in school-history. It took Smith just over four full seasons to accomplish the feat, nearly three years less than previous record holder Candi Letts. The victory came just two wins after Smith picked up the 900th victory overall in his head coaching career.
DRIVING 'EM HOME
Last season, catcher Autumn Gillespie led the Rebels with 30 RBIs for the season. Through 14 games, a pair of Rebels are well on pace to shatter that mark. Sophomore Abbey Latham leads the team with 12 RBIs in just 37 at-bats, while senior Brittany Finney isn't far behind with nine. Finney has been especially effective driving in runs when she starts in the circle, with six of her nine RBIs coming in pitching performances.
PUK GETS WEIRD IN AUSTIN
Sophomore Jessica Puk had a weekend to remember at the Texas Invitational in Austin. The utility player went 8-for-15 at the plate (.533) with three doubles, a pair of home runs, four runs driven in and two runs scored. Puk registered the first multi-home run game of her career in Friday's matchup with Sam Houston State, launching a three-run bomb and a solo shot to left field. The Iowa native currently leads Ole Miss with a .412 batting average and a .765 slugging percentage.
BOMB SQUAD
After posting just 27 home runs all of last season, Ole Miss has already registered 12 big flies in 2019, putting the Rebels on pace to crank out over 44 round trippers on the year. While, Abbey Latham led the Rebs with seven dingers in 2018, Latham and Brittany Finney are tied for the team lead with four already, while Jessica Puk isn't far behind with three to her credit.
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 nine of their 14 games, posting a 7-2 record in those ball games. Ole Miss has failed to put a runner on in the opening frame just three times in 2019.
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 34-of-43 attempts, ranking second in the SEC. The Rebels have four players in the top-10 in the SEC in steals, with Kaylee Horton ranking fourth with seven and Kylan Becker and Abbey Latham tied for fifth with six swiped bags.
YOU SHALL NOT PASS
Ole Miss' pitching staff when it comes to allowing free passes in 2019. The Rebels rank second in the SEC with 14 total walks and 1.11 walks per game. Two Rebels rank inside the top-10 in least amount of bases on balls this season, with Ava Tillmann tied for second with two walks all year and Molly Jacobsen tied for eighth with four free passes issued.
JACOBSEN'S SCORELESS RUN
Before surrendering three runs in the sixth inning in the Feb. 23 matchup with then No. 11 Texas, junior left-handed pitcher Molly Jacobsen had gone on a run of 23-consecutive scoreless innings in the circle, the second longest streak in Ole Miss history. The record belongs to Mary Jane Callahan, who twirled 29-straight scoreless frames in 2006.
WE'RE GOING STREAKING!
Rebel outfielder Kylan Becker is currently on a 13-game reached base streak, while teammate Jessica Puk is close behind with a 11-game run of her own, including a five-game hitting streak. Elantra Cox set the longest reached base streak in 2018 with 16. Meanwhile, the high mark for a hitting streak for Ole Miss last season was seven games, set by Cox and Kaylee Horton.
For all Ole Miss softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball, on Facebook at Ole MissSoftball and on Instagram at Instagram.com/olemisssoftball. Fans can also follow head coach Mike Smith on Twitter at @msmithsb16.
