The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Nicholls
Rebels Set to Make Home Debut as Host of Ole Miss Classic
2/28/2019 | Softball
Ole Miss Hosts Seven-Game Slate with Nicholls, Pittsburgh
Dates: Mar. 1-3
First Pitch: Fri.: 4:30 p.m./7 p.m.; Sat.: 2 p.m./5 p.m.
Sun.: 11 a.m.
Opponents: Nicholls, Pittsburgh
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Venue: Ole Miss Softball Complex
TV: SEC Network + (when available)
PxP: Will Kollmeyer
Analyst: Missy Dickerson
Live Stats: OleMissSport.com
Twitter Updates: @OleMissSoftball
LEADING OFF
• The Rebels are making their home debut for the 2019 season as hosts of the Ole Miss Classic, ending a 15-game streak of games away from the Ole Miss Softball Complex to commence the season.
• The Rebels are coming off of an 18-3 drubbing of Central Arkansas on the road in Conway on Wednesday, cranking out 17 hits in the affair. The 18 runs are the most for the Rebs since also scoring 18 against Rhode Island in 2017, while the 15-run scoring margin is the largest for Ole Miss since 2015.
• Last weekend at the Texas Invitational in Austin, Rebel head coach Mike Smith picked up his 154th win at Ole Miss, making him the school's all-time winningest head coach in just over four seasons in Oxford.
• Sophomore Jessica Puk has been on fire to start her second collegiate season, leading Ole Miss with a .432 batting average, four home runs and three doubles. In the last six games, Puk is batting .556 with three dingers, eight RBIs and a slugging percentage of 1.222.
• After hitting just 27 home runs in 2018, Ole Miss has already hammered 14 round trippers this season, putting the Rebels on pace for over 50 during the regular season alone.
• The Rebels have used their speed to create havoc on the bases this season, ranking second in the SEC with 38 stolen bases on 48 attempts this season. The Rebels 38 steals are just one shy of conference leader Alabama.
• 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 fourth with just three on the year and Jacobsen tied for eighth with four surrendered in her first season in a Rebel uniform.
• Ole Miss is 10-5 all-time against Nicholls, defeating Pittsburgh in both previous meetings between the two schools.
SCOUTING REPORT
• Pittsburgh is in its first season under head coach Jodi Hermanek, a 14-year veteran at the Division I level. Having previously served as head coach at Southern Utah and Ohio, Hermanek is just one win away from reaching 300 for her career. The Panthers enter the Ole Miss Classic with a 2-12 record, having won their last game 2-0 over Penn State.
The Panthers Are led offensively by sophomore Brie Horrell, who is batting .471 with two home runs, six RBIs and three runs scored. Senior Marissa DeMatteo is the only other Pitt player batting over .300 at .364, while Freshman Katlyn Pavlick leads the team with eight runs scored despite registering just a .265 average, thanks in part to a team-high eight walks.
In the circle, the Panthers have struggled as a staff, being saddled with a 7.25 ERA and a .333 team opposing batting percentage. Sophomore Brittany Knight has seen the bulk of the workload with 43.1 innings pitched, posting a 5.65 ERA with 22 strikeouts and 26 walks. Freshman Abby Edwards sits with a 6.76 ERA in her 19.2 innings, while senior Taylor Rahach has allowed 34 runs (23 earned) in 16.2 frames.
• Angel Santiago is in his eighth season at the helm of the softball program at Nicholls, having led the Colonels to the 2018 Southland Conference Regular Season Championship en route to his second conference coach of the year honor. NSU is off to a 9-8 start to its season, having defeated Alcorn State 7-0 on Thursday after going 1-4 at the Mardi Gras Classic.
Sophomore Emma Holland paces the Colonels with a .360 batting average, scoring a team-high 11 runs while driving in eight more. Senior Amanda Gianelloni sits at .292 with a team-best nine RBIs, posting a pair of home runs and four doubles. Despite sitting at just .233 at the plate, senior Kasey Frederick has driving in eight runs to tie with Holland for second most on the team.
In the circle for the Colonels, it's pretty much been a two-woman show. Senior Megan Landry leads NSU with 61.2 innings of work, posting a 7-3 record with a 2.34 ERA and 60 strikeouts to just 12 free passes. Sophomore Alexis LaBure has made 11 appearances and seven starts, owning a 2-5 record with a 3.46 ERA in 39.0 innings.
REBELS MAUL BEARS IN CONWAY
The Ole Miss offense exploded in Wednesday's road tilt at Central Arkansas. The Rebels hung a crooked number in every inning except the second, pouring on eight in the sixth to go on to an 18-3 victory over UCA. The 18 runs were the most since the Rebs scored the same number against Rhode Island in 2017, while the 15-run margin of victory was the biggest for Ole Miss since 2015. While 12 players scored a run and 10 players registered a base-knock, it was the top of the order that did the most damage. Kylan Becker, Abbey Latham and Jessica Puk combined to go 9-for-13 with 11 RBIs and nine runs scored to lead the Rebels in the onslaught.
NEW NO. 1
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 15 games, numerous Rebels are well on pace to shatter that mark. Sophomore Abbey Latham leads the team with 15 RBIs, while senior Brittany Finney and sophomore Jessica Puk aren't far behind with 10 and nine, respectively. Finney has been especially effective driving in runs when she starts in the circle, with six of her 10 RBIs coming in pitching performances.
SOPHOMORE ASCENT
After starting just eight games and taking only 43 at-bats during her first collegiate season, sophomore Jessica Puk has been on a tear to open 2019. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa native leads the Rebels with a .432 batting average, tying for the team-high marks with three doubles and four home runs. Puk has been particularly hot over the past six games, batting 10-for-18 with eight runs driven in and a 1.222 slugging percentage.
BOMB SQUAD
After posting just 27 home runs all of last season, Ole Miss has already registered 14 big flies in 2019, putting the Rebels on pace to crank out over 50 round trippers on the year. While, Abbey Latham led the Rebs with seven dingers in 2018, Latham, Brittany Finney and Jessica Puk are each tied for the team lead with four homers already. Even slapper Kylan Becker has gotten in on the fun, leaving the yard for just the second time in her career.
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 10 of their 15 games, posting an 8-2 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. The 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.
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 14-game reached base streak, while teammate Jessica Puk is close behind with a 12-game run of her own, including a six-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.
