The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Memphis
Softball Looking to Stay Hot as Memphis Comes to Town Wednesday
3/12/2019 | Softball
Fresh Off Huge Series Win over Arkansas, Rebels Turn Their Attention to the Tigers
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OLE MISS (16-7, 2-1 SEC) vs. MEMPHIS (12-9, 0-0 AAC) Oxford, Miss. Ole Miss Softball Complex (1,000) |
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| Ole Miss Notes • Memphis Notes • SEC Notes | ||||||||
| Wednesday, March 13 2 p.m.  |
| Watch • Live Stats |
PROMOTIONS
- $1 Hot Dogs
LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss welcomes its nearby rival Memphis to Oxford for a Wednesday midweek clash at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. The two teams will be meeting up for the fifth-straight season, playing six times the last four years.
• Ole Miss leads the all-time series at 5-2, though the Tigers have one both the first and last meetings between the two teams after last season's 9-3 Rebel defeat in Memphis.
• The Tigers are coached by Natalie Poole, whom Rebel head coach Mike Smith replaced at McNeese State in 2012 after Poole left Lake Charles to accept the head coaching position at Memphis.
• The Rebels are ranked for the first time in 2019, coming in at No. 25 in the Softball America Poll. Ole Miss is also receiving votes in both the NFCA Coaches Poll and the USA Softball Poll.
• Ole Miss is coming off of a 2-1 series win over then-No. 14 Arkansas this past weekend in Oxford. It was the first series win to open SEC play for the Rebels since 2012.
• After taking 2-of-3 from the Razorbacks, Ole Miss has won eight of its last nine games, including seven of its last eight at home.
• Memphis is coming in on a win streak of its own, taking each of its last seven contests, all at home. The streak comes immediately following a rough stretch for the Tigers, who had lost six-straight before the streak.
• Senior Brittany Finney has registered a home run in each of the last two games to take over the team-lead with six for the season. The right hander was also excellent in her last appearance in the circle, earning a save against Arkansas after retiring each of the seven batters she faced.
• Junior college transfer Molly Jacobsen sits at 8-1 for the season after earning three wins last week. The lefty ranks fourth in the SEC with a 0.88 ERA and has allowed one run or fewer in 10 of her 12 appearances.
SCOUTING REPORT
Memphis is in its eighth season under head coach Natalie Poole, who made the move to the Volunteer State after preceding Ole Miss head coach Mike Smith at McNeese State from 2009-11. During her tenure at the helm of the Tiger program, Poole has led Memphis to a 190-228 overall record, finishing fifth in the AAC in 2018 with a 10-11 league record. Poole has twice led her teams to an NCAA Tournament birth, in 2006 with Georgia Southern and in 2010 with McNeese State.
The Tigers enter Wednesday's matchup with a 12-9 overall record, winners of each of their last seven games, winning three of their last four by a single goal. The Tigers are yet to win in true away games, dropping a pair of games to FIU and one contest each to Florida Gulf Coast and LSU. The Tigers and Rebels have faced a pair of common opponents in Sam Houston State and Central Arkansas, with Memphis sweeping the two games just like Ole Miss. However, both games were very close, with Memphis pulling out a 5-3 victory over the Bearkats and a 1-0 decision against the Bears.
For the Tiger offense, sophomore utility player Baylee Smith leads the way with a .407 average, leading the team with six doubles, four homers and 19 RBIs while also scoring 12 runs. Senior first baseman Ashley Threatt is a serious threat at the plate, boasting a .333 average with seven runs driven in and six scored. Freshman first baseman/third baseman Ryleigh Aungst is the only other Tiger batting over .300 at .321, posting three dingers, seven RBIs and six runs.
Sophomore Mariah Nichols has been a workhorse in the circle for Memphis, registering a 4-4 record in 17 appearances and nine starts, earning a 2.26 ERA in 62.0 innings with 40 strikeouts and 35 walks. Senior Bayleigh Wisher has made 12 appearances and two starts, tallying a 3.11 ERA in 36.0 innings, while junior Karli Perque has tossed 26.2 frames in eight appearances (seven starts), recording a 2.89 ERA.
REBS START STRONG IN SEC PLAY
Evening a series sweep on the road in 2018, Ole Miss took 2-of-3 games over then-No. 14 Arkansas in the Rebels' opening SEC series. Ole Miss jumped ahead but ultimately fell to the Hogs in the series opener but rebounded with back-to-back impressive showings to claim the series. It was the first time that Ole Miss has opened league play with a series win since 2012, when the Rebels took both ends of a doubleheader in Fayetteville against the very same Arkansas Razorbacks.
Ole Miss was especially impressive in the Sunday night matchup between the two sides. The Rebels cranked out 12 runs to run-rule the Hogs in five innings. It was the biggest win over an SEC foe since a 13-0 victory over Arkansas back during that 2012 series and the largest margin of victory over a ranked opponent in the history of the program. Much of the heavy lifting came from the middle of the order, as Jessica Puk, Autumn Gillespie, Amanda Roth, Kaylee Horton and Brittany Finney combined to go 8-for-12 at the plate with 10 RBIs and eight runs scored.
THAT'S GONNA BE ON SPORTSCENTER!
During a weekend full of highlights in Ole Miss' 2-1 series win over Arkansas, Kylan Becker waited until just about the very last moment to make one that is sure to stand the test of time in Ole Miss lore. Playing in her 200th game in a Rebel uniform, the speedy center fielder made one of the finest web gems you will ever see, leaping high in the air to make an incredible catch while crashing into the outfield fence, robbing the Razorbacks' Taylor Greene of a home run. The play did not go unnoticed, earning the No. 1 spot in Sportscenter's #SCTop10 and even drawing the eye of former MLB center field standout Torii Hunter on Twitter.
SLAPPING 'EM IN
A big key behind Ole Miss' 29 runs over its four games this past week was the run production of right fielder Kaylee Horton. The Jasper, Alabama native used her .417 average for the week to drive in eight Rebel runs. With 40 total RBIs for her career, the week accounted for exactly 20 percent of the junior's career run production.
GET ON YOUR HORSE
With the amount of speed on the Rebels' roster, it's no surprise that the team has a knack for stretching base hits for extra bases. Ole Miss is tied for the fifth most triples in the country with 10, thanks in large part to their leadoff hitter. Kylan Becker's four triple baggers in 2019 is the fourth most in the NCAA and puts the senior in position to make some history. At 11 in a Rebel jersey, Becker is now just one triple shy of Miranda Strother's career record at Ole Miss, while the four this year are tied for the second most in a single season, matching her own total from 2017 and just one shy of Strother's record of five that same year.
SOPHOMORE ASCENSION
After starting just eight games and taking only 43 at-bats during her first collegiate season, sophomore Jessica
Puk has experienced a renaissance during her second year to cement herself as a fixture in the Rebel lineup. The Iowa native has registered five home runs, five doubles and a .719 slugging percentage, batting .368 and driving home 18 runs to tie for the team lead. With her increased production, Puk has raised her slugging percentage and batting average by 440 and 159 points, respectively.
NO EASY BASES
If there is one area the Ole Miss pitching staff has particularly excelled at this season it has been the ability to keep the ball in the strike zone. The Rebels rank 14th in the nation with a 3.84 strikeout-to-walk ratio, allowing one or fewer bases on balls in 14 games in 2019. In a group full of accurate throwers, junior Molly Jacobsen has stood out. The junior college transfer has surrendered the 27th fewest walks per seven innings in NCAA Division I softball at 1.00, ranking 22nd nationally with a 6.25 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
STINGY IN THE CIRCLE
One of the keys to success for the Rebels in 2019 has been the pitching staff's ability to keep runs to a minimum for the opposing side. Ole Miss ranks 28th in the nation and seventh in the SEC with a 1.89 team ERA, with junior Molly Jacobsen leading the way at 0.88. Jacobsen's earned run average is good for the 18th best in Division I, coming in at No. 4 in the SEC. When the pitching staff is in prime form, the Rebels are nearly unbeatable, posting a 13-0 record when allowing two runs or fewer this season.
BOMB SQUAD
After posting just 27 home runs all of last season, Ole Miss has already registered 17 big flies in 2019, putting the Rebels on pace to crank out just over 40 round trippers on the year. After going deep twice this past week, Brittany Finney has overtaken sole possession of the team lead with six for the season, with Jessica Puk and Abbey Latham closing in with five and four, respectively. Even slapper Kylan Becker has gotten in on the fun, leaving the yard for just the second time in her career. The Rebels will hope to have some more runners on base when going long in the future, with nine of Ole Miss' dingers being of the solo variety.
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 14 of their 23 contests, posting a 12-2 record in those ball games. Ole Miss has failed to put a runner on in the opening frame just four times in 2019. Additionally, the Rebels have cracked the scoreboard first 17 times this season, going 13-4 in those games. In general, the Rebs have done most of their damage in the early going, scoring 67 of their 113 total runs for the season in the game's first three innings.
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 56-of-72 attempts to tie for the SEC lead, ranking 10th in the nation in steals per game at 2.43. Kylan Becker leads the team and ranks third in the league with 13 swiped bags, while Kaylee Horton has stolen 10 times to tie for fifth in the SEC.
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.
