Austin Peay Comes to Town for Softball Midweek Matchup

			OLE MISS (13-6, 0-0 SEC) vs. AUSTIN PEAY (11-9, 0-0 OVC) Oxford, Miss. Ole Miss Softball Complex (1,000)
Ole Miss Notes • A ustin Peay Notes • SEC Notes

Wednesday, March 6
4 p.m.

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LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss Welcomes the Austin Peay Governors to Oxford for the third time in the series-history, the first since 2017. The game was originally scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT start time but was moved up due to chilly temperatures forecasted in Northern Mississippi.
• The Rebs are 2-0 all-time against the Governors, defeating APSU in Oxford in 2011 and 2017.
• The Rebels are coming off of a 5-0 week, including four wins as host of the Ole Miss Classic. During the week, Ole Miss outscored its opponents 36-7.
• Senior Brittany Finney and junior Molly Jacobsen both threw complete game shutouts during the Ole Miss Classic, the second of the season for both pitchers.
• After batting .647 in the five Rebel wins, senior outfielder Kylan Becker was named the SEC Player of the Week, posting a double, a triple, a home run, seven runs scored and seven RBIs.
• During the Central Arkansas game, Becker set career-highs with four runs, four hits and seven total bases.
• Becker is currently on an 18-game reached base streak. The senior has also hit safely in six games immediately after having her team-best eight-game hitting streak snapped.
• Ole Miss has scored first in 14 of its 19 games this season, going 10-4 in those games. The Rebels have scored in the first inning 12 times, coming out on top in 10 of those games.
• The Rebels have used their speed to create havoc on the bases this season, leading the SEC with 50 stolen bases on 64 attempts this season. Ole Miss ranks ninth in the nation with 2.63 steals per game.
• Three Rebels rank inside the top-10 in the SEC in stolen bases this season, with Becker ranking fourth, Kaylee Horton coming in at No. 5 and Abbey Latham sitting in a tie for seventh.

SCOUTING REPORT
Austin Peay is in its first season under new head coach Kassie Stanfill, who begins her first season as a head coach after a successful run as an assistant coach at the Division I level. Prior to making the move to Clarksville, Tennessee, Stanfill was an assistant coach at Louisville, the associate head coach at Illinois, the pitching coach at Ball State and an assistant coach at Middle Tennessee State.

The Governors come to Oxford with an 11-9 overall record, going 2-3 last weekend at the Chanticleer Showdown hosted by Coastal Carolina in Conway, South Carolina. Austin Peay has played 10 true road games in 2019, going 5-5 in those contests.

APSU is led offensively by reigning Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week Danielle Liermann, a senior third baseman that is batting .375 with a team-high eight home runs and 20 runs driven in, also scoring 15 runs herself. Liermann's eight big flies is good for the seventh most in the country. junior pitcher/first baseman Kelsey Gross is next up with a .364 average, while senior catcher Carly Mattson has also been extremely productive with a .343 average, team-highs in doubles (7) and runs (16) as well as five home runs and 18 RBIs. Senior outfielder Kacy Acree is the final Gov batting over .300 at .319, doing a little bit of everything with three doubles, a triple, four home runs, 15 runs scored and 15 more driven in, going 2-for-2 on stolen base attempts.

In the circle, senior Morgan Rackel has done a good deal of the heavy lifting, throwing 76.2 innings in 13 appearances and 20 starts, throwing nine complete games including three shutouts. Rackel boasts a 3.01 ERA, striking out 86 batters to just 18 walks, while allowing a .268 opponent batting average. Senior Kelly Mardones has earned a 4.09 ERA in 39.1 innings, making nine starts, while Gross has largely come on in relief to post a 2.67 ERA in 21.0 frames.

OH. MY. GAWD. BECKY.
After batting .647 over five games and helping the Rebels to an undefeated week, senior Kylan Becker was named the SEC Player of the week for the second time in her career. The Miami native knocked in seven runs and scored seven more, showing off her power with a double, a triple and a home run. The speedy outfielder got the week started with a bang against Central Arkansas, going 4-for-5 with four runs scored and driven in, following up with a pair of hits and three more hits against Nicholls to open the Ole Miss Classic. Becker is currently in the midst of an 18-game reached base streak and six game-hitting streak.

FRESHIES LEAD THE WAY
During last week's Ole Miss Classic, the Rebels completed their first seventh-inning comeback of the season to avoid an upset loss to the Pitt Panthers, entering the final frame trailing 2-3, the Rebels got a rally going and pulled off the walk-off victory, thanks largely to Ole Miss' freshman class. Newby Tate Whitley tied the game with a clutch RBI single before freshman Mikayla Allee laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to bring rookie Katelin Cooper across the plate for the winning run.

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 24th in the nation and seventh in the SEC with a 1.72 team ERA, with junior Molly Jacobsen leading the way at 1.01. Jacobsen's earned run average is good for the 33rd best in Division I, coming in at No. 7 in the SEC. When the pitching staff is in prime form, the Rebels are nearly unbeatable, posting a 10-0 record when allowing two or less runs this season.

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 19 games, numerous Rebels are well on pace to shatter that mark. Sophomore Abbey Latham leads the team with 16 RBIs, while sophomore Jessica Puk and senior Brittany Finney aren't far behind with 13 and 11, respectively.

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 just under 40 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 12 of their 19 contests, posting an 10-2 record in those ball games. Ole Miss has failed to put a runner on in the opening frame just three times in 2019. Additionally, the Rebels have cracked the scoreboard first 14 times this season, going 10-4 in those contests.

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 50-of-64 attempts to lead the SEC, ranking ninth in the nation in steals per game at 2.63. The Rebels have three players in the top-10 in the SEC in steals, with Kylan Becker ranking fourth with 11, Kaylee Horton coming in at No. 6 with nine and Abbey Latham tied for seventh with eight swiped bags.

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.

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Players Mentioned

Mikayla Allee

Kylan Becker

Katelin Cooper

Brittany Finney

Autumn Gillespie

Kaylee Horton

Molly Jacobsen

Abbey Latham

Jessica Puk

Tate Whitley

The University of Mississippi Athletics