Softball Set for Midweek Tilt with UAB

			OLE MISS (27-10, 7-4 SEC) vs. UAB (15-22, 5-9 C-USA) Oxford, Miss. Ole Miss Softball Complex (1,000)
Ole Miss Notes • UAB Notes • SEC Notes

Wednesday, April 10
6 p.m.

Watch • Live Stats

PROMOTIONS
• $1 Hot Dogs

LEADING OFF
• Fresh off of its third SEC series victory of the season, Ole Miss takes on UAB in a home non-conference matchup at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
• The Rebels and Blazers have met up just three times previously, with UAB holding a slim 2-1 advantage in the all-time series. However, Ole Miss was a 5-0 victor in the most recent matchup in 2016, the only other meeting between the two teams in Oxford.
• In its most recent action, the Rebels bounced back from a Friday defeat at Kentucky to sweep the Saturday doubleheader and win the series over the then-No. 22-ranked Wildcats.
• With the wins over the Wildcats, the Rebels have been victorious in 19 of their last 23 games.
• Ole Miss' 7-4 start to SEC play is the best record through 11 conference games in program-history. The Rebels are currently sitting in fourth in the SEC standings.
• Ole Miss has racked up 10 wins over teams ranked in the top-25 in the nation. Last season, the Rebels earned just eight ranked wins over the entirety of the season.
• Ole Miss remains inside the top-20 in all three national polls, coming in at No. 17 in the NFCA Poll, No. 15 in the USA Softball Poll and even as high as No. 9 in the Softball America Poll. The No. 9 ranking is the highest the Rebels have ever climbed in one of the national polls.
• The Rebels stayed steady at No. 12 in the most recent NCAA RPI report. It is the highest RPI ranking in the history of Ole Miss Softball.The Rebels own 10 wins over top-30 RPI teams, including three in the top-15.
• Kylan Becker is currently on a 15-game hitting streak, tied for the fifth-longest in program-history. During the streak, Becker is batting a blistering .500 with 17 runs scored and 10 runs driven in.

SCOUTING REPORT
UAB is in its first year under first-time head coach Jimmy Kolaitis, who made the move to Birmingham after spending the previous five seasons on the staff at national powerhouse Oregon. During his time as an assistant coach with the Ducks, Kolaitis served as the recruiting coordinator and hitting coach, helping the Ducks to a 256-42-1 record and four Women's College World Series.

The Blazers sit at 15-22 on the season, including 5-9 in Conference USA play. UAB has been well challenged by its schedule, playing 11 games against seven different teams from Power Five conferences. The Rebels will be the fourth SEC team to face off against the Blazers, with UAB suffering two defeats each to Auburn, Alabama and Georgia. The Blazers have struggled thus far in true road games, posting a 3-10 mark on their opponent's home field.

The Blazers are led offensively by junior infielder and Ridgeland, Mississippi native Natalie Erwin, who is batting .340 on the season with five doubles, three home runs, 10 RBIs and 13 runs scored. Freshman outfielder Faith Hegh is close behind with a .336 average, pacing UAB with 11 doubles while scoring 16 runs and driving in nine more. Freshman infielder Sierra Frazier leads the team with five home runs and a .552 slugging percentage, adding eight doubles, 21 RBIs and 11 runs scored. Former Rebel Dylinn Stancil has been the biggest run producer for the Blazers, with the junior driving in 22 runs with a .303 average, nine doubles and three home runs.

The Blazers have used a pitcher by committee approach in the circle, with all four hurlers surpassing 40.0 innings pitched. Sophomore Emily Kachel leads the team with 70.1 innings in 20 appearances and 15 starts, posting a 3.88 ERA with a 4-6 record. Freshman Sarah Cespedes is the only Blazer pitcher with a winning record, sitting at 6-5 in 25 appearances and seven starts while logging a 3.83 ERA in 64.0 innings. Junior Claire Blount has also seen her fair share of action at 60.2 frames, going 4-9 in 19 appearances and 12 starts with a 6.12 ERA.

IT JUST MEANS MORE WINS
Through its first four SEC matchups of 2019, Ole Miss has yet to drop a series. The Rebels have earned three conference series wins, splitting their two games with South Carolina earlier in the year. The three SEC series wins is already tied for the most in program-history, with four series yet to be played. Ole Miss currently sits in fourth in the league standings with a 7-4 record, one half game back of a tie for second. The Rebels have never finished higher than eighth in the final SEC standings.

BLUEGRASS BOUNCE BACK
After suffering arguably its worst defeat of the season in Friday's opener, Ole Miss bounced back with a doubleheader sweep over then-No. 22 Kentucky on Saturday to claim the series, its third series victory in SEC play this season. Just as the Wildcats had done the day before, the Rebs jumped out to a big lead early in the first game, riding a four-run first inning to a comfortable 8-4 victory. Ole Miss again struck early and led the majority of the way in the nightcap, but Kentucky was able to tie the game at two apiece late. However, Amanda Roth blasted a solo homer to leadoff the first and the Rebels never looked back, scoring four runs in the frame to earn a 6-2 win.

Brittany Finney was excellent in the circle, picking up wins in both games after tossing a complete game in the first affair and finishing things off with a pair of scoreless innings in the later game. Roth had a breakout week, batting .538 with four extra-base hits, six RBIs and three runs scored, while Tate Whitley batted .462 with a double and a run scored.

FINNEY'S FINE FORM
In recent games, senior right-handed pitcher Brittany Finney has had all of her stuff working in the circle. The Wichita, Kansas native has picked up the win in each of her last four appearances, surrendering just three earned runs in 14.1 innings of work, picking up 14 strikeouts along the way. In general, the senior has been electric in the circle all season, allowing more than two earned runs in just three games in 2019, with the last coming back on March 9.

RUN AT YOUR OWN RISK
Over her two seasons at Ole Miss, junior catcher Autumn Gillespie has established herself as one of the most feared arms not only in the SEC but across the nation. The Redlands, California native leads the league having caught 11 runners attempting to steal. With just 18 total steals attempted against her in 2019, Gillespie has gunned down 61.1 percent of runners risky enough to attempt to swipe a base.

MIAMI HEAT
Having reached safely in 35 of 37 games, including at least one hit in 32 contests, it's no surprise that Kylan Becker has had a number of hot streaks this season. The Miami native is on another one, having posted a base knock in 15-consecutive games, the second longest in the history of Ole Miss softball, besting her own streak of 14 games in 2017. During the 15-game stretch, the senior is batting .500 with 17 runs scored and 10 runs driven in, adding in four walks for a .534 OBP. The senior has been on fire all season long, ranking second in the SEC and sixth nationally with a .471 average at the plate.

STRONG OUT OF THE GATES
One of the keys to success offensively for the Rebels this season has been the ability to get early action on the bases. As a team, Ole Miss' batters have a .421 on-base percentage when leading off an inning, up from the overall team OBP of .361. Six Rebels are at or above .500 as the leadoff, led by Jessica Puk at .571. Abbey Latham is close behind at .556, followed by Autumn Gillespie (.526), Mikayla Allee (.500), Alyssa Pinto (.500) and Amanda Roth (.500).

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.

RebelsCalendar

Players Mentioned

Mikayla Allee

Kylan Becker

Brittany Finney

Autumn Gillespie

Abbey Latham

Alyssa Pinto

Jessica Puk

Amanda Roth

Dylinn Stancil

Tate Whitley

The University of Mississippi Athletics