Softball Heads to Georgia with Title Hopes Alive

			No. 15 OLE MISS (36-13, 13-7 SEC) vs. No. 14 GEORGIA (36-16, 9-12 SEC) Athens, Ga. Jack Turner Stadium (1,400)
Ole Miss Notes • Georgia Notes • SEC Notes

Friday, May 3 5 p.m.	Saturday, May 4 11 a.m.	Sunday, May 5 12 p.m.
Watch • Live Stats	Watch • Live Stats	Watch • Live Stats

LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss plays in the final series of the regular season, heading to Athens for a three-game series with No. 14 Georgia.
• Sunday's finale will be aired on the SEC Network as part of the network's Bases Loaded whip-around coverage. The entire game will be available via SEC Network +.
• Georgia has dominated the all-time series with Ole Miss, owning a 45-11 record against the Rebels, winning 33-straight games from 2004-2016. However, Ole Miss has won three of the past four meetings, including a 2-1 series win in Oxford last season.
• Last weekend, Ole Miss completed its fifth-straight SEC series win against Tennessee, taking down the Volunteers two games to one. The Rebels have won six of their seven series this season and are the only team in the league not to lose a series entering the season's final weekend.
• The Rebels have been on a roll through the second half of the 2018 season, winning 28 of their last 33 games.
• Ole Miss enters the final weekend of the 2019 regular season at 13-7 in SEC play, breaking the program-record for conference wins in a season, set with 11 in 2016.
• The Rebels have a chance to seal the program's first-ever SEC Regular Season Championship if they can sweep their three games with Georgia and LSU wins 2-of-3 games against Alabama.
• One win this weekend will guarantee the Rebels of a top-4 seed and a bye in the SEC Tournament, while the Rebs are already guaranteed their highest finish in the league standings in school-history, locked into a top-6 spot.
• Ole Miss has racked up 12 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. 15 in the NFCA and USA Softball Polls, while coming in at No. 8 in the Softball America Poll, the highest ranking in program-history.
• The Rebels remained at No. 15 in the latest NCAA RPI report. The Rebels own 14 wins over top-30 RPI teams, including seven in the top-15 and eight in the top-20.

SCOUTING REPORT
Georgia is in its 19th season under legendary head coach Lu Harris-Champer, who has guided the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament each of the past 17 seasons, including 10 trips to the Super Regional round and four appearances in the Women's College World Series. During her stay in Athens, Harris-Champer has also led UGA to two SEC regular season titles and one SEC Tournament Championship. Before taking the job at Georgia, Harris-Champer cut her teeth as a head coach for three seasons at Southern Miss, leading USM to two trips to the WCWS.

Ranked as high as No. 14 in the nation, the Bulldogs enter the final week of the season with a 36-16 overall record, sitting in ninth in the SEC standings with a 9-12 mark in league action. Georgia has done a bulk of its damage at home, posting a 26-8 record in Athens compared to a 10-8 mark outside of its home stadium. Of the Bulldogs' 16 losses, eight have come against ranked teams, posting a 4-8 record against Top-25 sides, all from the SEC.

A large portion of the Bulldogs' offense this season has come via the long ball, ranking ninth in the nation and second in the SEC with 70 home runs. UGA is led by senior Alyssa DiCarlo, who's 21 big flies are the fourth most among all Division I players. DiCarlo also paces Georgia with a .397 average, 12 doubles, 53 runs scored and 54 driven in. Junior Ciara Brian has the second highest average on the team at .362, chipping in five doubles, five triples and 10 homers with 45 runs and 34 RBIs. Freshman Lacey Fincher has had a productive rookie campaign, batting .326 with six doubles and nine dingers, scoring 41 runs and driving in 28 more. Despite boasting a paltry .238 average, the lowest among regular players, freshman Savannah Sikes ranks second on the team with 45 runs driven in, smoking eight home runs.

Deficient of a true ace, Georgia has utilized its stable of pitchers to keep their opponents at bay, with four hurlers logging more than 60 innings. Junior Mary Wilson Avant has seen the most work with 83.1 innings in 21 appearances and 14 starts, posting a 9-4 record and a 2.69 ERA. Kennesaw State transfer Alley Cutting has pitched 80.1 frames in 22 appearances and 11 starts, earning a 2.79 ERA and a 9-4 mark. Senior Kylie Bass, who the Rebels faced briefly in Oxford last season, owns a 9-3 record in 20 appearances and 13 starts, garnering a 2.14 ERA in 72 innings complete. Sophomore Lauren Mathis rounds out the group with 67.2 frames in the circle, going 7-4 in 22 appearances and 10 starts with a 2.69 ERA.

THANK YOU, AGAIN, REBEL NATION!
For the second time this season, a new regular season record for attendance was set at the Ole Miss Softball Complex during Game Three against Tennessee. This time, however, the 1,734 fans in attendance were enough to set the all-time high mark at the stadium, surpassing the Regional Championship Game against North Carolina in 2017. In all, the three-game mark of 4,388 set the series record as well.

TITLE HOPES ALIVE
Entering the final weekend of the regular season, Ole Miss, the team picked to finish 12th in the Preseason SEC Poll, is one of three teams in contention for the league crown. There is one scenario remaining in which the Rebels can claim the SEC Championship, assuming all games over the weekend are played as scheduled. Ole Miss will need to sweep Georgia and have LSU win 2-of-3 games over Alabama to capture the program's first-ever league title. At least one win over the Bulldogs will guarantee the Rebels of a top-4 finish and a first round bye in the SEC Tournament. No matter the results of this weekend, the Rebs will finish higher in the league standings than they ever have, locked into a top-6 spot. Ole Miss has never finished higher than eighth in the SEC.

HISTORY ON THE HORIZON
There are a few program-records that could be changing hands in the near future. Sophomore Abbey Latham is just four RBIs away from breaking the single-season record at Ole Miss, held by DeDe Justice with 45 in 2003. Senior Kylan Becker is also on the precipice of breaking a pair of single-season marks, sitting six runs (Elantra Cox, 51, 2017) and seven stolen bases (Brittany Broome, 33, 2013) shy.

TRENDING UP
While the play of the Ole Miss pitching staff all season has been a key to the Rebels' success, as of late senior Brittany Finney and sophomore Ava Tillmann have upped their game to an even higher level. Finney has not lost a start since March 23 at South Carolina, winning eight-straight decisions to improve to 14-5 and take over the team-lead for wins. In her last 16 appearances, the senior has allowed more than two earned runs just twice, including seven games with no earned runs surrendered.

Meanwhile, after starting out the season with a 1-2 record, sophomore pitcher Ava Tillmann has been on the rise. The righty flamethrower has won each of her last seven decisions to improve to 8-2 on the year. Despite falling in two of her first three starts, the Georgia native has had solid showings all season long, allowing two earned runs or less in 15-of-17 appearances, including 1 run or less 11 times.

EXTRA! EXTRA!
After playing the first 29 games of the season without going into extra-innings a single time, Ole Miss has need extra frames to conclude eight of its last 20 contests, including last Sunday's 2-1 loss to Tennessee in nine innings. The Rebels have been very successful when playing bonus softball, posting a 6-2 record in extra-inning, walking off three times. With 10 run-rule wins on the season, the Rebels have played the regulation seven innings in just 63.3 percent of their games.

MONEYBALL
While not posting the most eye-popping numbers in the Ole Miss lineup with a meager .171 batting average, freshman Mikayla Allee has found a way to contribute to the Rebel offense in other ways. The Corona, California native ranks fourth on the team among players with at least 10 at-bats with a .375 on-base percentage, drawing 15 walks and tying for the team lead with 11 HBPs. When leading off the inning and turning the lineup over to the top of the order, Ole Miss' No. 9 hitter is reaching base at a .500 clip.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE OXFORD
While the Rebels have been in winning form for much of the season, the level of play has been ramped up to an even higher level inside the walls at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. Ole Miss concluded the regular season at 21-4 in the comfy confines of their home stadium, winning every single non-conference matchup and going 8-4 in conference play in Oxford. Junior Autumn Gillespie has especially dialed in her game at the Ole Miss Softball Complex, batting .333 with 9 of her 14 extra-base hits and 14 of her 22 RBIs coming in Oxford.

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 20 total steals attempted against her in 2019, Gillespie has gunned down 55 percent of runners risky enough to attempt to swipe a base.

GO THREE! GO THREE!
With speed in bunches Mike Smith's teams are always extremely aggressive on the base path and that aggression shows up when looking at Ole Miss' power numbers. The Rebels rank fourth in the nation in triples per game at 0.39. Kylan Becker's seven triples is fourth-most in Division I, while Autumn Gillespie's four triple-baggers ranks tied for fourth in the SEC.

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 13th in the nation with a 3.96 strikeout-to-walk ratio, allowing one or fewer bases on balls in 31 games in 2019. Ole Miss ranks tied for 11th in the nation with 75 total walks, second fewest in the conference. Additionally, Ole Miss boasts three of the nation's top-100 pitchers in walks allowed per seven innings pitched in Ava Tillmann (75th, 1.51), Brittany Finney (78th, 1.53) and Molly Jacobsen (81st, 1.54).

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 second in the SEC with a 1.96 team ERA, the 21st-lowest in the nation. When the pitching staff is in prime form, the Rebels are nearly unbeatable, posting a 26-2 record when allowing two runs or fewer this season. The Rebels have allowed more than three runs in just 14 games in 2019, registering a 31-3 record in all other contests.

BOMB SQUAD
After posting just 27 home runs all of last season, Ole Miss has already registered 34 big flies in 2019. After Abbey Latham led Ole Miss with seven homers in 2018, Jessica Puk and Brittany Finney already bested that number with Puk leading the team at nine dingers and Finney close behind with eight. Latham is also on pace to top her production from last season with seven round trippers in 2019.

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 24 of their 49 contests, posting a 22-2 record in those ball games. Ole Miss has failed to put a runner on in the opening frame just 10 times in 2019. Additionally, the Rebels have cracked the scoreboard first 36 times this season, going 30-6 in those games. In general, the Rebs have done most of their damage in the early going, scoring 162 of their 267 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 109-of-133 attempts to rank second in the SEC and 10th in the nation in steals per game at 2.22. Kylan Becker leads the team and ranks third in the league with 27 swiped bags, while Kaylee Horton sits in 5th with 19 steals and Abbey Latham is tied for 7th with 16.

VOLS VANQUISHED
Entering the series with just eight all-time wins against Tennessee, Ole Miss claimed its fifth SEC series in a row and sixth overall, taking 2-of-3 from the Vols in Oxford. The Rebs jumped out to a 4-0 lead in Game One, holding on for a 5-3 victory. In the second game, Ole Miss again got out to an early lead up 3-0 after the first, shutting out UT until the seventh for a 4-1 win. The Rebs took a 1-0 lead in the finale but couldn't hang on, ultimately falling 2-1 in extras. Molly Jacobsen was electric in the circle, allowing one earned run in 14.2 innings.

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

Elantra Cox

Brittany Finney

Autumn Gillespie

Kaylee Horton

Molly Jacobsen

Abbey Latham

Jessica Puk

Ava Tillmann

The University of Mississippi Athletics