The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
#6 Arizona
Softball Hits the Desert for Super Regional Bout with Arizona
5/22/2019 | Softball
Rebels Seeking First-Ever Trip to Women's College World Series
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No. 17 OLE MISS (41-18) vs. No. 6 ARIZONA (45-12) Tucson, Ariz. Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium (2,956) |
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| Super Regional Central Page • Ole Miss Notes • Arizona Notes • SEC Notes | ||||||||
| Friday, May 24 6 p.m.  |
Saturday, May 25 7 p.m.  |
Sunday, May 26 7 p.m. |
| Watch • Live Stats | Watch • Live Stats | Watch • Live Stats |
LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss is playing in the second Super Regional in the history of its program, having dropped a pair of one-run ball games in Los Angeles in 2017 to No. five national seed UCLA.
• The Rebels had to fight out of the loser's bracket to win the 2019 NCAA Oxford Regional, defeating No. 7 Louisiana twice on Sunday to advance to Super Regionals. Entering the regional, the Ragin' Cajuns had been defeated just four times all season.
• Ole Miss' 32 runs scored over the weekend were the third most by any team competing in Regionals, behind only Northwestern (35) and UCLA (33).
• Ole Miss is competing in its fourth-straight NCAA Tournament, the only four appearances in program-history. The Rebels are 11-7 all-time in postseason play, earning a regional host for the second time ever as the No. 11 overall seed.
• The Rebels and Wildcats have played just once before, with then No. 2 Arizona edging Ole Miss 3-2 in Tucson in the 2004 season opener. The Rebels out-hit the Wildcats 7-to-6 in the ball game but a fifth-inning run was the difference for the home team.
• During Game 7 of the Oxford Regional, Kylan Becker became Ole Miss' single season record holder in runs scored, crossing the plate for the 52nd time in 2019. Becker eventually added another run, scoring the walk-off winner in the seventh.
• Ole Miss garnered two players on the NFCA All-South Region Teams, with Kylan Becker earning her second-career nod and first selection to the First Team and Molly Jacobsen landing on the Second Team.
• Ole Miss has racked up 14 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 Coaches Poll and No. 19 in the USA Softball Poll, while coming in at No.9 in the Softball America Poll.
SCOUTING REPORT
Arizona is in its 34th season under legendary head coach Mike Candrea, the second-winningest coach in NCAA softball history and the Division I wins leader. Under Candrea, the Wildcats have won eight national championships and appeared in 22 Women's College World Series. He has guided the program to 11 conference championships, including the 2017 Pac-12 title, helping Candrea earn his 12th conference coach of the year. In addition to the 12 Pac- West, -10 or -12 Coach of the Year honors, Candrea has also been named the national coach of the year four times and regional coach of the year and has received six regional coach of the year honors.
The Wildcats enter the Super Regional round of the 2019 NCAA Softball Championship with a 45-12 overall record, including a 19-5 mark in Pac-12 play to finish third. Arizona boasts a 12-9 record against ranked teams, going 2-2 against SEC foes after defeating Auburn twice to claim the Tucson Regional.
One of the most dangerous offensive lineups in all of college softball, Arizona ranked ninth in the nation with a .324 team batting average, racking up the second most home runs in the country with 103 big flies. 2017 First Team All-American Jessie Harper is a big reason behind that astonishing total, with the junior leading the nation with 28 dingers while pacing the Wildcats with 69 RBIs and 62 runs scored, batting .353. Junior Reyna Corranco leads the team with a .432 batting average, scoring 50 runs and driving in 39 more. Junior Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza is second for the Wildcats with a .387 average, blasting 18 homers to go along with her team-high 18 doubles. Palomino-Cardoza is second only to Harper with 61 runs driven in and 57 more scored. Juniors Malia Martinez and Dejah Mulipola have also crossed the 50 RBI plateau, registering 13 and 21 home runs, respectively.
In the circle, First Team All-Pac-12 performer Taylor McQuillin has carried a large portion of the load during her final season in Tucson. The senior has nearly doubled the next closest Wildcat with 181.1 innings in the circle, posting a 22-7 record in 31 appearances and 27 starts, garnering a 1.54 ERA with 24 complete games and 10 shutouts. McQuillin has shown tremendous control, racking up 205 strikeouts compared to just 45 walks in 2019. Junior Alyssa Denham is the only other player to break 35 innings in the circle, posting a 1.93 ERA and a 12-5 record in 20 appearances and 18 starts, tossing 98.0 frames.
REBELS WALK OFF WITH REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Entering the NCAA Oxford Regional, No. 7 Louisiana had been beaten just four times all season. Ole Miss handed the Ragin' Cajuns a pair of defeats on Sunday, rallying with a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh to walk off the game and walk into the Rebels' second-ever Super Regional round. Freshman Mikayla Allee got things started with a leadoff double in the frame, with pinch runner Katelin Cooper eventually tying the game on a squeeze bunt. Junior Kaylee Horton stepped up in the clutch with her team-high eighth RBI of the season, bringing Kylan Becker home on a fielder's choice for the winning run.
REBS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Making their fourth-straight NCAA Softball Championship appearance, Ole Miss boasts a myriad of players who have shown they have the capability to ramp up their play when it matters most. Kylan Becker, the first player in program-history to play in four NCAA Tournaments during her career, has made the most of her postseason opportunities. The senior holds a career postseason batting average of .453, reaching base at a .465 clip, having seven of her 24 hits go for extra bases. With a pair of doubles, four triples and an inside-the-park home run, the senior is slugging .837 during her career in the NCAA Tournament. The Miami native is Ole Miss' all-time postseason leader in hits, doubles, triples, runs (12), RBIs (12) and stolen bases (5).
Senior Brittany Finney has made six postseason appearances in the circle, logging a 1.22 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 23.0 innings. Finney picked up three of the Rebels' four wins during last week's Oxford Regional, playing a part in a pair of assisted shutouts.
Despite a 1-1 record, Molly Jacobsen was electric in the circle in her NCAA Tournament debut, registering a 1.40 ERA with 20 strikeouts in just 15.0 innings of work.
The breakout star for Ole Miss in last season's Tempe Regional was then-freshman Abbey Latham, who continued to swing a hot postseason bat last week. The Livingston, Alabama has hit five home runs in 27 postseason at-bats, batting .370 with 10 RBIs and seven runs scored.
BECKER RUNS INTO RECORD BOOKS
In Ole Miss' Game 7 win over Louisiana in the Oxford Regional, Kylan Becker led off the game by getting on base and eventually scored for the 19th time in 2019. This time, however, in addition to giving the Rebels an early lead, the run made history for the Miami native. It was the 52nd run of the season for Becker, breaking the Ole Miss single season record for runs scored. Becker's 133 career runs is tied for the third most all-time at Ole Miss, 10 behind record holder Lauren Grill. Another single season record is right around the corner for the speedy senior, with Becker needing just two more steals to set the new high-water mark.
ALLEE BREAKS OUT
Possibly the breakout performance of the Oxford Regional came from the player likely few would have expected. Ole Miss' No. 9 hitter Mikayla Allee ranked second on the team with a .455 batting average over the Rebels' five games, posting a slugging percentage of .818. In general, the California native has been rounding into forms, posting a hit in 11 of the last 19 games after recording just 10 through the Rebels' first 40 contests. Despite a meager batting average for most of the season, the freshman has been one of Ole Miss' most consistent offensive performers for much of the season, ranking second on the team with a .414 on-base percentage. The Norco HS product has saved some of her shining moments for the biggest competition, registering her only two home runs off of Kelly Barnhill and Summer Ellyson.
BECKER'S SWAN SONG
Playing for the final time at the Ole Miss Softball Complex, Kylan Becker did what she's done throughout the entirety of her storied Rebel career, produce. The senior led the Rebels with a .600 batting average, racking up nine hits and reaching base in 2/3 of her plate appearances. She also paced the Rebels with five runs scored while driving in two more and stealing successfully in 4-of-5 attempts. Fittingly, it was Becker who raced the Rebels in Super Regionals, scampering home from third in the bottom of the seventh for the walk-off winner.
#SCTOP10... AGAIN!
With Ole Miss leading 2-0 in the crucial Game 7 of the Oxford Regional, Louisiana's Julie Rawls made a bid to tie the game with a two-run bomb. Instead, Rebel center fielder Kylan Becker turned on the jets and made an incredible leaping grab over the wall to rob Rawls and keep the lead in tact. The play earned the No. 1 spot on the Sportscenter "top-10", the second time this season Becker has landed the top play with a home run robbery after a similar play against Arkansas.
REBEL DUO TABBED NFCA ALL-SOUTH REGION
For just the third time ever, multiple Rebels were named to the NFCA All-Region Teams, with Kylan Becker and Molly Jacobsen representing Ole Miss on the South Region squad. Becker was named to the First Team for her second career NFCA All-Region nod after being selected to the Third Team in 2017. She is just the third Rebel all-time to be named all-region multiple times. Meanwhile, Molly Jacobsen became the fourth Rebel pitcher to be selected NFCA All-Region with a Second Team laurel, joining Kaitlin Lee (2017), Madi Osias (2016) and Mary Jo Callahan (2007).
AN ESPECIALLY GRAND SLAM
With Ole Miss leading 4-3 after coming back from an early 3-0 hole in its SEC Tournament First Round game against Mississippi State, sophomore Abbey Latham unloaded on a Grace Fagan Offering, sending a towering shot off the scoreboard at Davis Diamond for her second grand slam of the season. The monster blast not only ended up going down as the game-winning hit, it also broke the school-record for single season RBIs at Ole Miss. Latham currently sits at 48 runs driven in in 2019, topping DeDe Justice's previous record of 45 in 2003. Latham isn't the only record with the potential to make some single season history. Senior Kylan Becker is also on the precipice of breaking a pair of single-season marks, sitting four runs (Elantra Cox, 51, 2017) and six stolen bases (Brittany Broome, 33, 2013) shy.
RECORD FOUR REBELS NAMED TO ALL-SEC TEAMS
The Southeastern Conference office recently announced the 2019 All-SEC Teams, with a program-record four Rebels representing Ole Miss.
Kylan Becker was named First Team All-SEC for the second time in her career, the first since 2017. Becker is the only first team-selection in Ole Miss-history. Molly Jacobsen landed on the second team in her first season at the Division I level, becoming the third Rebel pitcher to be named all-league. Tate Whitley garnered All-Freshman Team laurels, giving Ole Miss an all-freshman team member in four of the last five seasons. Meanwhile, Kaylee Horton became the first player in program-history to be named to the SEC All-Defensive Team.
The four all-league selections are the most the Rebels have ever been bestowed with. Prior to having three honorees in 2017, Ole Miss had never had more than two in a single year.
REBELS FINISH FIFTH, MAKE HISTORY
Concluding the regular season with a 13-10 record in league play, Ole Miss finished in fifth place in the SEC, the Rebels highest-finish in program-history. Previously, the Rebels had never finished higher in the conference standings than eighth in 2017. Ole Miss won six of its eight SEC series, splitting two games with South Carolina and dropping the final series at Georgia. In the SEC Preseason Poll, Ole Miss was picked to finish second to last in the league, garnering the No. 12 spot.
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 30 contests. The Rebels have been very successful when playing bonus softball, posting a 6-2 record in extra-inning, walking off three times. With 12 run-rule wins and a pair of run-rule losses on the season, the Rebels have played the regulation innings in just 37 of its 59 games (62.7%) this season.
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 12 runners attempting to steal. With just 24 total steals attempted against her in 2019, Gillespie has gunned down exactly half of the 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 third in the nation in triples per game at 0.39. Kylan Becker's 9 triples is fourth-most in Division I, while Kaylee Horton's five three-baggers ranks 26th in the nation and second in the SEC. Autumn Gillespie has posted four triples on the season, the fifth-most in the league.
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 12th in the nation with a 3.97 strikeout-to-walk ratio, allowing one or fewer bases on balls in 36 games in 2019. Ole Miss ranks 18th in the nation with 89 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 Brittany Finney (76th, 1.53), Ava Tillmann (77th, 1.53) and Molly Jacobsen (82nd, 1.57).
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 fourth in the SEC with a 2.18 team ERA, the 25th-lowest in the nation. When the pitching staff is in prime form, the Rebels are nearly unbeatable, posting a 29-4 record when allowing two runs or fewer this season. The Rebels have allowed more than three runs in just 19 games in 2019, registering a 35-5 record in all other contests.
BOMB SQUAD
After posting just 27 home runs all of last season, Ole Miss has already registered 39 big flies in 2019. After Abbey Latham led Ole Miss with seven homers in 2018, the sophomore has one again taken over the team lead with 10 dingers in 2019. Jessica Puk and Brittany Finney aren't far behind with Puk ranking second on the team with nine big flies and Finney posting eight homers.
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 28 of their 59 contests, posting a 25-3 record in those ball games. Ole Miss has failed to put a runner on in the opening frame just 11 times in 2019. Additionally, the Rebels have cracked the scoreboard first 41 times this season, going 35-6 in those games. In general,, the Rebs have done most of their damage in the early going, scoring 192 of their 313 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 123-of-150 attempts to rank second in the SEC and 11th in the nation in steals per game at 2.08. Kylan Becker leads the team and ranks third in the league with 32 swiped bags, while Kaylee Horton sits tied for 4th with 22 steals and Abbey Latham is tied for 9th with 17.
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.
