The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Jackson State
Softball Set to Host Fifth Annual Ole Miss Classic
2/27/2020 | Softball
Rebels Welcome California Baptist, Jackson State and Missouri State to Oxford
 |
OLE MISS CLASSIC Feb. 28 - March 1 Oxford, Miss. Ole Miss Softball Complex (1,000) |
 |
||||||
| Ole Miss Notes (PDF) • California Baptist Notes (PDF) • Missouri State Notes (PDF) SEC Notes (PDF) • Tournament Central |
||||||||
| Friday, Feb. 28 Jackson State | California Baptist 3:30 p.m. | 6:30 p.m. |
Saturday, Feb. 29 Missouri State | TBD 12:30 p.m. | TBD |
Sunday, March 1 TBD TBD |
| Game One: Watch • Live Stats Game Two: Watch • Live Stats |
Game One: Watch • Live Stats Game Two: Watch • Live Stats |
Watch • Live Stats |
PROMOTIONS
Friday
• Softball Bingo
• Free hot chocolate for the first 50 fans in attendance vs. California Baptist
LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss is hosting the fifth annual Ole Miss Classic at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. The Rebels have lost just one time at the Ole Miss Classic, posting a 16-1 record while outscoring its opponents 98-29.
• All of Ole Miss' games during the weekend will be streamed on SEC Network +, accessible through the ESPN app and WatchESPN. All 10 games during the Ole Miss Classic will feature live stats, with links available at OleMissSports.com.
• The Rebels will host three teams in Oxford: California Baptist, Jackson State and Missouri State.
• Ole Miss is coming off of a 6-2 victory over North Alabama earlier in the week, coming back from a two-run deficit to upend the Lions with six runs in the final three frames.
• Ole Miss will look to remain undefeated at home in 2020. The Rebels have one both of their games at the Ole Miss Softball Complex this season and are riding a 20-game non-conference home winning streak during the regular season.
• The Rebels have homered in six-straight games, the longest streak of games with a deep fly since 2012, when Ole Miss strung together seven games with a home run.
• Abbey Latham and Autumn Gillespie are tied for the team lead with three home runs apiece. Latham and Gillespie are also tied with freshman Paige Smith, pacing the team with nine runs driven in.
• After batting just 20 times in 2019, junior Sydney Gutierrez has taken 19 at-bats this season, ranking second on the team with a .315 average.
• Autumn Gillespie has scored 11 runs in the past seven games, while Jessica Puk has crossed the plate in each of Ole Miss' last four contests.
SCOUTING REPORT
California Baptist
Bill Baber is in his ninth season as the head coach at California Baptist, leading the Lancers from the NAIA level to NCAA Division II before moving up to Division I last season. He holds a career 305-127 record at CBU.
The Lancers are 4-10 on the season. CBU entered last weekend with a 4-5 record and some momentum, capturing a pair of big wins over the Rebels and Colorado State at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge. However, CBU fell on some tough times at the Silicon Valley Classic, dropping all five games by a combined score of 3-34.
CBU is led offensively by freshman catcher Katelyn Mangrello, the only everyday start batting over .300 at .314, adding a pair of doubles with seven RBIs and three runs scored. Senior first baseman Mackenzie Budinger has been the main power threat, taking a pair of home runs deep and leading the team with nine RBIs.
Two primary pitchers lead the way for the Lancers. Senior Kerisa Viramontes has thrown a team-high 46.1 innings in nine appearances with six starts, posting a 3.32 ERA with a 3-5 record. Junior Giana Lopez is the other workhorse, tossing 33.1 frames in her nine appearances and seven starts, earning a 6.09 ERA and a 1-3 record.
Jackson State
Jackson State is in its second season under head coach Kevin Montgomery, a veteran of the softball coaching world with over 15 years of experience. A bulk of Montgomery's coaching experience has come at another Southwestern Athletic Conference member from the Magnolia State, Alcorn State.
JSU is 6-7 on the season, rebounding from four-straight losses to open the year. The Tigers competed in the Michelle Short Memorial Classic in Conway, Arkansas, winning taking two wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Morehead State while falling to host Central Arkansas and Southern Miss.
The Tiger offense is sparked by seniors Kaitlyn Elzie and Ariana Cruz, both of whom are batting over .400 in 2020. Elzie paces the team with a .444 average, also driving in a team-best eight RBIs with a double and a home run among her 12 hits, scoring six runs herself. Cruz is close behind with a .429 batting average, scoring a team high 11 runs. Both are big threats on the bases, too, combining to steal successfully on 12-of-15 attempts.
Junior Kayla Owens has done a bulk of the work in the circle for JSU, making seven starts and throwing 40.0 innings. Owens owns a 4-3 record with a 2.63 ERA, striking out 36 batters to just four walks. Sophomores Leah Hopson and Destyn Jones are secondary options, with Hopson recording 13.2 innings in five appearances and Jones making three starts with 13.0 innings of work. Hopson sits at a 10.24 ERA with a 1-2 record, while Jones has garnered a 4.85 ERA with the same record.
Missouri State
Holly Hesse, the second-winningest coach in Missouri Valley Conference history, is in her 32nd season leading the softball program at Missouri State. Hesse has racked up over 800 wins and has led the Bears to a pair of MVC regular season championships and five NCAA Tournament bids.
Missouri State is 3-6 on the season, having not played since taking part in the North Texas Invitational Feb. 14-15. The Bears lost four of five games to open the season at the NFCA DI Leadoff Classic, capping the weekend with an upset win over Baylor. The following week, MSU split its four games at the North Texas Invitational.
Missouri State is led in hitting by freshman Tess Weakly, who enters the weekend with a .350 average with a pair of home runs, also pacing the bears with five RBIs and five runs scored. Weakly has also drawn a team-best seven walks, posting a .519 on-base percentage. Redshirt-freshman Olivia Krehbiel has also provided some pop, picking up a pair of doubles.
Junior Steffany Dickerson is the ace of the staff for Missouri State, making six appearances and four starts with a 1.04 ERA in 27.0 innings of work. Dickerson owns a 2-2 record, posting 24 strikeouts to eight walks. Senior Erin Griesbauer ranks second with 14.1 innings, garnering a 7.33 ERA with a 1-2 record. Junior Madison Hunsaker has tossed 14.0 frames, dropping both of her decisions with a 3.50 ERA.
ROSTER CONNECTIONS
- California Baptist junior Giana Lopez and Ole Miss freshman Mac Barbara both played at Saint Joseph High School in Lakewood, California, overlapping for one season.
- CBU's Lexi Quartaro and Kerisa Viramontes both attended Norco High School in Norco, California. Ole Miss has three former NHS players, Mikayla Allee, Raegan Cheyne and Paige Smith.
- The Lancers' freshman Gretchen Goldsmith and Ole Miss' Mac Barbara and Nyomi Jones are all from Long Beach, California, though all three attended different high schools.
- Jackson State senior Madelyn Prukop and Ole Miss freshman Taylor Bachmeyer both hail from Pflugerville, Texas.
- Missouri State sophomore and Ole Miss junior Kacey Hvitved are both from Snohomish, Washington.
POWERING UP
It took 11 games for Ole Miss to muscle up and hit its first home run of the season. Since then, the balls have been flying out of the yard. The Rebels have cranked out at least one homer in each of the last six games, the first six-game streak with a dinger for the Rebs since 2012. Over the course of the six-game run, the Rebels have racked up 10 homers in all, with Autumn Gillespie and Abbey Latham pacing the team with three apiece.
HOME HAVEN
The Ole Miss Softball Complex has been a place of comfort for the Rebels in non-conference clashes in recent years. Ole Miss has won 20-straight non-conference regular season games in a row, having not fallen to a non-SEC team in Oxford during the regular season since a 5-0 defeat to Boston College in 2018. Dating back to last season, when Ole Miss went 13-0 at home in non-conference play, the Rebels have outscored their opponents 103-18 on home soil in non-league action.
BORGEN'S BREAKTHROUGH
After pitching in just four games in 2019, totaling 8.0 innings, lefty Anna Borgen has emerged as one of the more consistent arms in the Ole Miss pitching rotation. This season, Borgen has appeared in six games, making three starts, leading the Rebels with a 1.75 ERA in 20.0 innings of work. Borgen has been extremely accurate in the circle, walking just three batters all year while striking out 15. The junior also picked up the win in a complete game effort in the exhibition against the All-American packed Mexican Olympic Team, allowing one run over seven innings.
BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY
Despite not always putting up gaudy numbers in terms of batting average, sophomore Mikayla Allee has shown a knack for consistently finding her way on base. The sophomore is batting just .239 for her career, though that number has risen significantly in 2020, currently ranking third on the team at .293. Either way, the Rebel shortstop has found a way to get on no matter what, earning a .412 on-base percentage for her career, which would rank eight all-time at Ole Miss. One of Allee's biggest skills is her ability to draw HBPs, already wearing 19 pitches to rank four in program history despite only appearing in 76 games.
OLE MISS STORMS BACK AGAINST UNA
Trailing by a pair of runs entering the bottom of the fourth inning, Ole Miss came roaring back against North Alabama at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. After striking for a pair of runs in the fourth to deadlock the game at two apiece, the Rebels clobbered their way to the win, with Abbey Latham and Paige Smith smacking back-to-back jacks in the sixth to come away with a 6-2 victory. Molly Jacobsen earned a complete-game win in the circle, allowing just a pair of hits.
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.
