The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Louisville
Softball Kicks Off 2020 Schedule at NFCA D1 Leadoff Classic
2/6/2020 | Softball
Rebs Challenged with Five-Game Slate, Including Four Power-5 Opponents
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NFCA D1 LEADOFF CLASSIC Feb. 7-9 Clearwater, Fla. Eddie C. Moore Complex |
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| Ole Miss Notes (PDF) • Louisville Notes (PDF) • NC State Notes (PDF) • Illinois Notes (PDF) • Liberty Notes (PDF) Tournament Central Page |
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| Friday, Feb. 7 Louisville | NC State 11 a.m. | 4 p.m. |
Sunday, Feb. 8 Illinois | Notre Dame 2 p.m. | 4:30 p.m. |
Monday, Feb. 9 Liberty 9 a.m. |
| Game One: Watch • Live Stats Game Two: Watch • Live Stats |
Game One: Watch • Live Stats Game Two: Watch • Live Stats |
Watch • Live Stats |
LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss kicks off the 2020 season at the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic, hosted at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Florida.
• All of the Rebels' games at the classic will be available for streaming via Sportzcast through the NFCA's YouTube channel.
• The Rebels will play five times in the Sunshine State, including three matchups with 2019 NCAA Tournament teams in Louisville, Illinois and Notre Dame.
• Ole Miss will face three ACC opponents in Clearwater, the first time since 2000 that the Rebels have taken on three different teams from the same conference during the opening week of the season.
• The Rebels are coming off of a momentus 2019 season. During the run, Ole Miss racked up 41 wins, finished a program-record fifth in the SEC with a 13-10 league record and claimed the program's second-ever NCAA Regional Championship.
• Ole Miss will be breaking in a new coaching staff under interim head coach Ruben Felix. All three of Felix's assistants are in their first season in Oxford, including pitching coach Kim Schuette, assistant coach Damon Haecker and volunteer assistant coach and former All-American Rebel standout Kylan Becker.
• Ole Miss returns 17 players from last season's roster, including Second Team All-SEC pitcher Molly Jacobsen, SEC All-Freshman Team outfielder Tate Whitley and single season RBI record holder Abbey Latham.
• The Rebels also add a group of seven talented newcomers, including a trio of FloSofball Hot 100 recruits in Paige Smith, Nyomi Jones and Mac Barbara.
• Ole Miss was picked to finish eighth in the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll. Last season, the Rebels were selected 12th in the 13-team league and went on to finish with the fifth best conference record in the SEC.
• The Rebels enter the season with some national recognition, coming in at No. 21 in the NFCA Preseason Coaches Poll, No. 25 in the USA Softball Preseason Poll and No. 18 in the FloSoftball Preseason Top-25.
SCOUTING REPORT
Louisville
The Cardinals are in their second season under head coach Holly Aprile, who successfully guided Louisville to the NCAA Tournament and a regional final in her maiden voyage with the program in 2019. Prior to making the jump to the Bluegrass State, Aprile served as head coach of fellow ACC member Pitt, earning the 2018 ACC Coach of the Year Award after leading the Panthers to the ACC Coastal Division Championship.
Picked to finish fifth in the 13-team ACC this season, the Cardinals are led by senior outfielder Celene Funke, who was named to the Preseason All-ACC Team. Funke batted .324 a season ago with an NCAA-best 13 triples to go along with 48 runs, 26 RBIs, eight doubles and three homers. With the top two pitchers from 2019 in terms of starts departed, the staff will be led by sophomore Taylor Roby, who went 14-4 with a 2.62 ERA last season.
NC State
NC State is coached by Jennifer Patrick-Swift, who is in her second season in Raleigh after building the program at Saint Francis (Pa.) for seven seasons. In her first season at NC State, she guided the Wolfpack to 31 wins and a trip to the ACC Tournament Semifinals. Her final two seasons at Saint Francis were her two most succesful, as the Red Flash claimed back-to-back NEC Championships and NCAA Tournament berths, the first two in program-history.
The Wolfpack, who garnered the No. 7 spot in the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll, will be led offensively by junior Sam Russ. The outfielder was the only NC State player to bat above .300 a season ago at .326, adding 42 runs and 13 RBIs on seven doubles, five triples and five home runs. Senior Devin Wallace is the primary pitcher to watch, having led the team with 34 starts a season ago, posting a 3.47 ERA with a 13-16 record.
Illinois
Tyra Perry is in her fifth season as the head coach at Illinois and 19th as a head coach overall. In her four seasons in Champaign-Urbana, Perry has helped the Illini reach the NCAA Tournament three times. She also guided Western Kentucky to its first-ever NCAA Regional in 2013.
The Illini return junior catcher Bella Loya, who ranked second on the team with a .366 average a year ago, pacing Illinois with 48 RBIs and 12 homers to go along with 12 doubles and 28 runs. In the circle, UI will turn to 2019 stalwart Sydney Sickels. The sophomore led the Illini with 44 appearances and 28 starts last season, posting a 19-13 record with a 3.41 ERA.
Notre Dame
The third ACC foe the Rebels will face in the Sunshine State, Notre Dame is led by Deanna Gumpf in her 18th season in South Bend. During her time with the Irish, Notre Dame has been awarded the NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year Award five times, making the NCAA Tournament in all 17 seasons.
The Irish, who were ranked at No. 3 in the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll and received one first-place vote, will be led by a pair of Preseason All-ACC performers in senior infielder Katie Marino and sophomore pitcher Payton Tidd. Marino earned Second Team All-ACC accolades in 2019 after batting .344 with 63 runs and 43 RBIs. Tidd, a First Team All-ACC standout as a rookie, boasted a 25-10 record over 182.1 innings with a 2.34 ERA.
Liberty
In the seventh season of the Dot Richardson era, Liberty has claimed two NISC Regional Titles in the last three years, sandwiching a trip to the NCAA Columbia Regional Final in 2018. Overall, Richardson has guided the Flames to a record of 206-164, winning at least 40 games in each of the last three seasons.
The Flames return three-time NFCA All-Region infielder Amber Bishop, who paced the team with a .355 average, 16 doubles, 13 home runs, 42 runs scored and 38 RBIs. With the top two arms from last season gone, Liberty will turn to junior Emily Kirby in the circle. In 2019, Kirby made seven starts with a 4-2 record and a 3.55 ERA.
TOURNEY TIME
Included in Ole Miss' unprecedented success in recent years is a habit of performing extremely well during tournament season early in the year. Over the past five years, Ole Miss has recorded a 71-19 overall record (78.8%) in regular season tournaments and has never won fewer than two-thirds of its tournament games in a season. The Rebels have played particularly well in the Sunshine State, posting an 8-1 record in tournaments in the state of Florida.
TOUGH SLEDDING
When you play in the nation's premier softball conference, a challenging slate of games in a given season is pretty much par for the course. However, Ole Miss has a particularly daunting schedule on its hands in 2020, facing off against the best talent the country has to offer both in and out of league play. Ole Miss will take on 15 NCAA Tournament teams from 2019 throughout the season, battling against Alabama, Auburn, Colorado State, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Louisville, LSU, Missouri, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Texas and Texas A&M. Among those squads, six (Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Oklahoma State, Texas) advanced to Super Regionals, while Alabama, Florida and Oklahoma State all reached the Women's College World Series.
EXPERIENCE ABOUNDS
Despite having big shoes to fill in the absence of senior leaders Kylan Becker and Brittany Finney, Ole Miss has a plethora of experience returning to a veteran laden roster in 2020. In the field, the Rebels return 76.0 percent of appearances from the 2019 campaign, including 71.1 percent of starts. What's more, the Rebs return the bulk of production in virtually every offensive category, including runs (65.5%), hits (60.0%), extra-base hits (67.7%), runs batted in (67.3%) and walks (65.7%). Meanwhile, in the circle, Ole Miss returns four of five pitchers who saw action a season ago. Led by Second Team All-SEC lefty Molly Jacobsen, the Rebels return the majority of 2019's appearances (66.3%), starts (60.7%), innings pitched (63.4%), wins (57.5%), complete games (56.5%) and strikeouts (64.2%).
FRESH BLOOD
While the bulk of Ole Miss roster from the 2019 season returns in 2020, there are still plenty of fresh faces around the Ole Miss Softball Complex in the form of a nearly entirely new coaching staff. Interim head coach Ruben Felix is the lone returning Rebel coach from a season ago, while Ole Miss welcomes new pitching coach Kim Schuette, assistant coach Damon Haecker, volunteer assistant coach Kylan Becker and coordinator of operations Brian Thomas.
Schuette joined the Rebel staff following a decorated head coaching career at her alma mater, Eastern Illionois, as well as Big Ten program Purdue. With more than 400 wins over the course of her 11 years as a head coach, Schuette is a two-time Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year, having guided the Panthers to the OVC regular season crown in both 2011 and 2013. She also helped mold a pair of OVC Pitcher of the Year winners in Amber May (2011) and Hanna Mennega (2013) and is EIU's all-time wins leader.
Haecker joins the Rebel coaching staff not far removed from a standout career as a baseball player at fellow SEC member Auburn. A true jack-of-all-trades during his college career, Haecker started 168 games at Auburn, competing at shortstop, second base, third base, catcher, left field and right field. He started every game of his freshman and sophomore years and cracked the starting lineup in all four opening days at four different positions. Following his playing career, Haecker picked up experience in coaching at Diamond Impact, a travel team in Auburn, before becoming a varsity assistant coach for both baseball and football at Lee Scott Academy.
A name littered throughout the Ole Miss record books, Becker joins Felix's staff after putting together arguably the finest career ever seen in a Rebel softball uniform. Ole Miss' only First Team All-American, having twice received the honor, Becker helped carve the way to both of the Rebels' NCAA Regional Championships in the last three years, including scoring the walk-off winner against Louisiana in 2019. Having played professionally for Scrap Yard Fast Pitch this summer, Becker begins her first season in the coaching ranks.
Thomas also begins his first season in Oxford as Ole Miss' coordinator of operations, often one of the unsung heroes of any program. He comes to Ole Miss after serving in a similar role the past two seasons for the baseball team at Florida Atlantic. A native of Gainesville, Florida, Thomas graduated from the University of Florida and spent time as a pitching coach for Gainesville High School.
A SEASON TO REMEMBER
Ole Miss is coming off of arguably the greatest season in the history of the program, finishing with a 41-20 overall record, including a 13-10 mark in SEC play to finish fifth, the highest-ever finish or the Rebels. The Rebs continued the success into the postseason, claiming an NCAA Regional Championship on their home field to advance to their second-ever NCAA Super Regional. The campaign also saw the record book altered, with Kylan Becker breaking the program marks for single season triples (9), runs (55), total bases (109) and steals (34) and Abbey Latham breaking the all-time RBI record (54).
GOOD LUCK WITH THE LEFTY
One of the keys to success for Ole Miss in the upcoming season is whether senior pitcher Molly Jacobsen can recapture the magic she was able to create during her first season in Oxford a year ago. Breaking onto the scene in the SEC, the lefty recorded not one but two of the three longest scoreless innings streaks in the history of Ole Miss softball. After running off a run of 23 scoreless frames early in the season, Jacobsen stymied opposing batters for 26 innings in the heart of the SEC schedule before allowing a home run to Florida slugger Kendyl Lindaman. Only Mary Jane Callahan has ever had a longer streak, posting 29-consecutive scoreless frames in 2006.
RUN AT YOUR OWN RISK
Over the past two seasons, senior catcher Autumn Gillespie has struck fear in the eyes of opposing base stealers. Since Gillespie's arrival at Ole Miss in 2018, only two players (Reagan Dykes - Alabama, Kayla Green - Arkansas) have gunned down more would-be base stealers than the Redlands, California, native. In two seasons, Gillespie has caught 22 runners attempting to swipe an extra base, tied for third most in the league with Mia Davidson of Mississippi State and Mahlena O'Neal of Georgia. However, none have been nearly as efficient as Gillespie, who has thrown out 51.2 percent of the runners daring enough to attempt to run on her, with Green the next closest at just 40.0 percent.
TOP FRESHMEN TRIO
Adding to a stacked lineup of experienced returners, Ole Miss has added a talented crop of seven newcomers to the 2020 roster, including three true freshmen ranked in FloSoftball's Hot 100 for the 2019 recruiting class. The three top-100 recruits are the most in a single class for Ole Miss.
Infielder Paige Smith comes in as the top ranked freshman for the Rebels, ranking No. 13 by FloSoftball. Smith, who was named Softball America's Travel Ball Player of the Year for 2019, helped lead Norco High School to a National Championship as well as the CIF State Title last season after a pair of national runner-up finishes in 2018 and 2017. A two-time All-American, Smith batted .420 as a senior with 14 extra-base hits and 45 runs driven in.
Nyomi Jones, an outfielder out of Mater Dei High School in California, slid in at No. 32 in FloSoftball's rankings. A two-time CIF All-State honoree in the Golden State, Jones helped MDHS to the state championship her freshman season. Heating up at the plate as an upperclassman, Jones hit .498 during her senior campaign, registering 23 steals.
The final Top-100 recruit for Ole Miss, Mac Barbara was tabbed No. 70 in the nation by FloSoftball. A power-hitting first baseman and catcher, Barbara split her time between Long Beach Wilson High School and St. Joseph High School in Southern California. A First Team All-CIF selection as a junior, Barbara recorded a .554 average that season with 42 RBIs, leading the state with 11 home runs. The following year, Barbara remained strong at the dish with a .455 average, nine homers, six doubles and 24 RBIs.
RANKINGS ROUND-UP
A year removed from a run to the program's second Regional Championship and a trip to the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament, Ole Miss enters 2020 with a target on its back with a national ranking. The Rebels came in at No. 21 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, the second highest preseason ranking in program-history. Meanwhile, the Rebels were also picked in the FloSoftball Preseason Rankings at No. 18, while earning the No. 25 spot in the USA Softball Preseason Poll.
OLE MISS PICKED 8TH IN PRESEASON SEC POLL
After registering a program-record fifth place finish in the SEC standings, Ole Miss was picked 8th in the 2020 Preseason SEC Softball Poll. However, in four of the past five seasons Ole Miss has outperformed its projection in the conference preseason rankings after being pegged 12th a year ago.
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.
