Softball Looks To Stay Hot Against UT Martin

			OLE MISS (24-7, 3-3 SEC) vs. UT MARTIN (18-10, 3-3 OVC) Oxford, Miss. Ole Miss Softball Complex (1,000)
Ole Miss Notes (PDF)

Tuesday, March 29
6 p.m.

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LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss welcomes UT Martin to town for a midweek clash at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. The Rebels lead the all-time series with the Skyhawks 14-4.
• Coming off a sweep of the nationally ranked Missouri Tigers, Ole Miss moved to .500 in SEC play. It marked the Rebels' first sweep over a ranked SEC foe since 2017.
• Outfielder Tate Whitley ranks second in the nation with 49 hits and is 11th in the country with a .480 batting average.
• Playing in Oxford, the Rebels have won 51 consecutive non-conference games, having not fallen to a non-SEC team at home during the regular season since 2018. Historically, they have played extremely well on their home field, boasting a 24-3 record last season and a 12-0 record so far in 2022.
• Transfer Bre Roper has stepped into the Rebel lineup and made an immediate impact. The senior is batting .409 with 13 multi-hit games.
• Abbey Latham recorded her 141st career RBI, moving her into second all-time on the Ole Miss career leaderboard in the series finale against No. 19 Missouri.

ONE LAST RIDE
In 2022, four Rebels will be exercising their fifth season of eligibility as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Three returners in Abbey Latham, Anna Borgen and Sydney Gutierrez, along with Georgia Tech transfer Bre Roper are set to cap off their collegiate careers in Ole Miss uniforms.

STATEMENT SWEEP
In its first SEC series in Oxford this season, Ole Miss made a statement, sweeping No. 19 Missouri to move to 24-7 on the season and bounce back to .500 in conference play. The Rebels came out swinging on Friday night to take game one 5-1. Paige Smith blasted a three-run home run as part of a five-run third inning. They took the series on Saturday, with another five-run inning fueling the victory. Bre Roper and Abbey Latham went yard in the win, and freshman Catelyn Riley earned her first career SEC victory. Ole Miss closed it out, completing the sweep on Sunday with another 5-1 win over the Tigers. It marked the Rebels' first sweep over a ranked SEC foe since 2017 (No. 11 LSU).

HOTTY TODDY TATE
Senior Tate Whitley has been a sparkplug for the Ole Miss offense this season. Hitting in the leadoff spot, Whitley has reached base in all but six games for the Rebels this season and has collected multiple hits in 18 contests, including seven three-hit games. Through the first 31 games, the Angleton, Texas, native has tallied 49 hits, five more than her total from last season (44). Whitley is tied for second in the NCAA in hits this season and ranks 11th nationally with a .480 batting average.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The Ole Miss Softball Complex has been an absolute fortress for the Rebels over the last few years. After going 24-3 at home in 2021, including a perfect 15-0 against non-conference opponents, Ole Miss is off to a 12-0 start in Oxford. The Rebels have now won 69-of-77 games in Oxford dating back to the start of the 2019 season. Outside of SEC play, the Rebels have been nothing short of dominant when playing in front of its home crowd. Ole Miss has won 51-straight non-conference regular season home 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.

SPINNY REBS
Borgen, who is entering her fifth season in a Rebel uniform, has established herself as one of the most accomplished pitchers in Ole Miss history, ranking seventh all-time with a career ERA of 2.51. She is joined by Diederich, who sits just a hundredth ahead of her with a 2.50 ERA. Together, the duo packs a one-two punch for the Rebel pitching staff. This past weekend against Missouri, Borgen picked up a pair of wins over the Tigers, tossing 9.0 innings of one-run ball.

TRACHSEL'S 400TH CAREER VICTORY
Head coach Jamie Trachsel picked up her 400th career victory as the Rebels shutout Samford 2-0 to close out an undefeated weekend at the Ole Miss Classic Sunday afternoon. Catelyn Riley was dominant in the circle, going the distance for her first career complete-game shutout as she faced 25 batters and only allowed three hits. Offensively, Nyomi Jones delivered a clutch RBI single to break the tie in the fifth. The milestone victory for Trachsel gives her 400 career wins in her 11th season as a head coach.

IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Following the conclusion of the 2021 season, Ole Miss announced the addition of two transfers who look to contribute right out of the gate. Utility player Bre Roper joins the Rebels from Georgia Tech as a fifth-year senior and has already established herself as a mainstay in the Ole Miss lineup. Roper has tallied a hit in 17 of her last 23 games and is hitting .409 on the season with 20 runs scored and 22 more batted in.

Also making her way to Oxford is junior right-hand pitcher Brooke Vestal. The former No. 1 recruit in the nation by FloSoftball and high-school All-American joins the Rebels after spending the last three seasons at Oklahoma. Vestal has six appearances on the season, including a pair of complete-game shutouts against DePaul and Western Kentucky. She picked up a pair of wins against Stephen F. Austin earlier this month, including a career-high 12 strikeout outing, to move to 5-0 in 2022. The junior owns a 2.23 ERA on the year.

LATHAM'S LEGACY
One of the Rebels' top offensive weapons in Abbey Latham returned for an extra season in Oxford. The fifth-year senior is coming off one of her most productive seasons and is off and running with the Rebels in 2022. Earlier this season against Samford, Latham played in the 200th game of her Ole Miss career. She currently ranks inside the top five in program history in doubles (37), home runs (32), and slugging percentage (.529). This past weekend against Missouri, Latham drove in four runs, moving into second on the all-time career RBI leader board with 141. She is just two away from tying Lauren Grill (2007-10) for the most in a Rebel uniform at 143. Climbing her way through the record books, the Livingston, Alabama, native continues to cement her legacy as one of the Rebel greats.

SHUT DOWN STUFF
After ranking second in the SEC and 11th in the nation last season with 16 shutouts, the Rebels' pitching staff is back at it in 2022. Ole Miss has tallied seven shutouts so far this season, including four complete-game efforts. Junior Brooke Vestal owns a pair of shutouts and leads the team with a 5-1 record through 31.1 innings pitched. Savannah Diederich also owns one of the complete-game shutouts, nearly tossing the first no-hitter of her career as she went 6.2 innings without allowing a hit. Freshman Catelyn Riley is responsible for the other complete-game effort, blanking Samford to close out the Ole Miss Classic.

ROOKIES IN THE RANKINGS
Head coach Jamie Trachsel's first recruiting class at Ole Miss welcomed nine freshmen to Oxford. The talented group ranked No. 10 in the nation by Extra Innings Softball bolsters a healthy mix of talent across the field. The class includes eight total signees, including four members of Extra Innings' Elite 100 Player Rankings.

Infielder Brooke Barnard was tabbed as the No. 11 ranked recruit in Extra Innings Softball's 2021 Recruiting Rankings. A three-time letterwinner at Palm Beach Gardens High School in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Barnard helped lead PBGHS to district championships in 2018 and 2019, while receiving all-district, all-county and all-state honors in both seasons.

A three-time South Dakota First Team All-State and four-time Class A All-Tournament Fastpitch honoree, Lexie Brady checks in tied for 52nd in Extra Innings Softball's Recruiting Rankings. As a senior at O'Gorman High School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Brady hit .544 with nine doubles, a triple and eight home runs, scoring 35 runs and driving in 28 more.

Makenna Segal comes to Oxford ranked tied for 65th in Extra Innings Softball's Recruiting Rankings. A four-time letterwinner at South Forsyth High School in Cumming, Georgia, she set school records in career batting average (.489), career on-base percentage (.620), home runs (34) and career walks (118).

KK Esparza rounds out the Rebel freshman class in the Extra Innings Softball's Recruiting Rankings at No. 69. Esparza was a three-time letterwinner at Friendswood High School in Friendswood, Texas, where she played under Olympic gold medalist Christa Williams-Yates.

OLE MISS PICKED 9TH IN PRESEASON SEC POLL
Ole Miss has been picked 9th in the 2022 Preseason SEC Softball Poll. Last season, Ole Miss finished eighth in the conference after being picked last in the coaches' poll. The Rebels garnered a 12-12 record in league play in 2021, with the 12 wins ranking as the second-most ever in a season in program history. In five of the past six completed seasons, Ole Miss has outperformed its projection in the conference preseason rankings.

CHAMPIONS. NOW.
The $350 Million CHAMPIONS. NOW. capital campaign has been established to vastly improve the Ole Miss Athletics facilities and raise the standard for the Rebels' level of competitiveness and success within the Southeastern Conference and nationally. The Ole Miss Softball Complex is one of the first phases of the plans with a $20 million stadium renovation, featuring a larger press box, upgraded grandstands, enlarged bullpens, as well as improved team offices and storage, helping raise the standard.

For all Ole Miss softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball, on Facebook at Ole Miss Softball and on Instagram at Instagram.com/olemisssoftball. Also, follow head coach Jamie Trachsel on Twitter at @Jamie_Trachsel.

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Players Mentioned

Brooke Barnard

Anna Borgen

Lexie Brady

Savannah Diederich

KK Esparza

Sydney Gutierrez

Nyomi Jones

Abbey Latham

Catelyn Riley

Bre Roper

Makenna Segal

Paige Smith

Brooke Vestal

Tate Whitley

The University of Mississippi Athletics