Softball Welcomes No. 9 Arkansas to Town

			OLE MISS (25-7, 3-3 SEC) vs. #9 ARKANSAS (22-6, 4-2 SEC) Oxford, Miss. Ole Miss Softball Complex
Ole Miss Notes (PDF) • Arkansas Notes (PDF) • SEC Notes (PDF)

Friday, April 1 5 p.m.	Saturday, April 2 12 p.m.	Sunday, April 3 1 p.m.
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LEADING OFF
• SEC play continues in Oxford for Ole Miss as they welcome a top-10 opponent in Arkansas to town for a three-game series.
• The Razorbacks lead the all-time series 38-30, however, the Rebels have won each of the last three series at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
• On Saturday, both teams will sport teal-themed uniforms, supporting awareness for ovarian cancer and in honor of former Mississippi State player Alex Wilcox, who heroically fought the deadly disease until her passing in 2018.
• 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 conference foe since 2017.
• Lefty Anna Borgen was named SEC Pitcher of the Week following a 2-0 weekend in the circle against No. 17 Missouri.
• The Rebels have won 10 straight series against SEC opponents at home, dating back to 2018.
• Outfielder Tate Whitley ranks second in the nation with 50 hits and is 11th in the country with a .476 batting average.
• Ole Miss' 25-7 start to the season is the best ever through 32 games in program history.
• Playing in Oxford, the Rebels have won 70-of-78 games dating back to the start of the 2019 season. They boast a perfect 13-0 record at home so far in 2022.
• Transfer Bre Roper has stepped into the Rebel lineup and made an immediate impact. The senior is batting .396 with 13 multi-hit games.
• Abbey Latham recorded her 144th career RBI in the victory over UT Martin, making her the all-time program leader.

ARKANSAS SCOUTING REPORT
Courtney Deifel brings a top-10 Razorback squad to Oxford for an SEC clash this weekend. Arkansas comes into the weekend series with a 22-6 record overall and a 4-2 mark in conference play. Last weekend, the Razorbacks faced off against No. 21 LSU. They won a thriller on Saturday night, 8-7, dropped Sunday's contest but bounced back to take the series Monday. The potent Arkansas offense is led by Danielle Gibson, who ranks sixth nationally with a .500 batting average, and Hannah McEwen, the program's all-time hits leader. As a team, the Razorbacks are second in the NCAA in scoring, tallying nearly eight runs per game (7.89), boasting the fourth-best batting average in the nation with a .348 mark and the fourth-best on-base percentage (.442). In the circle, Mary Haff has been the ace. The redshirt senior earned Co-SEC Pitcher of the Week Honors back on March 15th after she tossed the program's first solo, seven-inning perfect game against Maryland to secure her 83rd career win as a Razorback. The Arkansas pitching staff owns a combined 3.57 ERA, holding opposing batters to a .255 mark at the plate with 185 strikeouts.

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.

RBI QUEEN
Abbey Latham recorded her 144th career RBI in the second inning, passing Lauren Grill for the top spot on the all-time leaderboard as the Rebels took down UT Martin 8-3 in a midweek clash Tuesday night. The senior entered the evening needing three RBIs to break the program record. She tallied on in the first inning, singling in Whitley for the first run of the game. Then in the second inning with the bases loaded, Latham took the ball the other way for a clutch two-RBI single to become Ole Miss' all-time leader with 144 runs batted in.

BORGEN NAMED SEC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Following a dominant week in the circle, senior left-hand pitcher Anna Borgen was named SEC Pitcher of the Week, announced Tuesday by the conference office. Borgen posted a 0.78 ERA and earned a pair of wins over No. 19 Missouri. She only surrendered one run on the weekend and stifled opposing batters, who hit a mere .161 when she was in the circle. The Heath, Texas, native got the start on Friday to open the series, pitching 4.0 innings. Borgen followed up that performance with five scoreless frames in the series finale on Sunday. She held one of the league's top offenses in Missouri to just two hits while striking out a pair of Tigers to help Ole Miss remain perfect at home.

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 32 games, the Angleton, Texas, native has tallied 50 hits, six 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 .476 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 13-0 start in Oxford. The Rebels have now won 70-of-78 games in Oxford, dating back to the start of the 2019 season. With their recent sweep of Missouri, the Rebels have also won 10 straight series against SEC opponents at home dating back to 2018. Outside of SEC play, the Rebels have been nothing short of dominant when playing in front of its home crowd. Ole Miss has won 52-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.

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 24 games and is hitting just shy of .400 on the season with 22 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 10 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. The junior owns a 1.93 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), total bases (307) and slugging percentage (.529).

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