Softball Welcomes No. 9 Florida For Weekend Series

			OLE MISS (29-11, 5-7 SEC) vs. #9 FLORIDA (31-9, 8-7 SEC) Oxford, Miss. Ole Miss Softball Complex
Ole Miss Notes (PDF) • Florida Notes (PDF) • SEC Notes (PDF)

Thursday, April 14 6 p.m.	Friday, April 15 5 p.m.	Saturday, April 16 12 p.m.
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LEADING OFF
• Back in Oxford, Ole Miss Softball gears up for its third straight series against a top-10 opponent as No. 9 Florida comes to town.
• The Gators lead the all-time series with the Rebels, boasting a 49-11 record overall. However, Ole Miss won the series the last time the two teams met in 2019.
• Ole Miss' 29-11 start to the season is the second best ever through 40 games in program history (30-10 in 2019).
• Outfielder Tate Whitley is tied for first in the nation with 59 hits and ranks 21st in the country with a .467 batting average.
• The Rebels have a pair of top-10 wins on the season already. They shut out No. 9 Arkansas in Oxford and took down No. 8 Kentucky in Lexington last weekend. Both victories came in the series opener.
• In their doubleheader against Tennessee State, the Rebels scored 27 runs over the course of both games and combined to throw the program's first no-hitter since March 9, 2014.
• Playing in Oxford, the Rebels have won 73-of-83 games dating back to the start of the 2019 season. They boast a 16-2 record at home so far in 2022.
• Lefty Anna Borgen was named SEC Pitcher of the Week to end the month of March, following a 2-0 weekend in the circle against No. 17 Missouri. She helped Ole Miss sweep its first ranked conference foe since 2017.
• Abbey Latham recorded her 144th career RBI in the victory over UT Martin, making her the all-time program leader.

SCOUTING FLORIDA
On the cusp of 1,000 career wins, head coach Tim Walton has established Florida softball as a national powerhouse as he enters his 17th year at the helm of the Gators squad. Coming into the weekend, this year's team ranks inside the top-10 in both the NFCA Coaches Poll and the USA Softball Top 25, checking in at No. 9 with a 31-9 record overall. The Gators have had a tough stretch of their own, going 5-5 in their last 10 games, with a trio of top-5 losses to Alabama and Florida State. The Gator offense is loaded top-to-bottom. Six individuals are batting .333 or better, with Skylar Wallace leading the way with a .411 mark. Wallace also paces the team with 49 runs and ranks third in hits (44) and RBIs (37). As a team, Florida is hitting .328 with a .479 slugging percentage and .411 on-base percentage. In the circle, the Florida pitching staff boasts a 2.32 ERA. Elizabeth Hightower and Lexie Delbrey have carried the workload, pitching a combined 167.2 innings and only allowing 61 earned runs. Both Gator pitchers have also reached the 10-win mark on the season.

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.

ROAD WARRIORS
Taking on top-10 opponents in back-to-back weeks, the Rebels were able to shock the softball world, knocking off No. 8 Kentucky 7-6 in Lexington to open the series. The victory came just one week after Ole Miss shut out No. 9 Arkansas at home. Against the Wildcats, Sydney Gutierrez had a huge day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and three runs batted in. In the circle, Catelyn Riley entered the game in the fourth inning and took over, retiring 11 of the final 14 batters she faced to clinch the victory. It marked Ole Miss' first top-10 win on the road since defeating No. 5 Auburn 10-4 in 2017.

SPINNY REBELS
The Spinny Rebels were the stars of Ole Miss' midweek doubleheader as Savannah Diederich, Brooke Vestal and Landyn Bruce were unhittable in the circle. The trio combined to throw Ole Miss' first no-hitter since March 19, 2014, as the Rebels topped Tennessee State 10-0 in five innings. Diederich faced seven batters in the first two frames, including striking out the side in the first inning, and Vestal took over in the second, retiring all six batters she faced. Needing just three outs to cap off the victory and the no-hitter in the fifth inning, Bruce retired the side with a flyout and two groundouts. Ole Miss followed up the no-no with another 17-0 one-hit shutout. The Rebels have now tallied ten shutouts on the season (21st nationally and third in the SEC), including four complete-game efforts.

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 seven games for the Rebels this season and has collected multiple hits in 21 contests, including eight three-hit games. Through the first 40 games, the Angleton, Texas, native has tallied 59 hits, 15 more than her total from last season (44). Whitley is tied for first in the NCAA in hits this season and ranks 21st nationally with a .467 batting average.

TOP-10 SHUTOUT
The Rebels were nothing short of dominant in the circle in the series opener against Arkansas this past weekend, keeping one of the nation's most potent offenses off the scoreboard. Reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week, Anna Borgen, got the start, going 5.0 innings without allowing a run, and freshman Catelyn Riley slammed the door shut on the No. 9 ranked team in the country, marking only the second time the Razorbacks have been held scoreless all season.

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. The fifth-year 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. Appearing in over 200 games in her Rebel career, Latham also ranks inside the top five in program history in doubles (37), home runs (33) and slugging percentage (.526).

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 to close out the month of March. 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 and 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.

STATEMENT SWEEP
In its first SEC series in Oxford this season, Ole Miss made a statement, sweeping No. 19 Missouri. 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).

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 16-2 start in Oxford. The Rebels have now won 73-of-83 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 54-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.

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 multiple hits in 14 games and is hitting .342 on the season with 26 runs scored and 26 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 13 appearances on the season, including a pair of complete-game shutouts against DePaul and Western Kentucky. She also combined on the Rebels' first no-hitter since 2014 against Tennessee State. The junior owns a 2.12 ERA.

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 nine 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

Landyn Bruce

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