Softball Hits The Road For Showdown With No. 8 Kentucky

			OLE MISS (28-9, 4-5 SEC) at #8 KENTUCKY (25-8, 6-3 SEC) Lexington, Ky. John Cropp Stadium
Ole Miss Notes (PDF) • Kentucky Notes (PDF) • SEC Notes (PDF)

Friday, April 8 5 p.m.	Saturday, April 9 11 a.m.	Sunday, April 10 12 p.m.
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LEADING OFF
• SEC play continues for Ole Miss softball, as the Rebels travel to Lexington for a three-game series with No. 8 Kentucky. It will mark the third consecutive series against a ranked foe.
• Ole Miss leads the all-time series with the Wildcats, boasting a 32-26 record overall and a 15-13 mark in Lexington.
• 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.
• Ole Miss' 28-9 start to the season is the best ever through 37 games in program history.
• The Rebels took one game against No. 9 Arkansas this past weekend in Oxford, their first victory over a top-10 team since 2019.
• Outfielder Tate Whitley ranks second in the nation with 56 hits and is 11th in the country with a .467 batting average.
• 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.
• Ole Miss opened SEC play at home by sweeping the nationally-ranked Missouri Tigers. It marked the Rebels' first sweep over a ranked conference foe since 2017.
• Transfer Bre Roper has stepped into the Rebel lineup and made an immediate impact. The senior is batting .371 with 14 multi-hit games.
• Abbey Latham recorded her 144th career RBI in the victory over UT Martin, making her the all-time program leader.

KENTUCKY SCOUTING REPORT
Rachel Lawson is in her 15th season as the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats. The program's winningest head coach has guided Kentucky to eight NCAA Super Regionals in the last 10 seasons, including its first-ever appearance in the Women's College World Series in 2014. This season, Lawson's squad has cracked the top-10 in the NFCA Coaches Poll, checking in at No. 8 with a 25-8 record overall, and are coming off a series victory over No. 18 Auburn and a sweep at No. 20 LSU. The Wildcats boast one of the conference's best offenses, ranking fourth nationally with a .342 average. Kentucky is averaging just over seven runs per game, led by Kayla Kowalik and Erin Coffel, who are both hitting .423 through 33 games. Coffel, one of UK's top power hitters, leads the team with 38 RBIs and a .784 slugging percentage. In the circle, Kentucky has a mix of arms, with six pitchers that have each made 10 or more appearances. As a team, they own a 3.06 ERA while holding opponents to a .246 mark at the plate. Tatum Spangler leads the Wildcats with a 0.37 ERA through 18.2 innings pitched. She appeared in all three games against LSU last weekend for UK, earning all three victories.

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.

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 (18th 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 20 contests, including seven three-hit games. Through the first 37 games, the Angleton, Texas, native has tallied 56 hits, 12 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 .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. Further, it was the Rebels' first victory over a top-10 program since taking down No. 7 Louisiana in 2019 to advance to the Super Regionals.

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 (.530).

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 .371 on the season with 25 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 12 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 the top ERA on the pitching staff with a 1.63 mark.

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