Softball Wraps Up Road Swing With Southern Miss Midweek

OLE MISS (13-11, 0-3 SEC)
vs. SOUTHERN MISS (15-5, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Hattiesburg, Miss.
Southern Miss Softball Complex

Wednesday, March 15
5 p.m.

Watch • Live Stats

LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss Softball wraps up a four-game road trip with an in-state midweek at Southern Miss on Wednesday.
• The two teams were supposed to play last season, but both times the contest was rained out.
• The Rebels are coming off a tough weekend after being swept by No. 4 Tennessee.
• Sophomore Catelyn Riley returned to the circle after missing a month of action, tossing a two-hitter in the 1-0 series finale loss at Tennessee.
• Freshman Jalia Lassiter hit her first collegiate home run, a two-run shot, over the weekend.
• Ole Miss boasts one of the nation's top defenses. The Rebels lead the SEC with 0.62 double plays per game and rank second with a .981 fielding percentage.
• The Rebels' pitching staff ranks 53rd nationally with a 2.27 earned run average.
• Shortstop Mikayla Allee saved the best for last. The fifth-year senior leads the Rebels with 23 hits and a .354 batting average.
• Ole Miss' 2023 roster features 14 returners, four impact transfers and eight freshmen who were ranked as the No. 3 signing class in the nation by ExtraInningSoftball.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
First-year head coach Natalie Poole leads the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, coming to Hattiesburg after 11 years at Memphis. She is off to a 15-5 start through the first 20 games this season. Southern Miss has already played two power-five opponents in 2023, falling to No. 9 Alabama, 5-0, and Georgia Tech, 1-0. The two teams were scheduled to play in Oxford last season, but both the original contest and the make up date were canceled due to weather. Ole Miss leads the all-time series with Southern Miss 23-12, including a 9-5 mark in Hattiesburg. Sophomore Jana Lee leads the Golden Eagles with a .370 batting average on the season. She has a team-high 20 hits and 15 runs batted in. Junior Maria Smith ranks first on the team with 17 runs scored and 26 free passes. In the circle, senior Morgan Leinstock leads Southern Miss. The righty boasts an 8-4 record on the year, including a pair of shutouts. She owns a 1.43 ERA through 73.1 innings pitched. As a team, the Golden Eagles have a staff ERA of 2.01.

THE BULL IS BACK
Nicknamed "The Bull" for her relentless energy and competitive mentality, Catelyn Riley played a big role in the Rebels'charge through the second half of last season. She became a mainstay in the Ole Miss lineup, boasting a .361 average at the plate, while posting a 3.46 ERA through 81.0 innings pitched in the circle and collecting a team-high 12 wins, the second-most by an Ole Miss freshman pitcher. Back from injury, the Dandridge, Tennessee, native got her first start of the season against the No. 4 Tennessee Lady Vols and absolutley dealed. Riley only allowed two hits to one of the nation's most potent offenses in a 1-0 defeat.

HOTTY TODDY TATE
After missing suffering an early season injury, senior Tate Whitley is back in the lineup and has resumed her leadoff duties as the sparkplug for the Ole Miss offense. The Angleton, Texas, native led the SEC with 74 hits during the regular season and ended the year with 77 total, the third most ever by a Rebel. With nine games under her belt this season, Whitley is getting back into the swing of things, tallying three multi-hit games two weekends ago at the Ole Miss Classic. In her five year Rebel career, she now has 183 career hits, passing RT Cantillo for the 10th most in program history.

MY OH MYA
Slugger Mya Stevenson ranks ninth in the SEC and 31st nationally with seven home runs through the first 24 games this season. She blasted one in each game of Ole Miss' doubleheader with North Dakota State, hit a three-run shot against Wisconsin and recorded the seventh multi-home run game at the Cowgirl Classic. The graduate transfer leads the team lead with 13 RBIs and a .702 slugging percentage. Stevenson is up to 66 career home runs, the most among all active players in Division I College Softball.

LANDSHARK DEFENSE
At Ole Miss, Landshark is a term that was first adopted by the Rebel football team's defensive unit. This spring, a different football team on campus has adopted the Landshark defensive mindset. Ole Miss softball boasts one of the most sound defenses in the nation. It leads the SEC and is fourth in the country in double plays, turning 0.62 per game and ranks second in the SEC and 10th in the NCAA with a .981 fielding percentage. The Rebels have only committed 13 errors on 668 chances.

SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST
Although it's early in the 2023 season, fifth-year senior Mikayla Allee is quietly putting together one of the best offensive seasons of her career. The Corona, California, has climbed the lineup and currently leads the team with a .354 batting average. Allee has a team-best 23 hits in the first 24 games and has collected multiple in four contests already this year. Further, her 23 hits this season are five shy of her single-season career-high of 28, which she set last year.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The Ole Miss Softball Complex has been an absolute fortress for the Rebels since the arrival of head coach Jamie Trachsel. After going 24-3 at home in 2021 and 19-6 in Oxford last season, Ole Miss is ready to defend its home field again in 2023. The Rebels are off to a 4-2 start so far this season and now have won 80-of-96 games at home, dating back to the start of the 2019 season.

VIVA LA REBS
The Rebels wrapped up their 12 day stay in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico, battle tested. Ole Miss competed against five teams coming off NCAA Tournament appearances in 2022, including No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 24 Oregon. Overall, the Rebels went 6-4 during their stay south of the border, with wins over North Carolina, Wisconsin, North Dakota State, Liberty and Southern Illinois. The tough competition in Puerto Vallarta gave the Rebels an early challenge that will have them ready for SEC play.

ONE LAST RIDE
In 2023, four Rebels will be exercising their fifth season of eligibility as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Two returners in Mikayla Allee and Tate Whitley, along with Marshall transfer Mya Stevenson and Georgia transfer Savana Sikes, are set to cap off their collegiate careers in Ole Miss uniforms.

TRANSFER TO THE 'SIP
Head Coach Jamie Trachsel dipped into the transfer portal this offseason to add top-tier talent to her 2023 roster, welcoming in four transfers who look to immediately contribute this season.

Makenna Kliethermes graduated in May from Oregon and joins the Rebels pitching staff with two years of eligibility remaining. This past season, she handled the bulk of the work on the Oregon staff, making 32 appearances, including 16 starts. The Wardsville, Missouri, native tallied an 11-7 record and 3.65 ERA in 117.0 innings of work. Kliethermes finished the season with five complete-game efforts, including a one-hit shutout of the Rebels last February.

Staying in the SEC, Jenna Lord joins the Rebels after playing one season at Alabama. She appeared in 45 games for the Crimson Tide, making 30 starts. Lord split time between second base, right field and the DP position in Tuscaloosa. As a freshman, she recorded 26 hits, including six doubles and two home runs, while hitting .289.

Making her way to Oxford as a graduate transfer, Mya Stevenson wrapped up her career at Marshall as one of the program's top sluggers. This past season, she earned NFCA Third Team All-America status after batting .361 with 56 hits, 41 runs scored and 55 RBIs. Stevenson also became Marshall's all-time home run leader with 59 career bombs after mashing 19 in 2022. The Lone Star product ranks second all-time in slugging percentage (.771) and fourth in runs batted in with 169 while tallying 171 hits in her four years with the Herd. Heading into the 2023 season, Stevenson has garnered preseason praise, being named as the No. 52 player in D1Softball's preseason top 100 and the No. 14 outfielder in the position power rankings.

Sikes joins the Rebels after electing to play her fifth and final season in Oxford. The former Georgia Bulldog brings a plethora of experience with 195 starts across both the infield and outfield in her four-year career. She is coming off the best season of her career, recording a .285 average with 45 hits and 33 runs scored.

ROOKIES IN THE RANKINGS
Head coach Jamie Trachsel's second signing class at Ole Miss brought some of the nation's top talent to Oxford. The Rebel class was ranked No. 3 in the nation by Extra Innings Softball, featuring seven players ranked inside the top-200 in Extra Inning's rankings, with six incoming Rebs garnering Extra Elite 100 status.

A six-time letterwinner at Neshoba High School in Philadelphia, Mississippi, Tenly Grisham was ranked 42nd overall and 28th among middle infielders by Extra Inning Softball. She helped lead NHS to four state championships, earning all-state honors each season. Grisham capped off her career with a .531 batting average as a senior and was named the 2022 Mississippi Softball Gatorade Player of the Year.

Jalia Lassiter, a six-time letterwinner at Flomaton High School in Flomaton, Alabama, was ranked 19th overall and 12th among middle infielders by Extra Inning Softball. She was named to the AHSAA All-Star Team and earned 3A AHSAA First Team All-State honors after registering a .573 average with 12 triples, five doubles, nine homers, 46 runs and 55 RBIs as a junior.

Outfielder Natalie Ray ranked 24th overall and 9th among outfielders by Extra Inning Softball. A four-time letterwinner at Eastside High School in Covington, Georgia, she was named First Team All-State all four years. Ray batted .512 with 10 doubles, three triples and nine home runs with 44 runs and 23 RBIs as a senior, earning her a spot on the PGF All-American team.

Right-hand pitcher Grace Sparks out of Crosby, Texas, ranked 30th overall and 11th among pitchers by Extra Inning Softball. She was a four-year letterwinner, three-time captain and two-time team MVP at Crosby High School and was named Texas 5A Pitcher of the Year in 2021 after posting a 1.27 ERA with 199 strikeouts in 143 innings.

A three-time letterwinner at West Brook High School in Beaumont, Texas, Grace Thompson was ranked 28th overall and 19th among middle infielders by Extra Inning Softball. She collected three all-district nods in her career and batted .576 with 39 RBIs and 10 home runs as a junior.

Mackenzie White ranked 52nd overall and 18th among catchers by Extra Inning Softball. The four-time letterwinner at Heard County High School in Franklin, Georgia, racked up 28 home runs and over 140 RBIs during her high school career. A four-time all-region and two-time all-state honoree, White helped lead HCHS to back-to-back state championships in 2020 and 2021.

OLE MISS PICKED 10TH IN PRESEASON SEC POLL
Ole Miss has been picked 10th in the 2023 Preseason SEC Softball Poll as voted on by the conference's 13 head coaches. Last season, Ole Miss finished eighth in the conference with a 12-12 record that included series wins over South Carolina, #12 Tennessee, #16 Georgia and #19 Missouri. In six of the past seven completed seasons, Ole Miss has outperformed its projection in the conference preseason rankings.

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.

RebelsCalendar

Players Mentioned

Mikayla Allee

Tenly Grisham

Makenna Kliethermes

Jalia Lassiter

Jenna Lord

Natalie Ray

Catelyn Riley

Savana Sikes

Grace Sparks

Mya Stevenson

Grace Thompson

Mackenzie White

Tate Whitley

The University of Mississippi Athletics