Softball Set For Final Home Midweek Against Louisiana Tech

			OLE MISS (23-18, 3-9 SEC) vs. LOUISIANA TECH (23-17, 5-7 C-USA) Oxford, Miss. Ole Miss Softball Complex (1,000)
Ole Miss Notes (PDF) • Louisiana Tech Notes (PDF) • SEC Notes (PDF)

Wednesday, April 12
6 p.m. CT

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LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss Softball wraps up a five-game homestand with a midweek contest against Louisiana Tech Wednesday night.
• The Rebels have won their last five matchups with the Lady Techsters dating back to 2011.
• Head coach Jamie Trachsel notched her 100th win at Ole Miss on Sunday with a 9-3 victory over No. 15 Kentucky.
• Playing in Oxford this past week, junior Aynslie Furbush went 5-for-10 with four extra-base hits, including two home runs.
• The Rebels have been nothing short of dominant in Oxford, boasting an 87-21 record at the Ole Miss Softball Complex since the start of the 2019 season.
• Tate Whitley is in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak. During that span, she is batting .458 with 11 hits.
• Catelyn Riley ranks third in the SEC and 15th in the nation with a 0.55 ERA in 50.0 innings pitched on the season.
• The Rebel pitching staff boasts a 2.09 ERA on the season, the sixth best mark in the SEC and 27th best in the nation.
• Ole Miss boasts one of the nation's top defenses, ranking 10th in the country with 0.51 double plays per game and 16th with a .977 fielding percentage.

SCOUTING LA TECH
LA Tech is led by head coach Josh Taylor, who boasts a 62-37 record in his second season at Tech. So far this year, Louisiana Tech is 23-17 and is coming off a 2-2 week that featured an extra-innings win at ULM and a 1-2 showing at UAB. Sierra Sacco leads the offense with 40 hits, 30 runs scored, 26 walks and a .328 batting average. She is also a threat on the basepaths, stealing 28 bases this season which leads Conference USA and ranks seventh nationally. The Sophomore is the all-time program leader in career batting average with a mark of .397. Scoring early has paid huge dividends for the Lady Techsters. They are 21-3 when getting on the board first. LA Tech boasts one of the nation's top defenses. It ranks second nationally in double plays per game, turning 0.58 a contest. The Lady Techsters have also had a strong year in the circle. Pitching has been strong for LA Tech as it holds a team ERA of 2.11 in 272.0 innings pitched. Mary Martinez leads LA Tech in the circle with an 8-3 record while posting a 1.92 ERA in 54.2 innings pitched.

KEEPING IT 💯
Lexie Brady's career day at the plate helped Jamie Trachsel earn her 100th victory as a Rebel as Ole Miss toppled No. 15 Kentucky 9-3 Sunday afternoon. With the victory, Trachsel became the quickest coach to 100 wins in program history, needing only 159 games to reach the century mark. The Rebels put on an offensive clinic against the Wildcats, scoring seven runs in the second inning. Tate Whitley and Savana Sikes each sparked the offense going 3-for-4 on the afternoon, but it was Brady who shined at the plate, hitting a three-run bomb and a double. Catelyn Riley was battled in the circle, holding the Kentucky offense on only one earned run on four hits while striking out five in the complete game effort.

A LEAGUE OF HER OWN
Freshman catcher Jamie Mackay started playing baseball from the time she was four until she graduated high school. Playing both catcher and serving as a relief pitcher, Mackay was a two-time letterwinner at Pacifica Christian High School and a member of the United States Women's National Baseball Team. Despite not playing softball, Mackay signed with Ole Miss' 2022 class. She stepped foot on a softball field for the first time less than a year ago and is now the starting catcher for the Rebels. Through 26 starts, she is batting .279 with 12 hits, seven runs scored and eight RBIs.

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 12-7 at home this season and have now won 88-of-109 games at home, dating back to the start of the 2019 season.

CHASING 200
Ole Miss is looking to become one of six teams in all of Division I softball this year to have multiple active players with 200 career hits on its roster. Tate Whitley notched her 200th career hit this past weekend against No. 15 Kentucky with an infield single in the first inning. Her teammate Mya Stevenson is chasing her 200th career hit. The graduate transfer is just three shy of the milestone.

THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
So far this season, three has been the magic number for the Ole Miss offense. The Rebels boast a 21-3 record when scoring three or more runs. Further, Ole Miss' pitching and defense have kept them in almost every game this season, only allowing more than three runs in eight of 41 games.

THE BULL IS BACK
After suffering an injury in the Rebels season opener and missing a month of action, Catelyn Riley returned just in time for conference play. Last season, Riley was 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 healthy, she has earned wins over No. 10 LSU, No. 19 Auburn and No. 15 Kentucky. The Dandridge, Tennessee, native currently ranks third in the SEC and ranks 15th nationally with a 1.12 ERA. Although she has only thrown 50.0 innings on the season, the sophomore is showing no signs of slowing down in year two.

HOTTY TODDY TATE
Back in the lineup after missing most of February, Tate Whitley has resumed her leadoff duties as the sparkplug for the Ole Miss offense. With 29 games under her belt this season, Whitley is back into the swing of things, hitting .360 with 10 multi-hit games. Playing her fifth year in a Rebel uniform, she has become one of the most consistent hitters in school history. The Angleton, Texas, native collected her 200th hit this past Saturday against No. 15 Kentucky, joining Lauren Grill, Kylan Becker and Elantra Cox as the only player in program history to tally 200 hits in their career. She now ranks fourth all-time at Ole Miss with 204 hits and is fifth in program history with a .351 career average at the plate.

SPINNY REBELS
Since the arrival of pitching coach Ryker Chason, the Ole Miss pitching staff has been one of the SEC's best. The Spinny Rebels boast a 2.72 ERA over the past three seasons, including a 2.09 mark through 41 games this season (27th nationally). Chason's pitching staff ranked third in the conference with 29 shutouts from 2021-22, and it already has eight this season, ranking 51st in the nation. Six of the eight shutouts this year have come at home, where the Rebels have only surrendered 22 earned runs in 123.0 innings pitched.

MY OH MYA
Slugger Mya Stevenson ranks seventh in the SEC and 44th nationally with 10 home runs in 36 games played this season. Further, her 10 homers are tied for the eighth most in a single season in program history. The graduate transfer leads the team with 26 RBIs and a .611 slugging percentage. Stevenson is up to 69 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 team on campus has adopted the Landshark defensive mindset. Ole Miss softball boasts one of the most sound defenses in the nation. It ranks 10th in the country in double plays, turning 0.51 per game and 16th in fielding percentage with a .977 mark. The Rebels have only committed 26 errors on 1,125 chances.

SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST
Fifth-year senior Mikayla Allee is quietly putting together the best offensive season of her career. The Corona, California, has climbed the lineup and ranks second on the team with a .306 batting average. Allee has a team-best 34 hits this season and has collected multiple in eight contests already this year. Further, her 34 hits this season are a single-season career-high, topping the 28 she had last year.

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.

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

Mikayla Allee

Lexie Brady

Aynslie Furbush

Jamie Mackay

Catelyn Riley

Savana Sikes

Mya Stevenson

Tate Whitley

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