Softball Returns Home To Host Texas A&M

			OLE MISS (26-19, 5-10 SEC) vs. #21 TEXAS A&M (27-16, 8-10 SEC) Oxford, Miss. Ole Miss Softball Complex
Ole Miss Notes (PDF) • Texas A&M Notes (PDF) • SEC Notes (PDF)

Friday, April 21 8 p.m. CT	Saturday, April 22 1 p.m. CT	Sunday, April 23 1 p.m. CT
Watch • Live Stats	Watch • Live Stats	Watch • Live Stats

LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss Softball returns to Oxford to host No. 21 Texas A&M in a three-game series April 21-23.
• The Rebels are coming off their first series victory, taking the final two games against Missouri.
• On Saturday, both teams will wear 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.
• Both teams last faced off in 2021, with Ole Miss winning the series in Bryan-College Station. The Rebels are 1-5 against the Aggies all-time in Oxford.
• Last week, Keila Kamoku blasted four home runs, including two in the midweek win over Louisiana Tech. The sophomore is hitting .400 in her last five games.
• Senior Mya Stevenson tallied her 200th career hit on Monday night, joining Tate Whitley who reached the milestone on April 8 in the Rebels' win over No. 15 Kentucky.
• Head coach Jamie Trachsel became the fastest to 100 career wins at Ole Miss in program history, needing only 159 games to accomplish the feat.
• The Rebel pitching staff boasts a 2.21 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 18th in the country with 0.50 double plays per game and 19th with a .976 fielding percentage.

SCOUTING THE AGGIES
Trisha Ford is in her first season as head coach at Texas A&M, boasting a 424-242-1 record during her tenure. Texas A&M enters the weekend series with a 27-16 record on the year and an 8-10 mark in conference play. The Aggies were swept last weekend on the road at South Carolina but bounced back Wednesday night with an 8-0 win over Texas State. Coming into the series, Texas A&M is ranked in all four national polls, checking in as high as No. 21 in D1 Softball and Softball America's top 25. The Aggie offense is hitting .277 as a unit and features five players with a .300 or better mark at the plate. Julia Cottrill leads Texas A&M with a .362 batting average, 42 hits and 29 runs batted in. Trinity Cannon is the power threat in the lineup, smashing a team-high seven home runs this year. Koko Wooley rounds out the offensive weapons. The sophomore is a threat on the basepaths with 18 stolen bases in 22 attempts. In the circle, Texas A&M is led by a trio of arms. Shaylee Ackerman paces the Aggies with a 2.33 earned run average through 69.0 innings pitched, while Emiley Kennedy and Emily Leavitt each lead the team with eight wins on the year. As a staff, the Aggies boast a 2.52 ERA while holding opponents to a .218 mark at the plate.

ALL FOR ALEX
The SEC softball community will unite on Saturday, April 22nd when all 13 teams participate in the "All for Alex" campaign to honor the legacy of Mississippi State's Alex Wilcox. Wilcox was a member of the 2018 Mississippi State softball team who inspired the nation with her courageous fight against ovarian cancer that ultimately took her life in the summer of 2018. The 13 SEC schools will join together for the third year to wear teal or teal accents on Saturday as the entire league recognizes her impact on the softball community nationwide and in the fight against ovarian cancer.

TAMING THE TIGERS
Ole Miss softball picked up its first SEC series victory of the season this past weekend in Columbia, Missouri. After dropping game one to the Tigers, the Rebels battled back to take the series. Down one run going into the seventh inning, Ole Miss rallied for five runs in the top half of the inning and held on for a 7-6 victory. With the series on the line Monday night, the Rebels captured an early 5-2 lead, but Missouri tied the contest up at five in the fifth inning. Both teams battled into extra innings until Keila Kamoku stepped to the plate and delivered the knockout punch with a two-run home run to left in the ninth inning. Vestal came back out for the bottom of the ninth and retired the side in order, slamming to door shut on Missouri and clinching the series for Ole Miss with a 7-5 victory.

200 CLUB
Ole Miss is 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 on April 8 against No. 15 Kentucky with an infield single in the first inning. Her teammate Mya Stevenson recorded her 200th career hit this past weekend, hitting a three-run home run to help the Rebels top Missouri in the rubber match to take the series.

POWER SURGE
Sophomore infielder Keila Kamoku had a power surge at the plate last week. The Kapolei, Hawai'i native batted .375 in four games with five total hits, four of which left the ballpark. Kamoku started off the week strong with a career-best 3-for-3 outing, featuring two homers, in Ole Miss' midweek win over Louisiana Tech. She went yard in the Rebels' only loss of the week at Missouri and smacked the game-winner in the ninth inning to help Ole Miss take the series. Kamoku finished the week with a 1.308 slugging percentage.

HOT HITTING
Ole Miss' offense has been clicking in its last seven games. As a team, the Rebels have tallied 60 hits, including 24 for extra bases, while boasting a .308 mark at the plate. Among those leading the offensive attack are Tate Whitley and Lexie Brady, who are batting .423 (11-26) and .375 (6-16) during that span. Keila Kamoku and Paige Smith have also utilized the long ball over the last seven games, smacking four and three, respectively.

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.

THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
So far this season, three has been the magic number for the Ole Miss offense. The Rebels boast a 25-4 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 11 of 45 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 in 2023, she has earned wins over No. 10 LSU, No. 19 Auburn and No. 15 Kentucky over the month. The Dandridge, Tennessee, native currently ranks ninth in the SEC and ranks 70th nationally with a 1.77 ERA. Although she has only thrown 59.1 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 33 games under her belt this season, Whitley is back into the swing of things, hitting a team-best .356 with 12 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 on April 8th 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 209 hits and is fifth in program history with a .351 career average at the plate.

MY OH MYA
Slugger Mya Stevenson ranks ninth in the SEC and 42th nationally with 11 home runs in 40 games played this season. Further, her 11 homers are tied for the fifth most in a single season in program history. The graduate transfer leads the team with 32 RBIs and a .641 slugging percentage. Stevenson is up to 70 career home runs, the most among all active players in Division I College Softball.

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 13-7 at home this season and have now won 89-of-110 games at home, dating back to the start of the 2019 season.

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 2.74 ERA over the past three seasons, including a 2.21 mark through 45 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 63rd in the nation. Six of the eight shutouts this year have come at home, where the Rebels have only surrendered 23 earned runs in 130.0 innings pitched.

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 18th in the country in double plays, turning 0.47 per game and 19th in fielding percentage with a .976 mark. The Rebels have only committed 30 errors on 1,254 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 37 hits this season and has collected multiple in eight contests already this year. Further, her 37 hits this season are a single-season career-high, topping the 28 she had last year.

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

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mikayla Allee

Lexie Brady

Keila Kamoku

Jamie Mackay

Catelyn Riley

Savana Sikes

Paige Smith

Mya Stevenson

Tate Whitley

The University of Mississippi Athletics