Softball Looks To Bounce Back Against UT Martin

			OLE MISS (21-16, 2-7 SEC) vs. UT MARTIN (12-16, 5-6 OVC) Oxford, Miss. Ole Miss Softball Complex (1,000)
Ole Miss Notes (PDF)

Tuesday, April 4
6 p.m.

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LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss Softball looks to bounce back after dropping the series at No. 19 Auburn with a midweek tilt against UT Martin on Tuesday night.
• Both teams faced off in a midweek last season, with Ole Miss topping UT Martin 8-3.
• Senior Paige Smith launched two home runs over the weekend against Auburn.
• Catelyn Riley leads the SEC and ranks fifth in the nation with a 0.55 ERA in 38.0 innings pitched on the season.
• A pair of Rebels are closing in on 200 career hits. Mya Stevenson is three away from the milestone, while Tate Whitley needs four base hits to reach 200.
• The Rebel pitching staff boasts a 2.01 ERA on the season, the 22nd best mark in the nation.
• In her last 10 games, freshman Jalia Lassiter has been one of the hottest hitting Rebels, batting .370 with 10 hits, six runs scored and six RBIs.
• Ole Miss boasts one of the nation's top defenses, ranking fifth in the country with 0.54 double plays per game and 12th with a .979 fielding percentage.

SCOUTING UT MARTIN
Brian Dunn leads UT Martin in his fourth season as head coach. Dunn brings over 29 years of championship experience at both the high school and collegiate level including two state championships and four national titles. The Skyhawks are coming off one of the best seasons in program history last year, posting a 34-19 record while going 17-8 in conference play. This season, UT Martin boasts a 12-16 record. Heading into the midweek matchup, the Sky Hawks are looking to bounce back from a series loss at Southern Indiana. As a team, UT Martin is hitting .286 on the year. Kaci Fuller leads the Skyhawks and ranks fifth in the nation with a .484 batting average and 44 hits. She also paces the team with six home runs and 25 runs batted in. Katie Dreiling ranks second on the team with a .319 average . In the circle, Brooklynn Linneman and Dreiling have been the go-to arms for UT Martin. Linneman owns a team-best 2.42 ERA and 5-4 record throught 66.2 innings pitched, while Dreiling boasts a 6-5 record and 3.66 ERA in 51.2 innings of work.

HOT HITTING
Since returning home for the Rebel Invitational, freshman Jalia Lassiter has been one of the hottest hitting Rebels. The Flomation, Alabama, native is batting .364 over the 12-game stretch with 12 hits, including five for extra bases. In that span she has scored seven times, driven in eight runs and stolen seven bases for Ole Miss. Overall, Lassiter is having an impressive rookie campaign ranking second in the SEC and eighth nationally with five triples on the 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 10-5 start so far this season and now have won 86-of-105 games at home, dating back to the start of the 2019 season.

CHASING 200
Ole Miss is looking to become one of four teams in all of Division I softball this year to have multiple active players with 200 career hits on its roster. Mya Stevenson and Tate Whitley are both chasing their 200th career hits in their fifth season of college softball. Stevenson, a graduate transfer, is just three shy of the milestone, while Whitley is four away. Whitley is also climbing the Ole Miss record books, with Abbey Latham, Miranda Strother and Allison Brown for the fourth most all-time.

THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
So far this season, three has been the magic number for the Ole Miss offense. The Rebels boast a 20-1 record when scoring three or more runs, with their only loss coming against No. 24 Oregon on February 11 in the second game of the season.

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.

After missing the first month of the season with an injury, the Dandridge, Tennessee, native returned just in time for conference play. She has earned wins over St. Thomas, No. 10 LSU and No. 19 Auburn. Riley currently leads the SEC and ranks fifth nationally with a 0.55 ERA. Although she has only thrown 38.0 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 25 games under her belt this season, Whitley is back into the swing of things, hitting .319 with seven 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 now has 196 career hits, tied for the fourth most in school history, and ranks fifth with a .346 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 2.01 mark through 37 games this season (22nd nationally). Chason's pitching staff ranked third in the conference with 29 shutouts from 2021-22, and it already has seven this season, ranking 57th in the nation. Five of the seven shutouts this year have come at home, where the Rebels have only surrendered 11 earned runs in 95.0 innings pitched.

MY OH MYA
Slugger Mya Stevenson ranks seventh in the SEC and 28th nationally with 10 home runs in 32 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 .659 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 fifth in the country in double plays, turning 0.54 per game and 12th in fielding percentage with a .978 mark. The Rebels have only committed 22 errors on 1,005 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 currently leads the team with a .330 batting average. Allee has a team-best 33 hits in the first 37 games and has collected multiple in eight contests already this year. Further, her 33 hits this season are a single-season career-high, topping the 28 she had last year.

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 have stepped right in to contribute this season.

Makenna Kliethermes graduated last May from Oregon and joins the Rebels pitching staff with two years of eligibility remaining. So far this season, she has made 18 appearances in the circle, boasting a 2.90 ERA and 6-4 record through 60.1 innings pitched. Kliethermes leads the team, averaging 7.7 strikeouts per game.

Staying in the SEC, Jenna Lord joined the Rebels after playing one season at Alabama. She has appeared in 21 games, making 12 starts in the outfield. Lord is batting .235 on the year with eight hits and three RBI.

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 and fourth All-American. She has continued to show off the power in a Rebel uniform, leading the team with 10 home runs. Stevenson has helped lead the Ole Miss offense this season, batting .295 with 26 hits and 26 RBI.

Sikes joins the Rebels after electing to play her fifth and final season in Oxford. The former Georgia Bulldog has started every game for the Rebels at third base this season, giving her 230 career starts. She owns a .267 average at the plate and has scored a team-high 26 runs.

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

Makenna Kliethermes

Jalia Lassiter

Abbey Latham

Jenna Lord

Catelyn Riley

Paige Smith

Mya Stevenson

Tate Whitley

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