The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Auburn
Softball Set To Take On No. 3 Auburn In SEC Tournament Quarterfinals
5/10/2023 | Softball
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OLE MISS (30-25 8-16 SEC) vs. #15 AUBURN (39-16, 15-9 SEC) Fayetteville, Ark. Bogle Park |
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| Ole Miss Notes (PDF) • SEC Tournament Bracket (PDF) | ||||||||
| Thursday, May 11 1 p.m. CT  |
| Watch • Live Stats • Digital Program |
LEADING OFF
• Paige Smith's game-winning home run has Ole Miss back in the Quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament for the second straight season, setting up a date with No. 3 seed Auburn.
• With Wednesday's win, Ole Miss improved to 8-9 all-time at the SEC Tournament, including a 2-2 mark under Trachsel.
• The Rebels are looking to punch their first trip to the semifinals since 2017 when they won the tournament title.
• Auburn leads the all-time series 48-22. The Rebels took one game earlier this season when the two teams met. The two teams have never met at the SEC Tournament.
• Ole Miss' defense recorded 29 of outs 30 outs on balls put in play in the 10-inning win over LSU. The Rebel outfielders were responsible for 18 of those putouts.
• Senior Mikayla Allee has started 251 games in a Rebel uniform, the most by any player in Ole Miss history.
• Mya Stevenson joined the 200-200 club, becoming one of six active NCAA student-athletes with at least 200 hits and 200 runs batted in.
• Head coach Jamie Trachsel became the fastest to 100 career wins at Ole Miss earlier this season, needing only 159 games to accomplish the feat.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Mickey Dean is in his sixth season as the head coach of the Auburn softball program. During his time on The Plains, Dean has guided the Tigers to a 202-106 overall record, including a 39-16 mark this season. Auburn enters the SEC Tournament with its highest seed since the 2017 season. The Tigers are looking to win their first game at the tournament since 2019. As a team, Auburn is hitting .277 on the year, led by Neila Peralta with a .330 mark. The spark for the Tiger offense, she has reached base safely in 51 of Auburn's 55 contests. Thirteen different Tigers have knocked a home run this season, with 10 slugging at least two. Bri Ellis currently ranks 10th in the SEC with 12 home runs. Auburn's pitching staff has totaled 21 shutouts this season, which leads the SEC and also tops the nation with 439 strikeouts. Maddie Penta paces the team with a 1.02 earned run average in SEC play, the lowest ever recorded by a Tiger pitcher. Defensively, Auburn enters the postseason with a .976 fielding percentage, the fifth highest among SEC teams.
A MODEL OF CONSISTENCY
With a 5-3 win over No. 6 seed LSU, Ole Miss picked up its 30th victory of the season. It marked the eighth consecutive 30 win season for the Rebels (excluding 2020), dating back to the 2015 season. Further, head coach Jamie Trachsel has tallied at least 30 wins in all but one season of her 13 year career. At 30-25 overall, she has the Rebels knocking on the door of their seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
NOT DONE YET
Paige Smith's tenth-inning home run capped off a thrilling start to the 2023 SEC Softball Tournament as No. 11 Ole Miss softball took down No. 6 LSU Wednesday morning at Bogle Park. Playing their longest game of the season, the Rebels battled in extra innings with LSU. Tate Whitley and Lexie Brady each registered multiple hits on the day, while Jalia Lassiter reached base four out of five times and flashed her speed to score a pair of early runs. Catelyn Riley had a strong start in the circle going 4.1 innings. She passed the ball off to Aynslie Furbush, who didn't allow a hit in the final 5.1 innings to pick up the victory.
END OF AN ERA
Playing their final game ever at the Ole Miss Softball Complex before it's torn down, Mya Stevenson's RBI double capped off a four-run seventh-inning rally as the Rebels walked off No. 14 Alabama Sunday afternoon. Down to its final three outs and trailing by three, Furbush and Kamoku crushed back-to-back solo home runs in the seventh, giving the Rebels life. Lassiter, Whitley and Smith all reached base to put the pressure on the Tide. With a chance to walk-off No. 14 Alabama, Stevenson took the second pitch from Fouts and drove it into the gap in left to help Ole Miss complete a four-run comeback. Sunday's win marked the end of an era in more ways than one. It capped off the careers of eight seniors in Oxford and marked the 608th and final game to ever be played at the Ole Miss Softball Complex, which has served as the Rebels' home field since 1998 and has seen one SEC Tournament, two NCAA Regionals and countless other memories.
SPEED KILLS
Playing in every contest this season for the Rebels, true freshman Jalia Lassiter has found a way to impact the game. The Atmore, Alabama, native brings a new level of energy to the diamond with her game-changing speed, swagger and confidence. Lassiter has shined in centerfield, already leaving her mark as one of the conference's best defenders. On the offensive side, she ranks third on the team with a .277 average at the plate. Still learning the game at the collegiate level and perfecting her craft, Lassiter has 41 hits, including five triples (the third most in the SEC). With her speed on the base paths, she's also managed to swipe 17 bases in her freshman campaign, the 10th most in the conference, and score 35 runs.
SENIOR SENDOFF
This past weekend, Ole Miss honored eight seniors and six managers. Four Rebels, Mikayla Allee, Savana Sikes, Mya Stevenson and Tate Whitley, are exercising their fifth season of eligibility and are set to cap off their collegiate careers in Ole Miss uniforms. Nyomi Jones, Makenna Kliethermes, Paige Smith and Brooke Vestal also participated in Senior Day for the Rebels along with managers Allison Rager, Bre Roper, Jevon Herbert, Kyler Holton, Emily Reid and Anna Tate.
SWINGING FOR THE FENCES
Paige Smith has powered the Ole Miss offense down the stretch in conference play. Despite hitting only .230, the senior has come up clutch for the Rebels in big moments. Eight of her 17 hits in SEC play, nearly 50 perfect, have left the ballpark, giving her a team-best 19 RBIs and 38 on the season. She added another home run at the SEC Tournament against No. 6 LSU, giving her 10 total on the season. Smith has hit double digit digers in all three complete seasons she's played at Ole Miss, giving her 32 in her career, the fourth most in program history.
BIT BACK
Ole Miss picked up a big win last weekend, taking down No. 14 Florida 7-2 for its first win in Gainesville since 2014. The Rebels utilized two big offensive innings and held their ground on defense, stranding 12 Florida runners on base. Brooke Barnard registered her first-career multi-hit game, clearing the bases to drive in the go-ahead runs with an RBI triple in the fifth, and Paige Smith delivered the dagger in the seventh with a three-run home run. Catelyn Riley earned her sixth victory of the season, tossing 6.1 innings and only allowing one run.
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 43 games under her belt this season, Whitley is back into the swing of things, hitting a team-best .326 with 14 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 217 hits and is fifth in program history with a .344 career average at the plate.
MY OH MYA
Slugger Mya Stevenson ranks 10th in the SEC and 71st nationally with 12 home runs in 49 games played this season. Further, her 12 homers are tied for the third most in a single season in program history. The graduate transfer leads the team with a .571 slugging percentage and is second on the team with 34 RBI. Stevenson is up to 71 career home runs, the most among all active players in Division I College Softball.
HOT HITTING
Ole Miss' offense got hot down the stretch in April. Over the 16 game span, the Rebels tallied 115 hits, including 47 for extra bases, while boasting a .276 mark at the plate. Among those leading the offensive attack were Keila Kamoku, Tate Whitley, Lexie Brady and Savana Sikes. Kamoku went on a tear in April, hitting .357. Whitley and Sikes also served as sparkplugs at the top of the lineup, combining for 35 hits last month. Kamoku and Paige Smith were a few Rebels who utilized the long ball in April, smacking four and seven of the team's 21 home runs, respectively.
FURBUSH CALLS GAME (AGAIN)
Aynslie Furbush called game for the second time this season on April 21 in the Rebels' 8-5 win over No. 21 Texas A&M. The junior stepped up, smashing a walk-off three-run home run to help Ole Miss topple the Aggies in the series opener. Earlier this season in Mexico, Furbush took matters into her own hands, throwing all 8.0 innings, stranding 12 runners on base, and hitting the game-winning home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to walk off the Liberty, 3-2.
200 CLUB
Ole Miss is one of nine 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 a week later, hitting a three-run home run to help the Rebels top Missouri in the rubber match to take the series.
TAMING THE TIGERS
Ole Miss softball picked up its first SEC series victory of the season 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.
POWER SURGE
Sophomore infielder Keila Kamoku had a power surge at the plate the second week of April. 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.
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 on April 9. 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.
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 and No. 14 Florida. The Dandridge, Tennessee, native currently ranks second on the team with a 2.60 ERA. Throwing only 86.0 innings on the season so far, the sophomore looks to be fresh for a postseason run with the Rebels.
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 2.90 ERA over the past three seasons, including a 2.82 mark through 55 games this season (69th nationally). Chason's pitching staff ranked third in the conference with 29 shutouts from 2021-22 and has eight this season, ranking 90th in the nation. Six of the eight shutouts this year have come at home, where the Rebels have only surrendered 53 earned runs in 171.0 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 0.46 per game and 46th in fielding percentage with a .971 mark. The Rebels have only committed 44 errors on 1,539 chances.
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST
Fifth-year senior Mikayla Allee has quietly put together the best offensive season of her career. The Corona, California, has climbed the lineup and ranks fourth on the team with a .284 batting average. Allee has 42 hits this season, the third most on the team, and has collected multiple in eight contests this year. Further, her 42 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.
