The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
LSU
Softball Opens SEC Tournament Against No. 6 Seed LSU
5/9/2023 | Softball
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OLE MISS (29-25 8-16 SEC) vs. #9 LSU (40-14, 13-11 SEC) Fayetteville, Ark. Bogle Park |
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| Ole Miss Notes (PDF) • LSU Notes (PDF) • SEC Tournament Bracket (PDF) | ||||||||
| Wednesday, May 10 10 a.m. CT  |
| Watch • Live Stats • Digital Program |
LEADING OFF
• After closing out the regular season with a walk-off victory over No. 14 Alabama, Ole Miss looks to carry the momentum in the 2023 SEC Softball Tournament.
• Ole Miss earned the No. 11 seed and will take on No. 6 seed LSU Wednesday, May 10, at 10 a.m. CT.
• LSU leads the all-time series 57-14. The Rebels took one game earlier this season when the two teams met in Oxford. The two teams are even at 1-1 in the SEC Tournament.
• Ole Miss is 7-9 all-time at the SEC Tournament.
• Entering the postseason, the Rebels boast the No. 5 strength of schedule and No. 34 RPI in the nation.
• Freshman Jalia Lassiter tallied three huge hits over the weekend, all coming against three-time All-American Montana Fouts, and scored the tying run in Sunday's win.
• Senior Mikayla Allee has started 250 games in a Rebel uniform, the most by any player in Ole Miss history.
• Mya Stevenson recently 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
With over 600 career wins and four trips to the College World Series, Beth Torina leads LSU in her 12th season as head coach. The Tigers finished the 2023 regular season 40-14, including a 13-11 mark in SEC games, and eclipsed 40 wins in a season for the first time since 2019. LSU boasts a 45-25 record in the SEC Tournament and has the most wins in the history of the league's tournament. The Tigers enter the tournament as the No. 6 seed after taking the series from 10th-ranked Georgia this past weekend. Junior infielder Danieca Coffey leads LSU with a .395 batting average that ranks sixth in the SEC. She paces the team with 68 hits, ranking third in the league and 15th in the nation. Senior Georgia Clark powers the offense with the long ball. She leads the team with 12 home runs and currently ranks second on the team with 41 RBIs. LSU boasts a 1.97 ERA in the circle, led by senior Ali Kilponen and freshman Sydney Berzon. The duo pace the Tigers with 13 wins on the season. Back when the two teams met in March, Berzon picked up both wins for LSU, tossing complete games, and was named SEC Freshman of the Week.
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 .287 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 16 bases in her freshman campaign, the 10th most in the conference, and score 33 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. Further, the Corona, California, product ranks fourth all-time at Ole Miss with 31 career home runs.
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 42 games under her belt this season, Whitley is back into the swing of things, hitting a team-best .323 with 13 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 215 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 86th 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 2.49 ERA. Throwing only 81.2 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 2.91 ERA over the past three seasons, including a 2.84 mark through 54 games this season (71st 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 43 errors on 1,501 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 third on the team with a .287 batting average. Allee has 41 hits this season, the third most on the team, and has collected multiple in eight contests this year. Further, her 41 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.
