The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Pitt
Softball Treks to Georgia for Kennesaw State Tournament
2/15/2024 | Softball
KENNESAW, Ga. – After a 4-1 opening weekend at the Paradise Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii, Ole Miss softball treks to the other side of the country for the Kennesaw State Tournament February 16-18.
LEADING OFF
• The Rebels bounced back after falling to BYU in their season opener, picking up four straight wins to close out the first weekend of competition.
• Junior Lexie Brady racked up the fourth most RBI in the nation on opening weekend, finishing with 11 in her first five games of the season.
• Despite only having 10 at-bats this season, Jamie Mackay has been one of the hottest hitters at the plate for Ole Miss. The sophomore boasts a .700 average, the 15th best mark in the nation.
• Batting at the top of the order in all five games this season, Jalia Lassiter has proven to be one of the top leadoff hitters in the nation. She was one of only 18 players in the country to post at least 10 hits on opening weekend.
• Ole Miss' coaching staff features three new faces. Daniel Nicolaisen, Karl Gollan and DJ Sanders all join the Rebels for their first season in Oxford.
• Ole Miss returns 13 players from last season's roster, including fifth-year seniors Paige Smith and Makenna Kliethermes. The 2024 roster also includes four impact transfers in Brianna Lopez, Jaden Pone, Delaney Rummell and Ryan Starr.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
Jenny Allard takes over the Pitt softball program after 28 years as the head coach of Harvard, where she was the winningest head coach in Ivy League history. On opening weekend, Pitt went 2-2 at the LSU Invitational, dropping both contests against the Tigers. After starting in all but three games last season, Kat Rodriguez returned to the Panthers lineup for her senior season. She recorded two hits and knocked in one run during the weekend. In the all-time series, Ole Miss leads 4-0, including two wins in the most recent two matchups in 2019.
Entering his sixth season at Kennesaw State, Tripp Mackay holds a 117-120 record as head coach, with the Owls' first-ever tournament appearance in 2021 on his resume. After an injury riddled 2023, the KSU started their 2024 season with a 2-2 record at the Texas State tournament. After an impressive freshman season, Kenley Hilleary returns to the circle for the Owls, getting credit for both wins on the opening weekend of the season, including one complete game. This will be the third and fourth matchup between the two programs. The all-time series is split 1-1, with the most recent meeting being in 2008, where Kennesaw State evened the series.
Cheryl Milligan enters her second season as head coach of the ETSU Buccaneers, taking over the program in December of 2022 after four years at Army. In year one, East Tennessee State finished with a record of 17-37. The Bucs bring back Cameron Young, who started off her junior year batting .500 on the opening weekend at the Runnin' Bulldog Classic. She knocked in two runs while also completing all of her fielding attempts at third base. This will be the first matchup between the Rebels and the Buccaneers.
BRADY BUNCH
After patiently waiting for her opportunity, Lexie Brady took over as the Rebels' starting catcher for 19 of the final 20 games last season, powering Ole Miss down the stretch. This past weekend in Hawaii, she opened her junior season with a bang, mashing three home runs, including her first career multi-home run game. Brady, a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, native, was responsible for 14 of the Rebels' 36 runs on the weekend, finishing with 11 RBI, tied for the fourth most in the nation.
HOT HITTING
Scoring 36 runs and racking up 53 hits over the first five games of the season, Ole Miss' offense was firing on all cylinders. The team's .379 mark at the plate ranks as the 14th best batting average in the nation after one weekend of play. Not only are the Rebels seeing the ball fly off the bat, but they are showing patience at the plate, drawing 21 walks (30th nationally) to boast the seventh best on-base percentage in all of Division I softball at .485. Sophomore Jamie Mackay leads Ole Miss at the plate with a .700 batting average, including a career-best 4-for-4 performance against Kansas City. Three other Rebels, Jalia Lassiter, Delaney Rummell and Jaden Pone, all boast batting averages over the .400 mark.
SPINNING IT
With four returning arms in the circle and two newcomers, the Rebels have no shortage of pitching talent. The staff posted a 1.53 ERA at the Paradise Classic, where they picked up four wins. Makenna Kliethermes led the way, picking up wins in both of her starts, allowing only two earned runs over 11.2 innings pitched. Grace Sparks also saw 11.0 innings of work, pitching in three games for the Rebels and earning the victory against Kansas City. Catelyn Riley tossed the lone shutout on the weekend, only allowing three hits in a five-inning rout of Hawaii. Lefty Brianna Lopez also got in on the action, seeing 2.1 innings out of the bullpen. She held opposing batters to a team-low .125 mark at the plate.
ON ISLAND TIME
Traveling over 4,000 miles to Honolulu, Hawaii, the Rebels opened the 2024 season at the Paradise Classic. Despite dropping the opener to BYU, Ole Miss finished with a 4-1 record, picking up wins over Nevada, Kansas City and a pair over Hawaii.
REBEL DEBUTS
So far this season, seven different Rebels have played their first game in an Ole Miss uniform. Transfers Jaden Pone, Delaney Rummell and Ryan Starr have all found a spot in the starting lineup, while Brianna Lopez has made two appearances out of the bullpen. Freshman Alexa Rosales and Ma'Nia Womack also made their collegiate debuts on the weekend, with Womack recording her first career home run. After missing the entire 2023 season with an injury, redshirt freshman Grace Thompson stepped onto the field for the first time in her career.
LEGACY AND LOYALTY
Playing in her fifth and final season of eligibility, Paige Smith elected to return to Ole Miss for legacy and loyalty. With unfinished business on her mind, Smith looks to leave her mark as one of the program's top sluggers. A true threat in the middle of the Rebel lineup, she is one of seven players in Ole Miss history with 100 hits and 100 RBI and ranks fourth in the record books with 32 home runs and 134 RBI. With over 200 career games under her belt, Smith brings a veteran presence to the team and looks to carry Ole Miss back on a deep postseason run.
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 @olemisssoftball. Also, follow head coach Jamie Trachsel on Twitter at @Jamie_Trachsel.
