Softball Faces Road Series At Auburn

Rebels begin three-game series against Tigers on Friday at 6 p.m. CT

From Ole Miss Sports Information

Photo by Robert Jordan / University Communications

The Ole Miss softball team will begin the second half of its Southeastern Conference schedule Friday as it heads to The Plains of Auburn, Ala., for a three-game series against the Auburn Tigers beginning at 6 p.m. CT.

Ole Miss (19-21, 1-11 SEC) will face Auburn (23-14, 4-8 SEC) on Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. CT. First pitch for Sunday’s series finale is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.

“We’re looking forward to getting to Auburn and carrying over our hard work from practice into this weekend’s games,” Ole Miss softball head coach Windy Thees said. “We’re playing hard out there and we’re going to continue to do that and try to get some wins against a good Tigers team.”

The Rebels enter Friday’s series opener after battling inclement weather in each of their past two series at Georgia and against Florida where they had to play a doubleheader to close out each series.

Junior center fielder RT Cantillo has a team-high .336 batting average, recording a team-high five home runs. Cantillo is also second on the team in hits with 37, including eight doubles. Sophomore third baseman Allison Brown has hit an SEC-high 14 doubles, and a team-high 30 RBI. Brown hit her first career grand slam in Sunday’s series finale vs. Florida.

Junior catcher Marina Parra has thrown out an SEC-leading 12 base runners on stolen base attempts, while senior left fielder Brittany Broome is second in the conference with 26 stolen bases. Broome is just one steal shy of tying the Ole Miss single season record set by Stephanie Vaglica in 1997, and her 68 career stolen bases are the most in Ole Miss history.

Defensively, the Rebels continue to be one of the stingiest teams in the country. The Rebels’ .986 fielding percentage is tops in the nation, and their 14 errors in 40 games are the fewest in the SEC. Ole Miss has committed multiple errors in a game just once all season.

Ole Miss continues to be led in the circle by juniors Carly Hummel and Shelby Jo Fenter. Hummel has pitched complete games in two of her last three outings at the Ole Miss Softball Complex, and has pitched a team-high 102.2 innings this season. Fenter, a West Memphis, Ark., native, has struck out 73 batters in her 74.1 innings of work this season.

Auburn freshman infielder Emily Carosone leads the Tigers at the plate with a .402 batting average, featuring a team-high tying 10 doubles. Sophomore outfielder Branndi Melero has hit a team-high seven home runs.

In the circle, right-handed pitcher Marcy Harper (12-6) has led Auburn, pitching a team-high 112.2 innings and striking out 83 with an ERA of 2.86.

For all Ole Miss softball news and information, including live stats and results of each game of the series, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball and on Facebook at Ole Miss Softball.