HottyToddy.com’s Daily Ole Miss Sports Roundup

HottyToddy.com is giving readers a roundup of all the commentary and information about the Ole Miss Rebels from various publications around the Web.

Readers will be able to check out the latest information in a single post every day throughout the year. Here at HottyToddy.com, we are doing all the leg work to find the information that people may want to hear about Ole Miss sports.

Today’s roundup features The Rebel Walk.com, Saturday Down South and Ole Miss Sports.

QB Chad Kelly brings renewed faith and focus to second year with Rebels

Photo by John Bowen

Chad Kelly came in with the weight of the world hanging over his head from his previous stint at the University of Clemson, but since his arrival in Oxford, the Ole Miss quarterback has become the face of Ole Miss Football.

Rebels’ head coach Hugh Freeze has said a number of times he knew it was a risk to bring in a quarterback who had to take a step back from playing for a Division I program and spend some time in the junior college ranks. However, once Kelly arrived in Oxford last January and worked diligently to earn his first snap for the Rebels last fall against Tennessee-Martin, he ended all the questions about whether or not he could make it work at Ole Miss.

Kelly’s on-field prowess
Kelly led the Rebels last season to a 10-3 overall record (6-2 in the Southeastern Conference) and a 48-20 shellacking of Oklahoma State in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

He also led the SEC in passing yards (4,042), broke or tied 14 single-season school records, including total offense yards (4,542), touchdowns responsible for (41) and completion percentage (65.1).

Courtesy of Courtney Smith and the Rebel Walk.com

Rebels Sweep Saturday Games in Red & Blue Classic

Photo by Joshua McCoy/Ole Miss Athletics
@olemisspix

The Ole Miss softball team capped a Friday sweep with a walk-off win against Penn State, 7-6, moving to 4-0 on the weekend in the Red & Blue Classic.

The Rebels (18-3) sent a freshman to the circle in Krista Jacobs in game one, and she earned the win after Ole Miss scratched a late-game run across to top UMASS.

In game two, the Rebels and Nittany Lions traded runs, but late-inning heroics from the Rebel offense kept the win streak alive for the Red and Blue.

See below for full recaps from both contests.

Game One – Ole Miss 1, UMASS 0
Jacobs entered the game with just two thirds of an inning pitched on the season, but shined in the circle for the Rebels. She went six innings, not allowing a Minutewomen hit until the fourth inning, and earned the win with just three hits allowed and one strikeout.

She handed the ball off to senior Madi Osias in the seventh, who closed the door for the save becoming the Rebels’ all-time saves leader with seven in her career.

Despite a nine-hit performance from the offense, the Rebels scratched just one run across off a single in the fifth inning. Hailey Lunderman led off the inning with a bunt single, and after she moved to third on back-to-back groundouts, Dakota Matiko pushed her across with an infield, RBI single for the lone run of the contest.

Sophomore Grayce Majam paced the way for the offense going 3-for-3, while Lunderman went 2-for-3 at the plate. UMASS’ Taylor Carbone went the distance in the circle giving up nine hits and the one Rebel run.

Game Two – Ole Miss 7, Penn State 6
Game two saw a much different result as the Nittany Lions chased the Rebels’ starter Elisha Jahnke in the second inning.

Penn State struck early and took a 1-0 lead off an RBI single, but the Rebels tied it right back after Lunderman scored on an error by the second baseman.

After a two-run second from Penn State, the Rebels cut the deficit by a run when Lunderman singled back to the shortstop scoring Kylan Becker.

In their next chance at the plate, the Rebels tied it up off Matiko’s RBI groundout that scored Ashton Lampton.

From there, the Rebels took what looked to be a comfortable 6-3 lead in the sixth off Haley Culley’s two-RBI single up the middle.

Penn State kept the game alive in the seventh when Alyssa VanDerveer hit a three-run bomb over the left field wall.

The Rebels responded though, as Courtney Syrett led off with a walk. After Paige McKinney pinch ran for her at first, she stole second, then moved to third on a throwing error. Matiko followed with a walk, then Bry Castro reached on a fielder’s choice bunt to setup the bases loaded with no outs.

After two infield popups, sophomore pinch hitter Alex Schneider shot a long fly ball to deep center field scoring McKinney for the walk-off, keeping the undefeated weekend alive in the Rebels’ second and final home tournament.

Lunderman went 2-for-4 in the contest, while Culley’s two RBI led the way for the offense. Jahnke gave up six hits in 1.1 innings pitched, while Osias entered in relief earning the win to move to 9-1 on the 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. Fans can also follow head coach Mike Smith on Twitter at @msmithsb16. Additionally fans can get a behind the scenes look at Ole Miss Athletics on Snapchat under the handle, @WeAreOleMiss.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports

Ole Miss Softball Run Rules Belmont

Photo by Joshua McCoy/Ole Miss Athletics
@olemisspix

Ole Miss softball closed its 2016 tournament slate in style Sunday, run ruling Belmont, 8-0, in five innings in the final contest of the Red & Blue Classic.

“The girls swung the bats well today,” head coach Mike Smith said. “Our first two weekends going 4-1, knowing that we could’ve easily gone 5-0 and just missed some opportunities, I think that’s helped focus our girls a little bit more. Even though we didn’t play great softball this week, we played good enough to get Ws.”

After two-straight home weekends of tournament play, the Rebels sit at 19-3 on the season, the best overall start in program history. The Rebels are 10-0 at the Ole Miss Softball Complex after back-to-back home weekends, becoming the first team in program history to go undefeated at home through 10 games.

Sunday’s victory provided the opportunity for 21 different Rebels to see the field as eight got a hit and six drove in runs over the Bruins (3-15).

The Rebels wasted no time getting the wheels turning Sunday, posting a two-run first to go up early on Belmont. Elantra Cox posted the first of her two hits on the day on a leadoff single, before she scored on an Ashton Lampton single to left field. Courtney Syrett added her ninth RBI of the season one at-bat later on a sacrifice fly to right field, pushing Miranda Strother across to cap the inning.

Ole Miss kept it rolling an inning later thanks to Cox’s second RBI single, and a two-RBI double from Strother to make it 5-0 Rebels through two.

The Rebels converted the double steal in the third when Alyssa Invergo was successful running home, before Sarah Van Schaik’s sacrifice fly an inning later gave the Rebels a 7-0 advantage heading to the fifth.

Pinch-hitter Kennedy Cline started off the fifth reaching on a hit by pitch, and Haley Culley walked to setup runners at first and second. That’s when sophomore Paige McKinney stepped in, and delivered the game-winning RBI single – her second of the season – to secure the Rebels’ sixth run-rule victory and seventh shutout of 2016.

Senior Madi Osias improved to a team-best 10-1 on the year after just missing the no-hit bid with one hit allowed in four frames. She tied her career high with nine strikeouts, while sophomore Elisha Jahnke worked the final frame with one hit allowed.

The Rebels will continue their 16-game homestand this Wednesday when they host Youngstown State at 6 p.m. at the Ole Miss Softball Complex for $1 Hotdog Night.

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. Fans can also follow head coach Mike Smith on Twitter at @msmithsb16. Additionally fans can get a behind the scenes look at Ole Miss Athletics on Snapchat under the handle, @WeAreOleMiss.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports

2016 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament bracket set

The bracket is set for the 2016 Southeastern Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament that begins Wednesday, March 9 in Nashville at Bridgestone Arena.

Ole Miss will be the No. 7 seed in the tournament and faces Alabama in the second round on Thursday, March 10 at 6:00 p.m. CT. The winner of the Ole Miss/Alabama game plays Kentucky in the quarterfinals on Friday, March 11 at 6:10 p.m.

Texas A&M clinched the No. 1 seed in the tournament by owning the head-to-head tiebreaker over No. 2 seed Kentucky. The Aggies and Kentucky automatically advance to the tournament quarterfinals along with No. 3 seed South Carolina and No. 4 seed LSU.

Courtesy of Evelyn Van Pelt and The RebelWalk.com

Ole Miss QB Chad Kelly gunning for greatness in 2016

Ole Miss QB Chad Kelly Photo by Josh Bonner

Ole Miss enters the 2016 season with the SEC’s best quarterback.

Chad Kelly picked up where predecessor Bo Wallace left off, and then some.

As a junior Kelly broke Wallace’s school-record for completions in a season (298). He threw for 4,042 yards, most in Rebels’ history and third-most in SEC history. And he tossed 31 touchdown passes, which led the SEC and tied Eli Manning for the school’s single-season record.

He also led the SEC in average passing yards per game (310.9), total offense per game (349.4), and points responsible for (246).

In his senior year, he has the chance to become the first quarterback in SEC history to throw for 4,000 yards twice in a career.

Courtesy of Glenn Sattell and Saturday Down South

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