Mississippi Girls Shine In Shutout Over Mississippi State

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Mississippi Girls Shine in Shutout Over Mississippi State

Junior RHP Kaitlin Lee threw a 4-hit shutout, and a pair of Mississippi girls in Ashton Lampton and Paige McKinney both finished with an RBI, leading No. 23 Ole Miss softball past its rival Mississippi State, 2-0, Wednesday night.
In front of a vibrant crowd of 978 fans, sixth-largest in school history, the Rebels (22-6) took an early lead from the start, and dominated in the field and in the circle winning their second-straight over the Bulldogs (22-8). Lee, a native of Gulfport, was dominant in her 10th start of 2017, allowing only four hits scattered across four different innings while striking out four. The transfer from Mississippi Gulf Coast finished with no walks in her third complete game of the season.
Offensively, Ole Miss tallied six hits from five different players, led by two from Kylan Becker who finished 2-for-3. Elantra Cox added one with a run scored from the leadoff spot, while Miranda Strother, Sarah Van Schaik and McKinney all had one hit each.
The Bulldogs threatened early on after the leadoff hitter reached on an error, but Lee worked around that and a sacrifice bunt with a pair of groundouts escaping the early trouble. The Rebels responded in their first chance at the plate, as Cox reached on an infield single before moving up to second on an errant throw. After Becker put down a perfect bunt for a hit, Strother walked and Lampton drew a hit by pitch for an easy RBI, scoring Cox to put the Rebels in front 1-0.
Mississippi State again put its leadoff hitter aboard in the second, but a sac bunt attempt was no good, and Lee again worked out of it to retire the Bulldogs. In the home half of the second, McKinney drew one of the Rebels’ three walks on the night, but back-to-back fielders’ choice plays and Cox caught stealing at second ended any threat for more runs.
The middle innings produced nothing for either side as both pitchers settled in for the most part, before the sixth saw six Ole Miss hitters head to the plate. Van Schaik got the rally started off a hard single to center field, before Bry Castro pinch ran for her. A groundout to short moved her to second, and McKinney’s clutch RBI single up the middle scored her, pushing the Rebels’ advantage to 2-0.
The Bulldogs went on to threaten in the seventh as the leadoff hitter reached after being hit by a pitch, and a single put runners at the corners, but Lee closed it out with a groundout capping off the complete-game shutout.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports

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Ole Miss’ Aubrey Edie Earns NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship

Ole Miss volleyball senior Aubrey Edie continues to rake in honors months after tallying her last assist for the Rebels. The Fayetteville, Arkansas native has received a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship to continue her studies.
Edie becomes the 20th NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient at Ole Miss and the first since Lee Ellis-Moore of Track and Field in 2011. She is also the first volleyball player to earn the scholarship.
An elementary education major with an impressive 3.98 grade point average, Edie is one of 58 student-athletes (29 male, 29 female) from all NCAA divisions to earn the $7,500 scholarship for the fall season.
“We want our student-athletes to have a great experience while at Ole Miss,” said executive associate athletics director and senior woman administrator Lynnette Johnson. “Our student-athlete development staff provides support for their educational endeavors and prepares them for ‘life after athletics.’ Aubrey’s postgraduate scholarship is a great testimony to her commitment to excellence in preparing for her career after volleyball.”
Directing the offensive attack for the Rebels in 2016, Edie became the career record holder at Ole Miss with 4,834 assists, which ranked fourth in the NCAA in active career assists. She ranked fifth in the SEC in assists per set and paved the way for the Rebels to have two hitters among the top 10 in the SEC and two players in the top 10 in kills and points per set. Edie earned AVCA All-South Region honors.
Off the court, Edie became the first two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America honoree in program history in 2016 and the first player to be named to the first team. Edie is a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District First Teamer as well as a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll. She has made the Chancellor’s Honor Roll every semester and has been named to the SEC Community Service Team twice.
“Very seldom does an all-around talent with a near-perfect academic record also set records athletically,” said senior associate athletics director Derek Cowherd. “Aubrey’s personal accolades stretch far and wide, from being an Academic All-American, to the assist leader at Ole Miss, to being named an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship winner, to being selected for the SEC Community Service Team. Aubrey has been an excellent representative of the university, and every student-athlete should aspire to attain her level of success both on and off the court.”
The NCAA awards up to 174 Postgraduate Scholarships annually. The scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are at least in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition.
NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships are awarded three times a year corresponding to each sport season (fall, winter and spring). Each sports season, there are 29 scholarships available for men and 29 scholarships available for women for use in an accredited graduate program.
For more information on Ole Miss Volleyball, follow the Rebels on Twitter, @OleMissVB, on Facebook at OleMissVolleyball and on Instagram at OleMissVB. Also follow Coach McRoberts on Twitter, @CoachMcRoberts.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports

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Nationally Ranked Rebels Host Joe Walker Invitational

It’s been three years since athletes toed the line for a track & field meet on the Ole Miss campus, and the nationally ranked Rebels are excited to host the Joe Walker Invitational this Friday and Saturday for the outdoor season opener.
About 20 colleges and universities will visit Oxford to compete against the No. 13 Ole Miss men and 23rd-ranked Rebel women during the two-day event. Admission is free at the newly renovated Ole Miss Track & Field Complex, and there will be complimentary crawfish at noon on Saturday for as long as it lasts.
Events begin at 1 p.m. CT on Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday. A few featured events with world-class participants include the men’s pole vault (4 p.m. Friday), women’s invitational hammer throw (11 a.m. Saturday), men’s discus throw (3 p.m. Saturday), women’s shot put (3 p.m. Saturday) and men’s 110-meter hurdles (3:10 p.m. Saturday).
Fans and families are encouraged to park at the Tad Smith Coliseum parking lot across Hill Drive from the track. The parking garage adjacent to The Pavilion will also be open on Saturday.
“We are really excited to host the Joe Walker Invitational and to be able to showcase our beautiful facility and our hard-working young men and women for the Ole Miss faithful,” said second-year head coach Connie Price-Smith, who has already directed the program to several of its best NCAA and SEC finishes ever in cross country, indoor and outdoor.
Among the college and professional athletes in Oxford this weekend will be four Olympians making their outdoor season debuts:
Sam Kendricks, USA – 2016 Rio Olympics – Men’s Pole Vault – Bronze Medal
Raven Saunders, USA – 2016 Rio Olympics – Women’s Shot Put – 5th place
Gwen Berry, USA – 2016 Rio Olympics – Women’s Hammer Throw
Greggmar Swift, Barbados – 2012 London Olympics – Men’s 110m Hurdles
The inaugural Joe Walker Invitational is named for the former Ole Miss track & field coach who led the Rebels to 11 top-20 national finishes, 124 All-America honors, 12 NCAA individual champions and 60 SEC individual titles during his 30-year career in Oxford. Known for his ability to groom elite-level jumpers and hurdlers and for his warm and caring persona, Walker was inducted into the Ole Miss M-Club Alumni Hall of Fame in 2016.
Notables:
This is the first meet at the Ole Miss Track & Field Complex since it underwent a $7.2 million renovation (completed in September 2016) that includes a new track surface, infield, videoboard and throwing area adjacent to the track.
The Ole Miss men are 13th and the women are 23rd in the USTFCCCA preseason outdoor national rankings … First time since the USTFCCCA began national rankings in 2008 that the Rebel women are top 25 in the preseason outdoor rankings … The men have their highest outdoor ranking since 2014.
Head coach , who served as Team USA women’s head coach in Rio and was elected to theUSATF Hall of Fame in 2016, is in her second season at the Ole Miss helm.
Ole Miss had a great showing at the NCAA Indoor Championships, with the women tying for 12th (best in schoolhistory) and the men tying for 16th … won the NCAA shot put crown and broke her owncollegiate record with a massive effort of 19.56m/64-2.25, while Ole Miss won its first relay national title with theCraig Engels, Nick DeRay, Sean TobinRobert Domanic
Saunders, a 2016 Bowerman Finalist and Rio Olympian, was SEC and NCAA outdoor shot put champion last year,setting meet records at both championships … She also was the SEC Commissioner’s Trophy winner last year afterplacing first in the shot put, second in the discus and sixth in the hammer at the league outdoor meet.
Returning men’s outdoor All-Americans include (1500m), (1500m), (steeplechase) and (hammer throw) … Ole Miss also boasts returning indoor All-AmericansNick DeRay, Derek Gutierrez, Ryan Manahan, Sean TobinBrian Williams
Williams, a newcomer this season, set the national junior college discus record last year while at Iowa Central.
Returning women’s outdoor All-Americans include (4x100m relay), (polevault), (4x100m relay, 200m), Saunders (shot put) and (4x100m relay).
Returning SEC outdoor champions are Engels (men’s 1500m) and Saunders (women’s shot put).
Janeah Stewart, who won the SEC indoor weight throw title and was an All-American in both the shot put and weight throw, was the national junior college athlete of the year in 2016 with Iowa Central.
For more information on Ole Miss Track & Field, follow the Rebels on Twitter (@OleMissTrack), Facebook and Instagram.
Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports

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