Two Top 25 Teams Square Off On The Plains

#21 Ole Miss Softball run rules Jackson State 10-1 in the Ole Miss Classic in Oxford, Mississippi.
Photo by Madi Osias/Ole Miss Athletics

The Ole Miss softball team heads over to Auburn to face the Tigers in a three-game series SEC Tilt this weekend.

No. 21 Ole Miss (25-11, 2-7 SEC) is coming into this series after a walk-off 1-0 victory over Central Arkansas in 12 innings on Tuesday night. The game against the Bears was the third longest in school history.
Junior Elantra Cox is coming off a 5-for-6 performance at the plate in Tuesday’s win and ranks fifth in the NCAA in hits (59) and average (.484) with a current six-game hit streak. She is the first player in program history to tally five hits in a single game, and the first SEC player to do so since Auburn’s Jade Rhodes did it last April.
The Rebels have spread the wealth in RBI with nine players in double digits, led by Ashton Lampton’s 30. 
No. 5 Auburn heads into weekend play at 31-5 overall and 6-3 in league play. The Tigers are currently tied for fifth in the SEC standings after sweeping No. 16 Georgia a week ago.
Led by fourth-year head coach Clint Myers, Auburn has won four games in a row dating back to the series with No. 2 Florida. Winners of eight of their last 10, the Tigers have won two of three SEC series thus far over No. 12 LSU and the No. 16 Bulldogs. After beginning the season in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for the Triple Crown Tournament, Auburn hosted 21 home games in a row, going 19-2 before embarking on an 11-game road swing, which just ended last weekend in Athens.
The Tigers boast one of the top pitching staffs in the league, led by two primary starters, Kaylee Carlson and Makayla Martin, who both rank in the top-50 nationally in ERA. As a team, Auburn has a 1.47 ERA, 11th best in the NCAA and third among SEC schools. Carlson has won 18 games already in 23 appearances with an 18-1 record and 1.21 ERA. In 19 starts, Carlson has 10 complete games allowing only 19 runs off 86 hits and 28 walks. She’s struck out 70, holding opponents to a .211 average against. Behind her, Martin is 13-4 with a 1.44 ERA in 17 starts and six complete games. She’s allowed 20 earned runs in 97 innings with a 75-29 strikeout-to-walk ratio. As a staff, the Tigers have totaled 15 shutouts already, only one of which has come in SEC play (1-0 at Florida on March 27).
Ole Miss and Auburn have faced each other on the diamond 58 times in the all-time series. The Tigers hold a large advantage in the series 41-17 over the Rebels. Last time these two faced, Auburn swept Ole Miss in 2015.
Fans can watch Saturday’s and Sunday’s game on ESPNU.

Adam Brown is the sports editor of HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at adam.brown@hottytoddy.com.
Follow HottyToddy.com on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat @hottytoddynews. Like its Facebook page: If You Love Oxford and Ole Miss…