Rebels Softball Heads to Missouri to Tangle with the Tigers

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

Ole Miss softball opens up SEC play this weekend as they travel to Columbia, Missouri to take the diamond against the No. 23 Missouri Tigers in a three-game series tilt. The first pitch of this series is set for Friday at 6 p.m. on SEC Network +.

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Ole Miss (12-10) steps into conference play winning 11 of its last 13 games after opening the season 1-8. Last weekend, the Rebels won all five games in the Ole Miss Classic while also defeating North Alabama and Central Arkansas during the midweek slate. Interim head coach Ruben Felix club outscored their opponents by a combined margin of 46-7.

The Rebels have found the long ball as they have belted at least one out in 10 of the last 12 and have 15 on the year. Abbey Latham leads the team with five long balls, ranking fifth on the career home run list with 22 in her three seasons in Oxford.

Junior Jessica Puk leads the team with seven multi-hit games to date.

Missouri comes into the weekend with a 16-6 overall record after taking care of Kansas City 11-0 on Wednesday. At home, the Tigers are 4-1 on the season.

Junior Kayla Kessinger leads Missouri with a .403 batting average and 27 runs driven in, providing tremendous pop with six home runs and a pair of doubles for a .701 slugging percentage. Fellow junior Brooke Wilmes paces the Tigers with 25 runs scored, coming into the weekend with a .389 batting average, six doubles, three homers and 11 RBIs. Junior Hatti Moore and sophomore Jazmyn Rollin also hit for both average and power, with Moore posting a .349 average and a team-best seven dingers and Rollin garnering a .328 batting average and six big flies.

On the rubber, freshman Megan Schumacher leads the way with 44.1 innings across 12 appearances and eight starts, posting a 3.63 ERA and a 3-2 record. Two more rookies, Emma Nichols and Jordan Weber are the other two primary starters selected by Anderson. Nichols owns a 2-2 record and a 3.96 ERA in her 35.1 innings, making eight appearances and seven starts. Meanwhile, Weber sits at 4-1 with a 2.48 ERA, posting 31.0 innings, making the start in half of her 10 appearances.

Friday will be the 18th all-time meeting between the two programs. Missouri holds a 12-5 advantage in the series against the Rebels. Ole Miss ha won five of the last seven series including a 2-1 series win in Columbia in 2017.

Fans can watch the game on SEC Network + (Friday) then on Sunday, the game will be on the SEC Network at 4 p.m.