Ole Miss Softball Welcomes in No. 14 Alabama

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

Ole Miss softball will close out the regular season this weekend as they play host to the No. 14 Alabama Crimson Tide in a three-game series. The first pitch of the series is set for Friday at 6 p.m. and can be streamed on SEC Network+.

Ole Miss (28-23, 7-14 SEC) comes into the weekend with a No. 9 strength of schedule and No. 34 RPI in the nation.

Last weekend, the Rebels dropped a series to No. 14 Florida in Gainesville. Ole Miss took Saturday’s game by the score of 7-2.

This season, Ole Miss is led at the plate by senior Tate Whitley who has registered 15 of her last 17 games, including six contests with multiple hits with a .344 average.

 Alabama into final weekend of the regular seaosn ranked No. 14 in the nation with a 36-16 record overall and 12-9 mark in conference play. The Crimson Tide fresh off of a series win against No. 13 LSU, featuring two complete game shutouts by Montana Fouts.

As a team, Alabama is batting .274 on the season. Three batters boast an average of .300 or better led by Kenleigh Cahalan and Ally Shipman at .316. Cahalan paces the Tide with 35 runs scored, 50 hits and 29 walks. Ashley Prange is the power threat in the Alabama lineup, responsible for 13 of the team’s 45 home runs.

The Tide’s pitching staff has been one of the SEC’s best this season, ranking 13th in the country with a 1.92 team ERA. Senior Montana Fouts leads the team, ranking ninth in the country with 7 shutouts. She also leads the nation with 262 strikeouts. Alex Salter, Jaala Torrence and Lauren Esman round out the rotation for Alabama in the circle.

On Saturday, Ole Miss will honor eight seniors and six managers. Four Rebels, Mikayla Allee, Savana Sikes, Mya Stevenson and Whitley, are exercising their fifth season of eligibility and are set to cap off their collegiate careers in Ole Miss uniforms. Nyomi Jones, Makenna Kliethermes, Paige Smith and Brooke Vestal all will participate in Senior Day for the Rebels along with managers Allison Rager, Bre Roper, Kyler Holton, Jevon Herbert, Emily Reid and Anna Tate.

Game times for this series are set for Friday (6 p.m. SEC Network+), Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. with the middle game of the series on the SEC Network.