Softball Wraps Up Road Swing With Southern Miss Midweek

OLE MISS (13-11, 0-3 SEC) vs. SOUTHERN MISS (15-5, 0-0 Sun Belt) Hattiesburg, Miss. Southern Miss Softball Complex

LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss Softball wraps up a four-game road trip with an in-state midweek at Southern Miss on Wednesday.
• The two teams were supposed to play last season, but both times the contest was rained out.
• The Rebels are coming off a tough weekend after being swept by No. 4 Tennessee.
• Sophomore Catelyn Riley returned to the circle after missing a month of action, tossing a two-hitter in the 1-0 series finale loss at Tennessee.
• Freshman Jalia Lassiter hit her first collegiate home run, a two-run shot, over the weekend.
• Ole Miss boasts one of the nation’s top defenses. The Rebels lead the SEC with 0.62 double plays per game and rank second with a .981 fielding percentage.
• The Rebels’ pitching staff ranks 53rd nationally with a 2.27 earned run average.
• Shortstop Mikayla Allee saved the best for last. The fifth-year senior leads the Rebels with 23 hits and a .354 batting average.
• Ole Miss’ 2023 roster features 14 returners, four impact transfers and eight freshmen who were ranked as the No. 3 signing class in the nation by ExtraInningSoftball.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES

First-year head coach Natalie Poole leads the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, coming to Hattiesburg after 11 years at Memphis. She is off to a 15-5 start through the first 20 games this season. Southern Miss has already played two power-five opponents in 2023, falling to No. 9 Alabama, 5-0, and Georgia Tech, 1-0. The two teams were scheduled to play in Oxford last season, but both the original contest and the make up date were canceled due to weather. Ole Miss leads the all-time series with Southern Miss 23-12, including a 9-5 mark in Hattiesburg. Sophomore Jana Lee leads the Golden Eagles with a .370 batting average on the season. She has a team-high 20 hits and 15 runs batted in. Junior Maria Smith ranks first on the team with 17 runs scored and 26 free passes. In the circle, senior Morgan Leinstock leads Southern Miss. The righty boasts an 8-4 record on the year, including a pair of shutouts. She owns a 1.43 ERA through 73.1 innings pitched. As a team, the Golden Eagles have a staff ERA of 2.01.

THE BULL IS…