Mississippi pitcher Carly Hummel (13) releases a pitch during an NCAA college softball game against Louisiana Tech in Oxford, Miss., Wednesday, March 19, 2014. (Photo/Thomas Graning)
Fresh off a tight, hard fought three-game series against No. 11 Kentucky, the Ole Miss softball team will take the field again Tuesday for a doubleheader against Alcorn State at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. CT at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
Ole Miss is 11-2 all-time vs. Alcorn State, and swept the Lady Braves in the final doubleheader of the season last year, 8-0 (5) and 10-1 (5).
After dropping three close games to No. 11 Kentucky over the weekend, Ole Miss head coach Windy Thees talked about needing to get the big hit in tight games.
“I want our girls to relax a little bit, sort of exhale and come back and step into the box and really work on driving through some pitches and get lots of RBIs,” Thees said. “I really want our kids to relish the opportunity to come up to bat with people on base and get RBIs, let our pitchers take the mound and work on their pitches, make good pitches and get soft contact for our team to make outs on.”
Sophomore shortstop Haley Culley led Ole Miss (20-22) at the plate last week, with a team-high five RBIs and tied for the team lead in runs scored and hits. For the year, Culley is batting .314, and, along with junior third baseman Allison Brown, is one of just two Rebels who has started every game this season.
Senior pitcher Carly Hummel also had a strong week for the Rebels. The Bakersfield, Calif., native threw a team-high 17.2 innings for the week, including a whopping 8.2 innings Sunday in the Rebels’ series finale vs. No. 11 Kentucky. She also led the team in strikeouts (17) and ERA (2.38) for the week.
