After playing in the Friends of Jaclyn Tournament and the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament, Ole Miss softball will compete in the Texas Invitational this weekend in Austin. The Rebels, currently 6-3, will face Sam Houston State, Tulsa and No. 10 Texas.
Last year, the Rebels clenched an 8-2 victory over the Longhorns, and the last time the Rebels faced the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in 2016, they were victorious 5-1.
The Rebels have their work cut out for them this weekend as they are set to face skilled players from all three teams. During Tulsa’s matchups at the Jaguar Challenge, freshman Chenise Delce tossed 14 total strikeouts, and sophomore Samantha Pochop recorded 15.
Additionally, senior Julia Hollingsworth hit .550 during the Jaguar Challenge and set the Tulsa program’s career triples record. All three of these players have earned a spot on the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll this season.
Players cheer on their teammates from the dugout during the Rebels’ win over Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in the fall ball game in 2017. File photo by Marlee Crawford
Tulsa is currently on a seven-game win streak and is 7-3 for the season.
The Longhorns also pose a challenge for the Rebels and sit at 7-1. Last weekend they narrowly defeated No. 21 Kentucky with the help of junior Miranda Elish, who pitched six innings and only allowed one earned run and two walks while striking out 10 batters.
The Sam Houston State Bearkats are currently 5-6 on the season. They recently advanced to the title game of the Getterman Classic in Waco, Texas, after defeating Southern Miss. Freshman Kyndal Kutac hit her third home run of the season against the Golden Eagles.
The Rebels’ bats are on a hot streak with Kylan Becker, a senior from Miami, Florida, and Abbey Latham, a sophomore from Livingston, Alabama, each on a seven-game hit streak and Jessica Puk, a sophomore from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has reached base for six games straight.
Last year, Becker became the first player in Ole Miss history to be selected to the United States National Team and was tabbed to the USA Softball Top 50 Player of the Year Watch List.
Becker led the Rebels with a .329 batting average and a .407 on-base percentage recording 29 runs, six doubles, 12 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases out of 21 attempts in 2018.
Latham also led the team last year with a .652 slugging percentage, 252 points higher than the next closest Rebel. She hit seven home runs and ranked second on the team with six doubles.
On the mound, Brittany Finney, a senior from Wichita, Kansas, and Molly Jacobsen, a junior from Adel, Iowa, have proved themselves to be strong contenders for the starting position this weekend.
During the opening game of the season for the Rebels, Finney threw the second complete game shutout of her career against UCF. In the matchup against UC Riverside, she struck out four in a five-inning complete game, and she closed the game against Boise State with two scoreless innings.
So far this season, Jacobsen, the Des Moines Area Community College transfer, surrendered just one run during her debut as a Rebel and racked up eight strikeouts. She also threw three perfect frames against Cal Poly and her first career complete game shutout with just five hits allowed and seven strikeouts against Oregon State.
Other standout pitchers to note are Ava Tillman, a sophomore from Cedartown, Georgia, and Anna Borgen, a sophomore from Heath, Texas.
The Texas Invitational, hosted at Red and Charline McCombs Field, will be streamed on the Longhorn Network.
The Rebels will open up the weekend with matchups against Tulsa and Sam Houston State on Friday then come back on Saturday for another game against Sam Houston State and their first matchup with Texas. They will round out the weekend with another game against Texas on Sunday.
After the Texas Invitational, the Rebels will play a midweek matchup before kicking off the Ole Miss Classic next weekend in Oxford.
