BY ALLISON SLUSHER
ajslushe@go.olemiss.edu
The Ole Miss softball team (22-29) will take a break from Southeastern Conference play, as they take on Louisiana Tech (22-22) in a midweek doubleheader today in Ruston, La.
The Lady Rebels are 5-4 all-time against Louisiana Tech and are 20-10 in nonconference contests this season. The last time the two programs met was back in 2011 when they split a doubleheader in Denton, Texas.
Ole Miss and Louisiana Tech will both be looking to bounce back in today’s games, as the Lady Rebels were swept by No. 2 Tennessee this past weekend and the Lady Techsters fell in a series against Utah State.
Louisiana Tech is led in the circle by Michelle Jones, who is 10-8 on the year with a 3.72 ERA, and Anna Cross, who holds a 6-6 record and a 3.37 ERA. Jones has 31 appearances, including 19 starts, this season and has tallied 82 strikeouts in 114.2 innings of work. However, both pitchers have had command issues, as Jones has allowed 73 walks, while Cross has 49 walks in 72.2 innings.
The Lady Rebels will rely on the pitching of junior Carly Hummel. The Bakersfield, Calif., native is 6-9 this season with a 4.65 ERA. She has recorded 80 strikeouts in 81.1 innings pitched this season, and opponents are hitting just .233 against her.
Louisiana Tech will provide a difficult lineup for Hummel to deal with, as seven players are hitting over .300. The Lady Techsters hold a team batting average of .303 and average 4.9 runs per contest.
Kristen Miles leads Louisiana Tech at the plate with a .366 average. Melanie Goff leads the team in RBI with 28 on the year to go along with her .352 average. Amanda Krueger is hitting .344 and has a team-high six home runs.
For Ole Miss, freshman first baseman Madi Osias continues to pace the offense with her .388 average, six home runs and 22 RBI. The Lady Rebels are averaging 4.1 runs per game and hit .265 as a team. Sophomore third baseman/shortstop Allison Brown is hitting .331 on the year with a team-leading 37 RBI.
The first pitch for game one of the doubleheader is set for 3 p.m. with the second game scheduled for a 5 p.m. start time.
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss softball, follow @allison_slusher and @thedm_sports on Twitter.
