NCAA Softball Super Regional Preview: Ole Miss vs. UCLA
Ole Miss and UCLA will square off at Easton Stadium in Westwood in a marquee best-of-three Super Regional beginning Thursday night at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN.
Beth Mowins, Michelle Smith, Jessica Mendoza and Holly Rowe will be on the call for the Rebels first Super Regional appearance.
At the Plate
The Rebels finished their Regional outscoring their opponents 17-2. Junior Elantra Cox had two three-hit games last weekend and finished 8-for-9 (.889) with five runs scored and a .900 on-base percentage. She set a school record on Sunday with her 27th multi-hit game of the season. As head coach Mike Smith, “As she goes, we go.” As long as Cox gets on and the defense is put in motion, the Rebel offense can wreak havoc on any opponent. There aren’t many power hitters on the team but when they go gap-to-gap they will take extra bases.
UCLA is a different offense. They had nine runs score on Sunday via the long ball. Junior Madeline Jelenicki hit a home run each of the Bruins three victories last week in the Los Angeles Regional. She has 66 runs batted in to lead the team this season. The Bruins, as a team, hit 10 home runs in their three-game Regional run. Jelenicki, Delaney Spaulding, Brianna Tautalafua and Bubba Nickles all have double-digit home runs and Tautalafua brings an additional 50 RBI. UCLA has hit a total of 75 long balls this season compared to Ole Miss’ 31.
In the Circle
Junior Kaitlin Lee is the girl for Ole Miss in the circle. She has pitched 12 consecutive complete games and has tied the single-season school record with 26. She has also tied Madi Osias’ single-season wins record from a year ago with 23. The Rebels have lost one game during this 12-game stretch and the junior college transfer has kept teams off balance with spin and finesse rather than power. She enters the weekend 23-10 with a 1.70 earned run average. Opponents are hitting .227 against her and have only hit eight home runs in 239 innings.
Redshirt freshman Rachel Garcia has emerged as an ace for the Bruins as of late. She earned her first career no-hitter against Lehigh in the Regional opener and followed that up with another shutout inning in Game 2 against San Jose State on Saturday. In the Regional final, the right-hander struck out nine in a complete-game, six-hitter, and allowed her only run of the weekend. She enters the weekend series 20-7 with a 1.84 ERA in 167.2 innings. Selina Ta’amilo and Johanna Grauer saw action over the weekend too and they each bring in around 100 innings pitched this season.
Analysis and Prediction
This is the first time Ole Miss has reached this stage of the season while UCLA has been here several times. There is something magical going on with the Rebels. They don’t necessarily match up statistically on paper with the Bruins but this postseason hasn’t been about numbers. They are beaming with confidence and aren’t afraid of anyone. FPN has picked Ole Miss throughout the postseason and why go against them now?
