By: METZ CAMFIELD, ASSISTANT MEDIA RELATIONS DIRECTOR – OLE MISS REBELS
OXFORD, Miss. – With expectations high entering the third year of the Windy Thees era, the Ole Miss softball team announced its 2013 fall schedule Tuesday morning, which includes a pair of home doubleheaders at the Ole Miss softball complex.
The Rebels open the fall schedule Thursday at home against Wallace State in a doubleheader scheduled for 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. The Rebels will then head to Birmingham, Ala., to face UAB on Sept. 28 at 5 p.m. Ole Miss faces Memphis, where Thees coached the six seasons prior to coming to Oxford, on Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. The Rebels will play a doubleheader in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 5 against Vol State and Middle Tennessee before closing out the fall schedule Oct. 10 at home against Northwest Mississippi Community College at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. All times are central.
“It’s always great to be able to play games against outside competition during our fall season,” said Ole Miss head coach Windy Thees, who is entering her third year in Oxford. “It gives us a better feel for what our young players can do, as well as allowing us to play many different lineups. This fall we have some great Division I competition by playing UAB, Middle Tennessee and Memphis, as well as some top junior colleges. These games will help us prepare for a great 2014 season.”
Ole Miss returns 13 letter winners this season, including its entire starting infield. The Rebels led the Southeastern Conference and were third nationally with a .979 fielding percentage. Ole Miss’ 16-9 start last season tied the second best start in program history for the opening 25 games, and the Rebels’ nine-game winning streak from Feb. 20-March 1 tied the program record for longest winning streak.
Junior third baseman Allison Brown hit the most doubles in a single season in school history (17) and the second most RBI (43) in a single season last year. Senior catcher Marina Parra threw out an SEC-leading 22 base runners attempting to steal, and senior pitcher Carly Hummel threw the fourth no-hitter in program history when she struck out 10 batters April 9 in an 8-0 (5) victory over Arkansas State.
Ole Miss welcomes in three freshmen for the 2014 season, including Emily Boyd, Miranda Strother and Courtney Syrett, and a junior college transfer in Jamie Morgan. Also playing for the first time this season will be a pair of redshirt freshmen in Emily Gaitan and Alyssa Invergo. Gaitan redshirted after enrolling a semester early, and Invergo missed the 2013 campaign while recovering from an injury.
For all Ole Miss softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball and on Facebook at Ole Miss Softball.
