After struggling over its last few games, Rebel softball will look to bounce back this weekend with a trip to Tuscaloosa to face No. 15 Alabama. The Rebels enter this weekend with a 15-10 overall record, while the Crimson Tide is 20-7 and fresh off of a win at home against University of Alabama, Birmingham.
The Rebels are currently experiencing a rough patch, with losses in eight of their last 10 games. Before the final game of the Ole Miss Classic earlier this month, the Rebels were sitting at 13-2, with nine straight wins, including a victory over No. 5 Oregon in Mexico. The Rebels were unable to recover from conceding a five-run third inning, and fell to Southern Miss by a score of 2-5. Since then, the Rebels have struggled during the following three-week stretch, only winning two games – one at Southeastern Louisiana and another on Sunday against South Carolina. After being ranked inside the top 10 near the start of the year, Ole Miss dropped out of the top 25 on Wednesday.
While the Rebels have struggled, the Crimson Tide has recently hit its stride, winning eight of its last 10 games. After winning the first game of its conference-opening series at No. 11 Auburn, the Tide dropped the final two games of the series before rebounding with a dominant win over UAB. The Tide also has wins against two top 15 teams: Florida State and Auburn. Two of the Tide’s losses are also against No. 1 Washington, making for an impressive resume even with the pair of losses.
As both teams sit outside the top 50 in scoring and batting average, the key to winning this series for the Rebels may come down to bullpen performance. After a rough stretch, the Rebels are desperate for a strong weekend. Senior Kaitlin Lee is continuing a strong season despite her team’s struggles, and her pitching is credited for nine of the Rebels’ 15 wins this season. Lee was also chosen as SEC Pitcher of the Week after her performance in Ole Miss’ win against No. 5 Oregon. Leading the team in innings pitched and strikeouts, Lee should be central to the Rebel effort this weekend.
Offensively, the Rebels will look to the trio of Elantra Cox, Kylan Becker and Autumn Gillespie. Cox currently leads the Rebels in runs (16) and hits (24) while trailing only Kaylee Horton in batting average with a .320 line. Becker sits right behind Cox in runs (15) and hits (22), proving to be nearly as potent of an offensive weapon as her counterpart. Gillespie, on the other hand, has proven to be the most explosive player in the Rebels’ lineup, accounting for a team-leading three home runs, 16 RBIs and 34 total bases. With the trio leading Ole Miss in total offense, Cox, Becker and Gillespie will look to heat up the lineup early Friday night and continue that momentum throughout the weekend.
The first game of the weekend begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday and can be streamed on SEC Network +. Games two and three will follow at 2 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
