From the Wire: Ole Miss women's golf captures trio of Top 20 finishes at Auburn Individual

AUBURN, Ala. – The Ole Miss women’s golf team saw all three golfers in attendance for the Rebels find success in the tournament’s opening two rounds of play on Monday.

The trio of Maddie May, Ellen Hutchinson-Kay and McKinley Cunningham all finished within the top 20 at Saugahatchee Country Club on Monday.

The tournament, which was scheduled to have a third round of play on Tuesday, was officially shortened to just two rounds due to impending inclement weather set to hit Auburn. The announcement, which came at the conclusion of play on Monday, set all three Rebels in attendance up for top 20 finishes.

All three Rebels ended the day tied for the third-most total birdies in the tournament with five apiece. Ole Miss sits as the only team in the tourney to have every golfer in attendance finish within the top 20.

May, who was competing in just her third collegiate event since joining the Rebel roster over the winter, saw a career-low 18-hole round of 70 (-2). The freshman bounced back from struggles earlier in the day to finish tied for 11th overall. This marks the first top 20 finish of May’s collegiate career, having previously had a personal-best finish of 32nd at the Lady Bulldog Invitational.

Senior Ellen Hutchinson-Kay would notch right behind May on the leaderboard for the Rebels, as Hutchinson-Kay’s rounds of 77 (+5) and 75 (+3) helped her finish her tournament in a tie for 13th at eight-over on the day. Hutchinson-Kay has now earned her second top 20 finish of the season, with this tournament marking her highest individual finish since she placed eighth at The Bruzzy in April of 2019.

McKinley Cunningham can be found just one stroke further down the board for Ole Miss, as the redshirt-freshman ended her tournament in Alabama with a two-round score of 153 (+9), which was good enough to earn her a share of 18th overall. Cunningham, like her teammates, finished day one with a total of five birdies, as well as ranking third-highest in par-5 scoring (-3) amongst all golfers in attendance. This stands as the third top 20 finish for Cunningham in her maiden season playing with the Rebels.

The Rebels will now have over a week to prepare for postseason play, as Ole Miss will travel to Birmingham, Alabama from April 13-17 for the 2022 SEC Championships. The five-day tournament is set to take place at Greystone Golf Club.

THE REBELS
T11. Maddie May: 81-70–151 (+7)
T13. Ellen Hutchinson-Kay: 77-75–152 (+8)
T18. McKinley Cunningham: 74-79–153 (+9)

Ole Miss softball closes out homestand with midweek doubleheader

LEADING OFF
• Ole Miss softball wraps up a nine-game homestand in Oxford, hosting Tennessee State in a midweek doubleheader Tuesday afternoon. It will mark the first meeting between the two teams.
• The matchup marks the return of Ole Miss’ all-time hits leader and Rebel great Elantra Cox, who is in her first season as an assistant coach at Tennessee State.
• Ole Miss’ 26-9 start to the season is the best ever through 35 games in program history.
• The Rebels took one game against No. 9 Arkansas this past weekend in Oxford, their first victory over a top-10 team since 2019.
• Playing in Oxford, the Rebels have won 52 consecutive non-conference games, having not fallen to a non-SEC team at home during the regular season since 2018.
• Outfielder Tate Whitley ranks third in the nation with 53 hits and is 15th in the country with a .461 batting average.
• Lefty Anna Borgen was named SEC Pitcher of the Week to end the month of March, following a 2-0 weekend in the circle against No. 17 Missouri.
• Ole Miss opened SEC play at home by sweeping the nationally-ranked Missouri Tigers. It marked the Rebels’ first sweep over a ranked conference foe since 2017.
• Transfer Bre Roper has stepped into the Rebel lineup and made an immediate impact. The senior is batting .380 with 14 multi-hit games.
• Abbey Latham recorded her 144th career RBI in the victory over UT Martin, making her the all-time program leader.

ONE LAST RIDE
In 2022, four Rebels will be exercising their fifth season of eligibility as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Three returners in Abbey Latham, Anna Borgen and Sydney Gutierrez, along with Georgia Tech transfer Bre Roper are set to cap off their collegiate careers in Ole Miss uniforms.

TOP-10 SHUTOUT
The Rebels were nothing short of dominant in the circle in the series opener against Arkansas this past weekend, keeping one of the nation’s most potent offenses off the scoreboard. Reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week, Anna Borgen, got the start, going 5.0 innings without allowing a run, and freshman Catelyn Riley slammed the door shut on the No. 9 ranked team in the country, marking only the second time the Razorbacks have been held scoreless all season. Further, it was the Rebels’ first victory over a top-10 program since taking down No. 7 Louisiana in 2019 to advance to the Super Regionals. Ole Miss has now tallied eight shutouts on the season (33rd nationally and fifth in the SEC), including four complete-game efforts.

RBI QUEEN
Abbey Latham recorded her 144th career RBI in the second inning, passing Lauren Grill for the top spot on the all-time leaderboard as the Rebels took down UT Martin 8-3 in a midweek clash Tuesday night. The senior entered the evening needing three RBIs to break the program record. She tallied on in the first inning, singling in Whitley for the first run of the game. Then in the second inning, with the bases loaded, Latham took the ball the other way for a clutch two-RBI single to become Ole Miss’ all-time leader with 144 runs batted in.

BORGEN NAMED SEC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Following a dominant week in the circle, senior left-hand pitcher Anna Borgen was named SEC Pitcher of the Week to close out the month of March. Borgen posted a 0.78 ERA and earned a pair of wins over No. 19 Missouri. She only surrendered one run on the weekend and stifled opposing batters, who hit a mere .161 when she was in the circle. The Heath, Texas, native got the start on Friday to open the series, pitching 4.0 innings. Borgen followed up that performance with five scoreless frames in the series finale on Sunday. She held one of the league’s top offenses in Missouri to just two hits while striking out a pair of Tigers.

STATEMENT SWEEP
In its first SEC series in Oxford this season, Ole Miss made a statement, sweeping No. 19 Missouri. The Rebels came out swinging on Friday night to take game one 5-1. Paige Smith blasted a three-run home run as part of a five-run third inning. They took the series on Saturday, with another five-run inning fueling the victory. Bre Roper and Abbey Latham went yard in the win, and freshman Catelyn Riley earned her first career SEC victory. Ole Miss closed it out, completing the sweep on Sunday with another 5-1 win over the Tigers. It marked the Rebels’ first sweep over a ranked SEC foe since 2017 (No. 11 LSU).

HOTTY TODDY TATE
Senior Tate Whitley has been a sparkplug for the Ole Miss offense this season. Hitting in the leadoff spot, Whitley has reached base in all but seven games for the Rebels this season and has collected multiple hits in 19 contests, including seven three-hit games. Through the first 35 games, the Angleton, Texas, native has tallied 53 hits, nine more than her total from last season (44). Whitley is tied for third in the NCAA in hits this season and ranks 15th nationally with a .461 batting average.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The Ole Miss Softball Complex has been an absolute fortress for the Rebels over the last few years. After going 24-3 at home in 2021, including a perfect 15-0 against non-conference opponents, Ole Miss is off to a 14-2 start in Oxford. The Rebels have now won 71-of-81 games in Oxford, dating back to the start of the 2019 season. Outside of SEC play, the Rebels have been nothing short of dominant when playing in front of its home crowd. Ole Miss has won 52-straight non-conference regular season home games in a row, having not fallen to a non-SEC team in Oxford during the regular season since a 5-0 defeat to Boston College in 2018.

SPINNY REBS
Borgen, who is entering her fifth season in a Rebel uniform, has established herself as one of the most accomplished pitchers in Ole Miss history, ranking seventh all-time with a career ERA of 2.54. She is joined by Diederich, who also ranks seventh with a 2.54 ERA. Together, the duo packs a one-two punch for the Rebel pitching staff.

TRACHSEL’S 400TH CAREER VICTORY
Head coach Jamie Trachsel picked up her 400th career victory as the Rebels shutout Samford 2-0 to close out an undefeated weekend at the Ole Miss Classic Sunday afternoon. Catelyn Riley was dominant in the circle, going the distance for her first career complete-game shutout as she faced 25 batters and only allowed three hits. Offensively, Nyomi Jones delivered a clutch RBI single to break the tie in the fifth. The milestone victory for Trachsel gives her 400 career wins in her 11th season as a head coach.

IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Following the conclusion of the 2021 season, Ole Miss announced the addition of two transfers who look to contribute right out of the gate. Utility player Bre Roper joins the Rebels from Georgia Tech as a fifth-year senior and has already established herself as a mainstay in the Ole Miss lineup. Roper has tallied multiple hits in 14 games and is hitting .380 on the season with 23 runs scored and 24 more batted in.

Also making her way to Oxford is junior right-hand pitcher Brooke Vestal. The former No. 1 recruit in the nation by FloSoftball and high-school All-American joins the Rebels after spending the last three seasons at Oklahoma. Vestal has 11 appearances on the season, including a pair of complete-game shutouts against DePaul and Western Kentucky. She picked up a pair of wins against Stephen F. Austin last month, including a career-high 12 strikeout outing. The junior owns the top ERA on the pitching staff with a 1.71 mark.

LATHAM’S LEGACY
One of the Rebels’ top offensive weapons in Abbey Latham returned for an extra season in Oxford. The fifth-year senior is coming off one of her most productive seasons and is off and running with the Rebels in 2022. Earlier this season against Samford, Latham played in the 200th game of her Ole Miss career. She currently ranks inside the top five in program history in doubles (37), home runs (32), total bases (307) and slugging percentage (.523).

ROOKIES IN THE RANKINGS
Head coach Jamie Trachsel’s first recruiting class at Ole Miss welcomed nine freshmen to Oxford. The talented group ranked No. 10 in the nation by Extra Innings Softball bolsters a healthy mix of talent across the field. The class includes eight total signees, including four members of Extra Innings’ Elite 100 Player Rankings.

Infielder Brooke Barnard was tabbed as the No. 11 ranked recruit in Extra Innings Softball’s 2021 Recruiting Rankings. A three-time letterwinner at Palm Beach Gardens High School in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Barnard helped lead PBGHS to district championships in 2018 and 2019, while receiving all-district, all-county and all-state honors in both seasons.

A three-time South Dakota First Team All-State and four-time Class A All-Tournament Fastpitch honoree, Lexie Brady checks in tied for 52nd in Extra Innings Softball’s Recruiting Rankings. As a senior at O’Gorman High School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Brady hit .544 with nine doubles, a triple and eight home runs, scoring 35 runs and driving in 28 more.

Makenna Segal comes to Oxford ranked tied for 65th in Extra Innings Softball’s Recruiting Rankings. A four-time letterwinner at South Forsyth High School in Cumming, Georgia, she set school records in career batting average (.489), career on-base percentage (.620), home runs (34) and career walks (118).

KK Esparza rounds out the Rebel freshman class in the Extra Innings Softball’s Recruiting Rankings at No. 69. Esparza was a three-time letterwinner at Friendswood High School in Friendswood, Texas, where she played under Olympic gold medalist Christa Williams-Yates.

OLE MISS PICKED 9TH IN PRESEASON SEC POLL
Ole Miss has been picked 9th in the 2022 Preseason SEC Softball Poll. Last season, Ole Miss finished eighth in the conference after being picked last in the coaches’ poll. The Rebels garnered a 12-12 record in league play in 2021, with the 12 wins ranking as the second-most ever in a season in program history. In five of the past six completed seasons, Ole Miss has outperformed its projection in the conference preseason rankings.

CHAMPIONS. NOW.
The $350 Million CHAMPIONS. NOW. capital campaign has been established to vastly improve the Ole Miss Athletics facilities and raise the standard for the Rebels’ level of competitiveness and success within the Southeastern Conference and nationally. The Ole Miss Softball Complex is one of the first phases of the plans with a $20 million stadium renovation, featuring a larger press box, upgraded grandstands, enlarged bullpens, as well as improved team offices and storage, helping raise the standard.