Ole Miss Softball Readies for Clemson Classic

CLEMSON, S.C. –  (Release) With a 9-1 record through the first 10 games of the season, Ole Miss Softball is off to its best start in program history. This weekend, the Rebels hit the road for the Clemson Classic, featuring matchups with Clemson, Miami (OH) and the host No. 9 Clemson.

LEADING OFF
• Right-hand pitcher Makenna Kliethermes has looked sharp for Ole Miss, boasting a 4-0 record (13th nationally) with a 0.82 ERA and 31 strikeouts.
• Fifth-year senior Delaney Rummell has recorded a hit in all 10 games for the Rebels this season.
• Junior Jaden Pone leads the Rebels with 16 hits (22nd nationally) and a .500 mark at the plate.
• Head coach Jamie Trachsel became the fastest to 100 career wins at Ole Miss last season, needing only 159 games to accomplish the feat.
• In 2024, Ole Miss is playing its 28th season of collegiate softball. Through the first 10 games of the season, the Rebels boast their best start in program history with a 9-1 record.
• Fifth-year senior Paige Smith is making a run at the all-time Ole Miss runs batted in record. With 141, she stands just 27 RBI shy of passing Abbey Latham for the crown.
• Ole Miss’ coaching staff features three new faces. Daniel Nicolaisen, Karl Gollan and DJ Sanders all join the Rebels for their first season in Oxford.
• Ole Miss returns 13 players from last season’s roster, including fifth-year seniors Paige Smith and Makenna Kliethermes. The 2024 roster also includes four impact transfers in Brianna Lopez, Jaden Pone, Delaney Rummell and Ryan Starr.

SCOUTING THE FIELD
Entering his fifth season as head coach of the Tigers, John Rittman is coming off of a 2023 season where he brought Clemson to a Super Regional. The Tigers, ranked No. 9 nationally in the NFCA Coaches Top 25 Poll and the ESPN/USA Softball Top 25, are off to a 6-2 start to their 2024 season. Last weekend, Clemson competed at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in Mexico, defeating Wichita State and UC San Diego while falling to Mississippi State. The Tigers’ talented roster is highlighted by Valarie Cagle, who returns to both the circle and the batter’s box for 2024. The reigning National Player of the Year has started the season off with a team-leading .385 batting average to go alongside a 2-1 record in the circle with a 1.52 ERA. Friday’s matchup will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

In her fourth year, Head Coach Kirin Kumar has turned Miami (OH) into a powerhouse in the MAC. In her short time with the Red Hawks, she has accumulated a 125-47-1 record while leading the program to three NCAA Tournaments. Mami (OH) boasts a perfect 7-0 record to start the 2024 campaign. The 2023 MAC Player of the Year, Jenna Golembiewski, has continued to lead the Red Hawks, averaging a .500 mark at the plate while also hitting four home runs thus far. Miami (OH) won the only meeting between the two teams, which came in 1999 when the Red Hawks won 8-7.

Laura Valentino is in her fifth season as the head coach, leading UConn to back-to-back BIG EAST regular season titles in the past two seasons. The Huskies are off to a 4-7 start so far in 2024 and are coming off a 3-2 weekend at the NC State Tournament. Reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, Grace Jenkins picked up where she left off last year, leading the team with a .452 batting average while starting in every game thus far. Friday’s contest will mark the third meeting between the two programs. Ole Miss leads the all-time series 2-0, with the most recent victory coming in 2021.

DON’T LET THE REBS GET HOT
Through the first 10 games of the 2024 campaign, Ole Miss softball is off to a blistering start. The Rebels boast a 9-1 record, their best start to a season in program history. Winners of nine straight games, Ole Miss bounced back after losing its season opener to BYU in Hawaii to finish opening weekend with a 4-1 record before sweeping through the competition at the Kennesaw State Tournament. The Rebels will put their record to the test at the Clemson Classic before returning home to host the annual Ole Miss Classic March 1-3.

RETURN OF THE MAK
One of the Rebels’ top arms in the circle last season, Makenna Kliethermes, is back for her fifth year of eligibility and is already on a tear to start her 2024 campaign. In just four appearances, she boasts a 4-0 record, good for 13th nationally. The Wardsville, Missouri, native has gone the distance in three of her victories while holding batters to a .167 mark at the plate and racking up 31 strikeouts (24th in the country) in 25.2 innings of work.

HOT HITTING
Scoring 71 runs and racking up 98 hits over the first 10 games of the season, Ole Miss’ offense is firing on all cylinders. The team’s .360 mark at the plate ranks as the 23rd best batting average in the nation after two weekends of play. Further, the Rebels have recorded at least 10 hits in six contests thus far, including five of the first six games to start the season.

Not only are the Rebels seeing the ball fly off the bat, but they are showing patience at the plate, drawing 35 walks (35th nationally) to boast the 15th best on-base percentage in all of Division I softball at .458.

Junior Jaden Pone leads Ole Miss at the plate with a .500 batting average, including a career-best 4-for-5 performance at Kennesaw State. She ranks 22nd nationally with 16 hits already in 2024. Three other Rebels, Delaney Rummell, Aynslie Furbush and Jalia Lassiter, all boast batting averages over the .400 mark too. Rummell has recorded a hit in all 10 contests this season, the second-best streak of her career, and Lassiter has tallied 15 hits to go along with nine runs and 11 RBI.

BRADY BUNCH
After patiently waiting for her opportunity, Lexie Brady took over as the Rebels’ starting catcher for 19 of the final 20 games last season, powering Ole Miss down the stretch. Over Opening Weekend in Hawaii, she started her junior season off with a bang, mashing three home runs, including her first career multi-home run game. Brady, a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, native, was responsible for 14 of the Rebels’ 36 runs on the weekend, finishing with 11 RBI. Last weekend at the Kennesaw State Tournament, she homered and tripled, added three more RBI to give her 14 on the season, the third most in the SEC and the 14th most nationally.

(Featured Image: Courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics)

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports