COLLEGE STATION, Texas –Ole Miss Softball resumes SEC play in enemy territory, traveling to the Lone Star State for a three-game series with No. 7 Texas A&M.
LEADING OFF
• The Rebels ride a four-game winning streak into the weekend. Ole Miss won the series against WKU and swept a midweek doubleheader with Louisiana Tech on Tuesday.
• Lexie Brady blasted her team-leading 12 home runs on Tuesday, the fifth most in the SEC. The junior is now three shy of the Ole Miss single-season program record.
• Ole Miss has tallied double-digit hits in 16 contests so far this year, including each of the last four games, matching their total from the 2023 season.
• Paige Smith ranks among the top 10 in program history in 10 different categories. The senior has played in every game since stepping foot on campus in 2020.
• One of the most electric players on the diamond, Jalia Lassiter ranks fourth in the SEC with 50 hits. She is two shy of 100 hits in her career.
• Ole Miss earned its highest-ranked series victory in program history last month, taking two games from No. 2 LSU in Baton Rouge.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
Trisha Ford is in her second season as head coach of Texas A&M. In her 13 years of coaching, she has compiled over 400 wins, along with four conference Coach of the Year awards. So far in 2024, she has led the Aggies to a 34-9 record, placing them as high as No. 7 in Softball America's Top 25 national rankings. Their resume is full of wins over ranked opponents, many coming in SEC play, where they sit second in the standings with a 12-6 record, trailing only No. 4 Tennessee. This Friday's matchup will be just the 24th between the two programs. The Aggies lead the all-time series18-5; however, both teams have had success in the last six meetings with three wins each. As a team, Texas A&M has a very deep lineup that is hitting .313, led by grad transfer Jazmine Hill, who has started every game and is batting .384 with eight home runs. The power comes from junior Allie Enright and senior Trinity Cannon, who both have double-digit home runs on the season. A majority of the work in the circle is done by Texas native Emiley Kennedy. She has thrown 138.2 innings this season and presents just a 1.56 ERA, along with over half the staff's strikeouts, with 146.
LEGACY AND LOYALTY
Playing in her fifth and final season of eligibility, Paige Smith elected to return to Ole Miss for legacy and loyalty. A true threat in the middle of the Rebel lineup, she is one of seven players in Ole Miss history with 100 hits and 100 RBI and ranks second in the record books with 159 RBI. The Corona, California, native has appeared in a Rebel uniform and started every game since stepping on campus in 2019. Looking to leave her mark as one of the program's top sluggers, Smith recorded her 186th career hit on Tuesday, cracking the top 10 at Ole Miss.
MIDWEEK MADNESS
The twin bill between Ole Miss and Louisiana Tech had a little of everything: home runs, strikeouts, extra innings and, of course, rally caps. The Rebels grabbed a convincing 7-3 win in game one and grinded out a thrilling 13-inning walk-off win in game two to secure the doubleheader sweep in the fourth-longest game in program history Tuesday night. Offensively, Ole Miss racked up 10-plus hits in both contests and blasted four home runs on the day. Jalia Lassiter led the way with two dingers, while Jaden Pone tallied five hits. Paige Smith drove in five runs on four hits over the two games, and Aynslie Furbush was the hero, delivering the walk-off single up the middle in the bottom of the 13th to cap off the night.
AIN'T IT GRAND?
On Saturday and Sunday, the Rebels found themselves in a familiar position in the first inning with the bases loaded and Aynslie Furbush at the dish. The senior launched grand slams in back-to-back games to lift Ole Miss past Western Kentucky, driving in 11 total runs on the weekend. It shouldn't come as a surprise, as Furbush is no stranger to the moment. As a freshman, she became the first Rebel ever to register a grand slam with her first hit and needed just three career at-bats to become the fifth player in program history with multiple grand slams in a career. After adding two more to her total this weekend, Furbush has the most grand slams in program history.
TOPPED
In its bye week from SEC play, Ole Miss softball picked up a big non-conference victory over Western Kentucky. The Rebels responded after a tough loss on Friday night, in which their seventh-inning rally fell short, to run-rule the Hilltoppers in back-to-back games to secure the series. The offense came alive, scoring 23 runs on 23 hits over the final two games, marking the first time Ole Miss has scored double digits in consecutive games this season.
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS
Playing her fifth season in an Ole Miss uniform, senior Paige Smith continues to leave her mark on the record book. The Corona, California, native has started 247 career games in a Rebel uniform, the second-most all-time. Smith also finds herself in the top-10 in program history in doubles (tied for first, 42) RBI (second, 159), home runs (fourth, 37), total bases (fourth, 341), walks (sixth, 77), slugging percentage (eighth, .468), runs (ninth, 117) and hits (10th, 186).
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST
Playing her fourth and final season in an Ole Miss uniform, Aynslie Furbush is having the best year of her career. A two-way player, she stars for the Rebels in the circle and the batter's box, always finding a way to impact the game. In 2024, Furbush already has 39 hits, the most she's tallied in a single season of her career, while ranking second on the team with a .345 average at the plate and leading the offense with 33 RBI. In the circle, she has four saves while posting a 3.22 ERA in 54.1 innings of work.
