OXFORD — A path cluttered by progress led the way to the Ole Miss Softball Stadium, where the Rebels played for the first time since the commencement of a $32 million construction project on Friday.
The softball diamond itself and its immediate surroundings looked pristine, and the product it housed wasn’t far off. Ole Miss spent seven innings flashing the leather on its way to a 2-0 win over Southeastern Louisiana that earned the Rebels (12-4) their first victory in their new digs. The second impression was less positive ‒ Ole Miss closed out Friday’s play with a 6-4 loss to UAB.
“It’s always nice to win on your home field, especially when you’re kind of breaking it in,” Rebels coach Jamie Trachsel said postgame. “I think there’s definitely some excitement, some nerves, some adrenaline. So it took us a little bit to settle in. To come out here and get a win, we got that forever in the record book.”
The project surrounding the diamond is still very much ongoing.
A temporary blue fence and orange barriers shielded onlookers from the active construction areas. Upturned dirt, tarps and rocks lined the space where new seating structures – among other things – are still being built.
For the 2024 season, fans will be confined to a single stand positioned in right-center field.
“Obviously, the field is game-ready,” Trachsel said. “They’ll continue working on kind of the interior, the exterior, team room, locker room, athletic training, coaches offices. There’s going to be the grandstand behind home plate. Pretty much everything will move over here as a program.”
The list of new bells and whistles includes light show capabilities on the lighting structures, similar to what Ole Miss fans may have seen at Swayze FIeld after home runs hit by the baseball team this year.
The Rebels didn’t hit a homer during their first game Friday, but the victory provided all the justification necessary to test the new feature.
The driving force behind the win was Makenna Kliethermes, who pitched five scoreless innings and allowed just two hits while collecting six strikeouts. Aynslie Furbush followed with two innings of shutout relief.
“I think has been really, really consistent,” Trachsel said. “I think that’s one thing. A lot of different people have been consistent, too. Proud of our defense tonight. We needed to play a clean game.”
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Ole Miss has reached a regional final in each of Trachsel’s three full seasons in charge, but the Rebels have not qualified for a super regional since 2019.
They’ll be looking to achieve a better SEC finish than what they managed last season, too. Ole Miss went 8-16 in conference play after finishing 12-12 in the prior two seasons. The Rebels begin their SEC slate when rival Mississippi State comes to Oxford next weekend.
“I think we just need to keep getting better,” Trachsel said. “I think putting a full performance together where we’re pitching well and doing our job defensively and our offense is on the same page too. I think we’ve had a lot of times where we’ve had one or the other.”
David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.
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