The Kentucky softball team will kick off Southeastern Conference play this weekend, Mar. 12-13, as they play host to the Ole Miss Rebels at the UK Softball Complex. The three-game series opens with a Saturday doubleheader slated to begin at 1 PM. The series wraps up on Sunday, Mar.13, with a single game beginning at 1 PM.

This marks the 23rd meeting between the Cats and Rebels. Ole Miss owns a 17-5 advantage in the all-time series which dates back to the inaugural 1997 season. The Rebels won two of the three meetings last year in Oxford.

UK is now 11-14 on the year after winning its second straight tournament title in as many weeks with a perfect 4-0 record at the Kentucky Invitational. The Cats have not lost since a 5-4 extra-inning loss to Purdue, Feb. 26, at the Frost Cutlery Invitational in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Wildcats are tied with Tennessee and LSU for the conference?s longest winning streak with seven straight victories. The streak is a school record for Kentucky who also won seven straight during the 2002 season.

The Rebels are 16-8 this season. They have played well of late, upsetting No. 4 UCLA, 3-2, in 14 innings last weekend in Fresno, Calif. Ole Miss has a pair of players hitting above .300 in Mary Jane Callahan (.426) and DeDe Justice (.379). Callahan is also the top pitcher for the Rebels with her 7-3 record and 1.25 ERA.

?We have been through a long pre-season and are excited to get SEC play started,? said head coach Eileen Schmidt. ?Ole Miss has had some awesome wins so far this year against teams like UCLA and Texas A&M, so it is going to be tough but all the SEC is tough. The weather looks a little cold and windy but you do not want to give away SEC games if you do not have to so we will do the best we can to get them in.?