The University of Mississippi Athletics
Baseball Preps for First NCAA Regional Since 1995
6/21/1999 | Baseball
May 26, 1999
GAME #60, GAME #1 NCAA Regionals - vs. Long Beach State
Friday, May 28, 1999, 2:00 p.m.
C.E. "Pat" Olsen Field; College Station, Texas
TODAYS GAME: Ole Miss (33-26) will make its first appearance in a NCAA regional since 1995 and just its second since 1977 when the Rebels take on Long Beach State (33-23) today at 2:00 p.m. from C.E. "Pat" Olsen Field in College Station, Texas.
TV/RADIO: There is no television for todays game but it can be heard on stations along the Mississippi Network and over the internet at www.wqlj.com with David Kellum and Gary Darby providing play-by-play and color analysis.
TODAYS STARTING PITCHERS:
Jeff McAvoy (Jr., RHP), 8-5, 4.67 ERACareer vs. LBSU: First appearanceLAST TIME OUT: Ole Miss was eliminated from the SEC Tournament last Friday in a 2-0 loss to arch-rival Mississippi State. The Rebels managed just four hits against Bulldog pitchers Tanner Brock and Adam Larson, with two of them coming from senior 2B Brad Henderson. Mississippi State scored the only run it would need in the first on Brian Wieses RBI ground out to score Chris Lotterhos. The Bulldogs added an insurance run in the ninth. Rebel starter Nathan Lyons pitched 4.1 innings, allowing one run on five hits and three walks. Ronnie Goodwin pitched 4.2 innings and allowed one run on three hits while striking out four.
Mike Gallo (Sr., LHP), 10-3, 2.45 ERACareer vs. UM: First appearance
UP NEXT: If Ole Miss wins todays game, the Rebels will play the winner of the Texas A&M-Monmouth game tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. If the Rebels lose, they will get the Texas A&M-Monmouth loser tomorrow at 10 a.m. in an elimination game.
REBELS VS. 49ERS: Todays game marks the second-ever meeting between Ole Miss and Long Beach State. The Rebels won the only meeting between the two schools 5-4 back on Feb. 22, 1997 in head coach Pat Harrisons first year at Ole Miss at the Beach Baseball Classic in Long Beach, Calif.
COMMON OPPONENTS: Ole Miss and Long Beach State have played two common opponents this season - Baylor and Arkansas. The 49ers went 4-2 against the Bears and Razorbacks, taking two-of-three from Baylor in Long Beach to open the season, Feb. 5-7, and winning two-of-three from the Razorbacks, March 5-7 in Long Beach. Ole Miss went 1-5 against Baylor and Arkansas, losing two-of-three against the Bears Feb. 12-14 in Waco to open the season, and was swept by Arkansas in a SEC series May 7-9 in Fayetteville.
IN THE POLLS: Ole Miss is not ranked in any of this weeks three major college baseball polls but did receive two votes in this weeks Baseball Weekly/ESPN Top 25 Coaches poll. Todays opponent, Long Beach State, is ranked No. 29 in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30 and received 43 votes to finish fifth in "Others Receiving Votes" in this weeks Baseball Weekly/ESPN Top 25. Texas A&M is ranked No. 2 in the Baseball America Top 25, No. 5 in the Baseball Weekly/ESPN Top 25 and No. 6 in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30.
HARRISON VS. LONG BEACH STATE: Third-year head coach Pat Harrison has a 3-4 record against Long Beach State. He is 1-0 versus the 49ers as coach of the Rebels and was 2-4 versus Long Beach State as head coach of Pepperdine in 1995 and 1996.
REBEL POSTSEASON NOTES: This will be the Rebels seventh postseason appearance and their first since 1995, and their second since 1977 ... Ole Miss is 18-6 all-time in NCAA Regional play ... Ole Miss is 4-2 in its opening game of a regional, however the Rebels have dropped their last two regional openers. Ole Miss lost to Old Dominion 5-3 in the 1977 NCAA South Regional opener, and also lost to Old Dominion in the Rebels opening game of the 1995 NCAA Atlantic I Regional, also by a score of 5-3.
HARRISON AND POSTSEASON: Ole Miss is the second school that Pat Harrison has taken to a NCAA regional as a head coach. He is 2-2 as a head coach in the NCAA Regionals after taking Pepperdine to the 1995 NCAA West Regional. In nearly 30 years as a player, assistant coach and head coach on the college level, Harrison has made 17 trips to the NCAA Tournament, seven visits to the College World Series and has won four national titles.
OLE MISS VS. THE NCAA FIELD: Ole Miss played 10 teams in 1999 that advanced to the "Field of 64," posting a record of 13-18 (.419). The following chart shows the Rebels record against teams in this years NCAA Tournament:
Alabama 2-2 Miss. State 3-2Arkansas 0-3 NE Louisiana 2-0Auburn 1-2 South Alabama 2-1Baylor 1-2 Southern Miss 1-2LSU 1-3 Tulane 0-1REBEL PITCHING STAFF TOPS IN ERA FOR SEC PLAY: Ole Miss pitching staff finished with the SECs best team ERA for SEC games with a 4.56 ERA in 30 conference contests. Ole Miss team ERA of 4.77 for the season ranks third in the SEC coming into this weekends regional. The 4.77 ERA is the lowest by an Ole Miss team since 1995.
LIMITED POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE: While this years Ole Miss team can be labeled as experienced, the Rebels are not so experienced when it comes to the postseason. In fact, last weeks SEC Tournament was the first postseason experience of any kind for players on this years team except for junior RHP Jeff McAvoy and senior OF/DH Chad Mead. McAvoy participated in the 1997 NCAA Tournament as a freshman at Western Carolina and Mead appeared in the NCAA Tournament while at the University of Oklahoma.
McSHEA NAMED TO SEC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Junior RHP Dan McShea was named to the 1999 Southeastern Conference All-Tournament team on May 23. In his only outing of the tournament, McShea fired a complete game, three-hit shutout of South Carolina on May 20. He also struck out six in the contest and allowed only two Gamecock baserunners to reach as far as second base. It was McSheas first career complete game and shutout.
HENDERSON, ROSAMOND EARN ALL-SEC HONORS: Senior 2B Brad Henderson was named first-team All-Southeastern Conference, and junior OF Michael Rosamond earned second-team All-SEC honors the conference office announced on May 17. Henderson, who was a second-team all-conference selection last year, is the first Ole Miss player to earn first-team All-SEC honors since 3B Chris Snopek and P Kenny Carlyle in 1992. Henderson finished second in the conference for hitting in SEC games only with a .414 average. Heading into the postseason, Henderson is hitting .382 with eight HRs and 41 RBI. Rosamond comes into the postseason hitting .294 with 17 HRs and 39 RBI. In SEC play, Rosamond hit .309 and hit 13 of his 17 HRs.
OLE MISS RECORDS BACK-TO-BACK 30-WIN SEASONS: Ole Miss recorded its first back-to-back 30-win seasons under third-year head coach Pat Harrison and its first since Ole Miss had three-straight 30-win seasons from 1993-1995. Ole Miss was 30-23 last season, and is 33-26 this season.
REBELS SET SCHOOL RECORD FOR SEC WINS: Ole Miss set a new school record for SEC wins this season by going 17-13 in conference play. The previous record was 15 set by the 1972, 1977 and 1982 teams. The 1972 team is the last Ole Miss squad to advance to the College World Series.
HENDERSON CONTINUES ASSAULT ON RECORD BOOK: Senior Brad Henderson continued his assault on the Ole Miss record book at last weeks Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament, setting a new school single-season mark for doubles and tying the single-season record for hits. In Ole Miss SEC Tournament opener against Alabama, Henderson recorded two doubles in a 4-for-5 performance to eclipse Chris Snopeks 1992 single-season doubles record of 21. The 4-for-5 outing against the Crimson Tide also put Henderson two hits away from tying David Delluccis 1995 single-season hit record of 94. Against Mississippi State last Friday, Henderson tied Delluccis single-season hit record with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate.
HENDERSON BECOMES REBELS ALL-TIME LEADER: Brad Henderson went 3-for-6 during an 11-7 loss to Georgia on April 18 to become Ole Miss all-time hit leader, breaking Kevin Kessingers (1989-92) record of 262. Henderson broke Kessingers record in his 181st career game, while Kessinger recorded his 262 career hits in 209 career games. Henderson enters this weekends regional with 291 career hits in 200 career games.
MORE RECORDS FOR HENDU: In addition to breaking the Ole Miss career record for hits this season, Henderson also set new Ole Miss career marks for total bases, doubles, and runs scored. Henderson eclipsed David Delluccis career record for total bases of 430 on April 17 in a 9-1 win over Georgia in Oxford. Two games later against Arkansas State on April 20, Henderson tallied his 56th career double to eclipse Jeffrey Johnsons (1992-95) career record of 55. Against Alabama on May 1, Henderson scored one run to break Delluccis career record for runs scored of 181. Henderson enters this weekends regional with 477 total bases, 59 career doubles and 192 career runs scored in 200 career games.
HENDERSON HITS .414 IN SEC PLAY: Senior 2B Brad Henderson finished the SEC season with a .414 average in 30 conference games. Henderson hit .400 or better in six of the 10 SEC series this season, with his lowest average for a series coming against Alabama (4/30-5/2) when he hit .300 (3-10). He hit safely in 26 SEC games this season and recorded 20 multiple-hit games during conference play. His .414 average ranked second in the SEC for conference games behind Vanderbilts Hunter Bledsoes .426 average.
HUISMAN BREAKS SINGLE-SEASON SAVE MARK; TIES CAREER MARK: Sophomore RHP Justin Huisman recorded his 10th save of the year against Mississippi State on May 14 to set a new single-season record for saves at Ole Miss. Huisman eclipsed Rory Ferrells 1977 record of nine, and has 13 career saves to tie Skipper Wrights (1983-86) Ole Miss career record. Huisman worked out of a bases loaded situation with no outs and Ole Miss leading 2-1. He got Josh West to line into a double play at second and then struck out Chris Lotterhos to end the game. It was Huismans first save since April 7 against Memphis.
REBELS EARN FIRST NATIONAL RANKING SINCE 1995: Ole Miss broke into the national polls for the first time since the 1995 season this year when the Rebels cracked the Collegiate Baseball Top 30 with a No. 20 ranking on April 19. Ole Miss remained in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30 for three weeks until falling out after being swept at Arkansas, May 7-9.
VOLTZ EARNS SEC AND NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARDS: Junior 1B Jude Voltz earned Southeastern Conference Player of the Week honors and was named as one of five Louisville Slugger National Players of the Week for his performance in the Vanderbilt series, April 2-4. Voltz went 7-for-12 with five home runs and eight RBI in three games against the Commodores. He tied an Ole Miss single-game record with three HRs and tied a career-high with four hits in the Rebels 7-6 win in the series-opener. In the series-finale, Voltz went 2-for-3 with two home runs and drove in a career-high four RBIs.
McAVOY EARNS SEC PITCHER OF THE WEEK HONORS; SNAPS NATIONS LONGEST SCORING STREAK: Junior RHP Jeff McAvoy followed teammate Jude Voltzs lead by winning the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Week award a week later for his performance against Florida April 9 in Oxford. McAvoy pitched 8.1 scoreless innings, holding the Gators to three hits while walking just one and striking out eight to combine with freshman Glen Morris in an 8-0 shutout of the nationally-ranked Gators. The shutout snapped Floridas 268-game streak of not being shutout, which was the longest active streak in the nation at the time and is the sixth-longest in NCAA Division I history.
For McAvoy it marked the second time in his two-year career at Ole Miss that he earned SEC Pitcher of the Week honors. He also was named the SEC Pitcher of the Week for his performance against then-No. 2 LSU on May 9, 1998, throwing a six-hit shutout in a 6-0 Ole Miss win.
TRI-FECTA: Junior OF Michael Rosamond set an Ole Miss school single-game record and tied the NCAA and SEC single-game marks by hitting three triples against New Orleans on Feb. 20 at the Winn-Dixie Showdown in the Louisiana Superdome. Rosamond enters this weekends regional with six triples on the year, two shy of the Rebel single-season record of eight set by Tommy Keyes in 1963 and Kevin Kessinger in 1991. For his career, Rosamond ranks sixth on the schools all-time list, three shy of the career record of 14 held by Kevin Kessinger (1989-92) and Nate Riddley (1989-92).
MASSEY HITS THREE HRs IN SEASON-OPENER: Sophomore C John Massey got his season started on the right foot by tying the Ole Miss single-game home run record by hitting three against Baylor in the season-opener on Feb. 12. The Rebels won that game 15-6. At the time, Massey was the sixth player in Ole Miss history to hit three home runs in a game, and the first since current senior Brad Henderson hit three against Arkansas on April 11, 1997 in Fayetteville. Later in the season, Jude Voltz became the seventh player in school history to hit three home runs in a game when he did so against Vanderbilt on April 2.
GENERAL NOTES: Freshman RHP Cooper Campbell set a new Ole Miss record for relief appearances in a season with 28, breaking the previous record of 27 held by Charles Barbour (1994), Richard Hines (1989) and Matthew Duff (1996) ... The Rebels enter todays regional game with Long Beach State having not scored in their last 17 innings since scoring two runs in the first inning in last Thursdays SEC Tournament game against South Carolina. The Rebels have also managed just six hits during that span ... Ole Miss went 21-5 at home this season to establish the best home winning percentatge at .808 since Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field opened in 1989.
MULTIPLE-HIT GAMES MULTIPLE-RBI GAMES LAST HOME RUN HITPLAYER 2H 3H 4H 5H TOT 2BI 3BI 4BI 5BI TOT DATE OPP. ON PITCHERCox 4 - - - 4 3 - - - 3 ---- ----- - -----Farrar - 1 - - 1 1 - - - 1 3/26/99 vs. USM 0 ShupeHarrison 1 - - - 1 2 1 - - 3 4/20/99 ASU 0 EpperhartHenderson 19 12 1 - 32 6 2 2 1 11 5/19/99 ALA 2 HendersonHill 9 2 - - 11 - - - - 0 3/27/99 @ LSU 0 BoweHuisman 14 3 2 - 19 3 1 3 1 8 4/4/99 @ VU 0 BealHutchinson 3 1 1 - 5 3 3 - - 6 5/9/99 @ ARK 2 WallingLafferty 8 1 - - 9 1 - 1 - 2 4/16/99 UGA 0 FowlerMassey 8 2 2 - 12 2 3 - 1 6 4/27/99 NLU 1 ManwellMead 9 1 - - 10 3 1 - - 4 5/2/99 ALA 0 CormierMorris - 2 - - 2 - - - 1 1 3/2/99 @ UAB 2 HughesRobinson 2 - - - 2 2 - - - 2 ---- ---- - ----Rosamond 12 3 2 - 17 10 - 1 - 11 5/15/99 MSU 0 H. ThomsShelton 9 3 1 - 13 9 - 1 - 10 5/2/99 ALA 1 MurphyVoltz 9 2 2 - 13 4 4 1 - 9 5/8/99 @ ARK 1 McCrottyWilliamson 7 2 - - 9 2 - - - 2 ---- ---- - ----BATTING ANALYSIS
w/RunnersPLAYER w/Runners On w/Bases Loaded Rch as Leadoff Pinch Hitting In Scoring Pos.Kris Cox 13-29 (.448) 0-1 (.000) 3-5 (.600) 0-3 (.000) 10-19 (.526) Ryan Davis 2-17 (.118) 1-1 (1.000) 0-1 (.000) 0-1 (.000) 1-12 (.083)Clint Farrar 5-18 (.278) 1-1 (1.000) 3-11 (.273) 2-9 (.222) 4-13 (.308)J.T. Harrison 7-31 (.226) 0-1 (.000) 3-13 (.231) 0-3 (.000) 5-19 (.263)Brad Henderson 35-89 (.393) 3-7 (.429) 45-101 (.446) 0-0 (.000) 19-56 (.339)Chad Hill 25-72 (.347) 0-1 (.000) 14-39 (.359) 2-4 (.500) 11-41 (.268)Justin Huisman 39-105 (.371) 4-8 (.500) 12-39 (.308) 0-0 (.000) 26-70 (.371)Burney Hutchinson 19-49 (.388) 1-5 (.200) 4-20 (.200) 4-10 (.400) 13-32 (.406)Carl Lafferty 18-67 (.269) 0-2 (.000) 9-33 (.273) 0-0 (.000) 8-44 (.182)John Massey 25-74 (.338) 2-4 (.500) 11-33 (.333) 3-7 (.429) 17-44 (.386)Chad Mead 19-78 (.244) 1-7 (.143) 17-48 (.354) 0-2 (.000) 13-55 (.236)Glen Morris 5-14 (.357) 0-0 (.000) 4-12 (.333) 2-6 (.333) 2-9 (.222)Banks Robinson 6-23 (.261) 3-5 (.600) 1-3 (.333) 0-2 (.000) 5-15 (.333)Michael Rosamond 29-99 (.293) 1-6 (.167) 18-58 (.310) 0-1 (.000) 18-61 (.295)Robert Shelton 20-77 (.260) 1-6 (.167) 15-40 (.375) 1-5 (.200) 14-48 (.292)Jude Voltz 29-91 (.319) 1-6 (.167) 18-32 (.562) 0-0 (.000) 15-58 (.259)Alex Williamson 17-38 (.447) 1-4 (.250) 9-24 (.375) 6-12 (.500) 8-25 (.320)REBELS 320-995 (.322) 21-67 (.313) 190-520 (.365) 22-73 (.301) 194-637 (.305)OPPONENTS 279-989 (.282) 25-64 (.391) 199-521 (.382) 9-41 (.220) 165-616 (.268)REBELS IN THE SEC STATISTICS - (As of May 24)
INDIVIDUALS
Batting Average1. Hunter Bledsoe, Vanderbilt .459...10. Brad Henderson, Ole Miss .382TEAM
Doubles1. Chris Burke, Tennessee 25...T3. Brad Henderson, Ole Miss 23
Total BasesT1. John Wilson, Kentucky 170 Andy Phillips, Alabama 170 . . . 9. Brad Henderson, Ole Miss 145
Slugging Percentage 1. Andy Phillips, Alabama .769 . . . 9. Michael Rosamond, Ole Miss .633
Hits 1. Hunter Bledsoe, Vanderbilt 95 2. Brad Henderson, Ole Miss 94
TriplesT1. Michael Rosamond, Ole Miss 6 Derek Wigginton, Alabama 6 Brian Rainwater, Georgia 6 Andy Phillips, Alabama 6
Home Runs 1. John Wilson, Kentucky 23 . . . 5. Michael Rosamond 17
Saves 1. Lance Cormier, Alabama 11 2. Justin Huisman, Ole Miss 10
Appearances 1. Ben Grezlovski, Florida 36 . . .T4. Cooper Campbell, Ole Miss 29
Batting Average .10th (.295)Home Runs 6th (76)Team ERA 3rd (4.77)Fielding Percentage 6th (.963)FIELDING PERCENTAGE (As of May 24)
SECOND BASE1. Chris Burke, Tennessee .985..6. Brad Henderson, Ole Miss .958HEAD COACH PAT HARRISON
THIRD BASE1. Mark Thornhill, Georgia .9632. Robert Shelton, Ole Miss .934
SHORTSTOP1. Travis Chapman, Mississippi State .961..4. Justin Huisman, Ole Miss .951
OUTFIELDT1. Kris Cox, Ole Miss 1.000 Jack Welsh, Arkansas 1.000 Nate Janowicz, South Carolina 1.000 Brian Wiese, Mississippi State 1.000
The 1999 season marks head coach Pat Harrisons third season at the helm of the Ole Miss baseball program. Harrison has a 85-80 (.515) record at Ole Miss, and has an overall career record of 219-194-2 (.530) in eight seasons as a head coach at The Masters College (1988-90), Pepperdine (1995-96) and Ole Miss. The Rebels made significant strides in their second season under Harrison, posting Ole Miss first winning record since 1995 with a 30-23 mark. Harrison coached two seasons at Pepperdine prior to coming to Ole Miss, and compiled a two-year mark of 69-38-1. He was named the 1995 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Waves to the WCC title and a berth in the NCAA West Regional with a 36-19-1 record.
This is the first time Harrison has led the Rebels to postseason. He is 2-2 in NCAA Regional play after taking his 1995 Pepperdine team to the 1995 NCAA West Regional.
Rebels At A Glance
Record 33-26 (.559)Current Streak Lost 1SEC 17-13 (.567)Vs. SEC East 12-4 (.750)Vs. SEC West 7-11 (.389)Non-Conference 15-11 (.577)Last five games 2-3 (.400)Last 10 games 4-6 (.400)Last 15 games 8-7 (.533)Last 20 games 10-10 (.500)Home Record 21-5 (.808)Away Record 9-16 (.360)Neutral 3-5 (.375)Day 15-18 (.455)Night 18-8 (.692)Versus left-handed starter 8-5 (.615)Versus right-hander starter 25-21 (.543)1-Run Games 11-5 (.688)2-Run Games 14-9 (.609)Extra Innings 2-1 (.667)Shutouts 4-2 (.667)When Rebels score first 16-10 (.615)When Opponents score first 17-16 (.515)When leading after 7 innings 27-3 (.900)When leading after 8 innings 28-3 (.903)When trailing after 7 innings 4-22 (.154)When trailing after 8 innings 3-22 (.120)When tied after 7 innings 2-2 (.500)When tied after 8 innings 2-1 (.667)When Rebels out-hit opponent 27-8 (.771)When opponent out-hit Rebels 5-18 (.217)When Rebels/opponent have = hits 1-0 (1.000)Last at-bat wins 8In February 6-6 (.500)In March 8-8 (.500)In April 15-5 (.750)In May 4-7 (.364)In Tuesday games 6-4 (.600)In Wednesday games 5-2 (.714)In Thursday games 1-0 (1.000)In Friday games 9-5 (.643)In Saturday games 7-7 (.500)In Sunday games 5-8 (.385)When Rebels get Quality Start 13-2 (.867)When Rebel starter goes 6+ IP 16-6 (.727)Record in series 6-6-1 (.500) Record in SEC series 6-4 (.600)Most games over .500 10, 4/30 (29-19)Most games under .500 5, 3/13 (6-11)Longest winning streak 7, 4/7-17Longest losing streak 6, 2/28-3/13 When Rebels score 7+ runs 23-5 (.821)When Rebels score 6- runs 10-21 (.323)When Rebels get 10+ hits 23-10 (.697)When Rebels get 9- hits 10-16 (.385)
