The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Baseball Game Notes
3/14/2000 | Baseball
Date: Tuesday, March 14, 2000
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Stadium: Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field
Site: Oxford, Mississippi
TONIGHT'S PITCHING MATCH-UP
Chad Christian (Fr., LHP), USM, 0-1, 3.29 ERA vs. Joseph Liberto, (Fr., RHP), 0-0, 2.79 ERA
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCH-UP VS. EASTERN ILLINOIS
Wednesday: TBA vs. TBA
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCH-UPS VS. TENNESSEE
Friday: Joe Bertolino (Jr., LHP), 2-1, 3.38 ERA vs. Jeff McAvoy (Sr., RHP), 4-1, 5.68 ERA
Saturday: Jordan DeJong (Jr., RHP), 3-2, 4.35 ERA vs. TBA
Sunday: Jamie Bennett (Sr., LHP), 5-1, 1.92 ERA vs. Joey Cramblitt (Sr., RHP), 3-2, 4.34 ERA
REBELS VS. CHRISTIAN: Cox .000 (0-1), Huisman 1.000 (1-1, HR), Hutchinson .000 (0-1), Jones .000 (0-1), Lafferty .000 (0-1), Morris .000 (0-2), Nugen .500 (1-2), Robinson .000 (0-1), Shanks .000 (0-1), Voltz .000 (0-1)
REBELS VS. SOUTHERN MISS: Tonight's game is 87th meeting between the Rebels and Golden Eagles dating back to 1929 ... Ole Miss holds a 54-32 advantage in the series ... This is the final meeting of the year between the two schools ... USM rallied to defeat Ole Miss 15-14 on Feb. 29 in Hattiesburg, scoring 12 runs in the final three innings ... The Golden Eagles have won three of the last four encounters, including winning last year's season series 2-1 ... Ole Miss is 32-8 all-time versus USM in Oxford, 20-23 in Hattiesburg, and 2-1 at neutral sites ... The Rebels have won 12 of the last 14 meetings at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field, including 5-4 last season ... Fourth-year head coach Pat Harrison is 5-7 vs. USM.
SCOUTING SOUTHERN MISS: Southern Miss is 4-3 since the Feb. 29 game against Ole Miss ... the Golden Eagles swept two games from Belmont this past weekend, winning 7-6 on Friday and 4-0 on Sunday ... USM is hitting .274 (179-653) as a team with 27 HRs and 105 RBIs ... the Golden Eagles are outscoring their opponents 123-96 ... Senior C Chris Finnegan is USM's leading hitter with a .366 (26-71) average, and leads the team in HRs (6) and RBIs (20) ... USM pitchers have a team ERA of 4.19 and the opposition is hitting .282 against them.
IN THE POLLS: Ole Miss is not ranked in any of the three major college baseball polls but did receive 19 votes in the latest Baseball Weekly/ESPN Coaches Poll to finish 13th among "Others Receiving Votes."
AFTER 18 GAMES LAST YEAR: Ole Miss was 7-11 through 18 games in 1999 ... the Rebels were hitting .311 (120-647) with 25 HRs, 43 doubles, nine triples and 109 RBIs ... they had been outscored by the opposition 123-120 ... Ole Miss had stole 12 bases in 23 attempts and grounded into 11 double plays ... Rebel pitchers had a 6.41 ERA (153.0 IP, 109 ER), allowing 165 hits, including 17 HRs, walked 83 and had struck out 121... Ole Miss had a .965 fielding percentage with 23 errors.
FREE BASEBALL: Fans will have free admission to Wednesday's 2:00 p.m. with Eastern Illinois.
REBEL BULLET POINTS:
Since 1998, Ole Miss is 56-8 (.875 winning percentage) when leading after seven innings, and 60-4 (.938) when leading after eight innings. Two of the Rebels' losses when leading after seven have come at the hands of the Golden Eagles. Last year in Jackson, USM scored four runs in the top of the eighth to rally for a 6-4 win, and in the last meeting on Feb. 29 in Hattiesburg, USM scored 12 times in the final three innings to rally for a 15-14 victory after trailing 13-3.
Ole Miss is looking to avoid its third straight loss at home. The last time the Rebels dropped three consecutive home games was in 1998 when South Carolina swept a three-game series and Southern Miss then handed the Rebels' their fourth straight loss with a 10-6 victory.
The Rebels have homered at least once in four straight games.
Head coach Pat Harrison is aiming for his 99th victory at Ole Miss tonight. He is currently 98-88 (.527) as the Rebels' skipper, and is looking to become the sixth coach in school history to win 100 games at Ole Miss.
Ole Miss is 201-112 (.642) all-time versus schools that currently make-up Conference USA. Fourth-year head coach Pat Harrison is 11-9 against C-USA schools at Ole Miss.
TONIGHT'S STARTING PITCHER
#21 Joseph Liberto, RsFR, RHP
(Grenada, Miss./Grenada H.S.)
Is making his first career start tonight.
Has made four appearances in relief this season, and is 0-0 with a 2.79 ERA (9.2 IP, 3 ER).
Made first career appearance against Nicholls State (2/12), working two innings of scoreless relief, striking out three.
Pitched 6.2 scoreless innings against No. 4 Baylor (3/8), fanning a career-high six.
LIBERTO AND SOUTHERN MISS: This will be his first career appearance against Southern Miss.
LIBERTO AND NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS: Is 0-0 with a 2.79 ERA (9.2 IP, 3 ER) in four relief appearances.
LIBERTO MISCELLANEOUS STATS:
Opponents are hitting .286 (10-35) against him.
Is 0-0 with a 1.93 ERA (9.1 IP, 2 ER) in three appearances at home.
Is 0-0 with a 27.27 ERA (0.1 IP, 1 ER) in one appearance on the road.
Is 0-0 with a 9.00 ERA (3.0 IP, 3 ER) in three appearances in day games.
Is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA (6.2 IP, 0 ER) in one appearance in night games.
