The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss To Open 2003 Season Friday Against Louisiana Tech
2/12/2003 | Baseball
- Live Audio (2:45 p.m., air time)
Feb. 12, 2003
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss will open its third season under head coach Mike Bianco Friday afternoon, when the Rebels host Louisiana Tech at 3 p.m., at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field.
Friday's game will be the first of a three-game series against the Bulldogs, and the first of a four-game home stand to open the season. Both Saturday's and Sunday's games will be at 1:30 p.m.
The Rebels return seven position starters and five pitchers that threw 40 or more innings from last year's 37-19 squad. Included among the returnees are Ole Miss' top three hitters from last season in sophomore outfielder Seth Smith, senior shortstop Chad Sterbens and senior outfielder Drew Rogers.
"We're excited to be opening the 2003 season Friday," Bianco said. "It's exciting to have such an experienced club returning from a team that won 37 games a year ago, and then to add several outstanding newcomers from a recruiting class that ranked among the top 20 in the nation. This team has been very determined during preseason workouts and they're ready to get the season started."
Smith batted .402 with four home runs and 52 runs batted in and set six Ole Miss freshman records last season. He earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors, as well as being named a first team Freshman All-America and a first team All-SEC selection.
Sterbens hit .376 with four homers and 49 RBIs and tied a school record with a 21-game hitting streak at the end of last season. He also recorded at least one hit in 29-of-30 SEC games. Rogers posted a .364 average with six home runs and 34 RBIs and is the Rebels' top returning home run hitter.
Sophomore right-hander Alan Horne, an honorable mention Freshman All-America last season, is scheduled to be the Rebels' opening day starter. Horne made 12 starts as a true freshman, going 5-2 with a 4.97 ERA, and struck out 31 in 54 1/3 innings.
Freshman right-hander Mark Holliman, from Germantown, Tenn., is scheduled to start on Saturday and senior right-hander T.J. Beam is slated to start Sunday for the Rebels. Beam, an 11th-round draft choice of the Philadelphia Phillies in last June's Major League Baseball Draft, was 2-2 with six saves and a 4.53 ERA in 24 appearances last season.
Louisiana Tech is 2-0 after opening its season with wins over Centenary, 9-7 on Feb. 5, and Mississippi Valley State, 10-1 on Feb. 7. The Bulldogs are scheduled to play at Mississippi Valley State on Thursday before traveling to Ole Miss.
The Bulldogs, 21-37 last season, are scheduled to start senior left-hander Adam Kirkendall on Friday. Kirkendall was 6-5 with a 4.70 ERA and struck out 91 in 107 1/3 innings during 18 appearances, including 17 starts, last season.
Junior right-hander Matt Varner, a junior college transfer, is slated to start Saturday and the Bulldogs have yet to announce a starter for Sunday. Varner pitched three innings of relief against Centenary, allowing four runs on six hits and struck out three in earning the win.
Junior outfielder Adam Dodson is 3-for-5 with two home runs and four RBIs in Louisiana Tech's two games this season.
Senior first baseman Kyle Humphreys is Louisiana Tech's top returning hitter from last season, after hitting .286 with 11 home runs and 45 RBIs in 58 games. In the Bulldogs' first two games this year, he has gone 2-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI.
All three games this weekend will be carried by WTNM Supertalk Mississippi 105.5 FM. Audio of all three games can also be heard on the official Ole Miss athletic web site, www.OleMissSports.com.
