The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Ready To Face Wichita State Friday
5/30/2003 | Baseball
May 29, 2003
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(Air time 6:45 p.m.) - NCAA Houston Regional Scoreboard
HOUSTON - Ole Miss will make its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance all-time when the Rebels play Wichita State Friday evening at 7 p.m., at Reckling Park in the first round of the NCAA Houston Regional, hosted by Rice University.
Ole Miss earned the No. 2 seed in the four-team regional after receiving an at-large bid with a 34-25 record. The Shockers are the No. 3 seed at 47-25 and earned the Missouri Valley Conference's automatic bid by winning the MVC Tournament.
In Friday's first game, No. 1 seed Rice (48-10) , champions of the Western Athletic Conference, will face No. 4 seed McNeese State (31-28), winners of the Southland Conference tournament, at 3 p.m.
The Shockers are making their 21st NCAA appearance in 26 seasons under head coach Gene Stephenson. Stephenson has recorded a 1,404-447-3 mark with the Shockers, and he entered the 2003 campaign with the best winning percentage among active NCAA Division I coaches.
"Wichita State, under Coach Stephenson, has always been considered one of the nation's top programs," said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco.
Wichita State will enter Friday's game with Ole Miss having won 11 of its last 13 games. The Shockers are hitting .306 as a team and have eight regulars hitting over .300. However, Wichita State's top hitter, sophomore Phil Napolitan will miss the regional due to a bulging disc in his back.
Junior OF Drew Moffitt will bring a .315 average into the weekend and leads the teams in home runs, with 18, and in RBIs at 76.
The Shockers are scheduled to send freshman right-hander Mike Pelfrey to the mound against Ole Miss. He is 9-2 with a 2.49 ERA in 16 appearances, including 15 starts, and was named the Missouri Valley Conference's Freshman of the Year.
Ole Miss is slated to counter with senior right-hander T.J. Beam. He is 8-1 with a 2.84 ERA in 15 appearances, including 14 starts, and has struck out 83 in 92.0 innings pitched. The Rebels are also 13-1 in games Beam has started this season.
"We know that Pelfrey is a very good pitcher and was projected to be a high-round draft choice of out high school," Bianco said. "However, we'll be throwing a guy that is just as good in T.J. Beam, and we've been very successful this season when he's thrown."
Freshman 1B Stephen Head and sophomore OF Seth Smith lead the Rebels at the plate entering the weekend. Head, the 2003 Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year, is batting .335 with six home runs and a team-high 42 RBIs. Smith is hitting at a .330-clip with four homers and 33 RBIs.
Head has also made 19 appearances on the mound, and is 3-1 with a 1.48 ERA and has set a school single-season record with 13 saves.
Ole Miss is making its second trip to Reckling Park this season, as the Rebels traveled to Rice for the Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational in February. Ole Miss lost to Rice 6-0 during the tournament.
The Rebels also played McNeese State twice, losing 9-8 and 4-3 in a two-game series played at Oxford in March.
"You're always happy to be in a regional, but it's nice to be going to place where we've already played this season," Bianco said. "And to have already played both Rice and McNeese State, I think that helps as well."
This will be Ole Miss' second NCAA appearance under Bianco. The Rebels' last appearance came at the 2001 New Orleans Regional, hosted by Tulane University, going 1-2. All-time, Ole Miss is 20-10 in regional games, and is 23-18 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
