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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Head, Smith Invited To USA Baseball National Team Trials
5/8/2003 | Baseball
May 8, 2003
DURHAM, N.C. - Ole Miss freshman first baseman/left-handed pitcher Stephen Head and sophomore outfielder Seth Smith were two of 18 collegiate players invited to participate in the 2003 USA Baseball National Team Trials, to be held June 21-27 in Tucson, Ariz.
The USA National Team will be selected from a pool of 36 players, of which an additional 10 have yet to be determined and eight have already been announced. The final 20-man roster will be announced June 27 and will represent the United States at the 2003 Pan Am Games, scheduled for August 1-17 at Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
"This is a tremendous honor for both Stephen and Seth," said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. "To have the opportunity to represent your country is one of the highest honors an athlete can have. We certainly feel that both of them are among the top players in the country.
"It is also a great honor for our program, that of the 36 players that will be invited to the trials, two of them will be from Ole Miss."
Freshman Stephen Head leads the Rebels in both batting average and ERA, and has set a new school freshman record with 10 saves.  | |
Head, 6-feet-2, 218 pounds from Raymond, Miss., has been a two-way threat for Ole Miss this season, leading the Rebels in both batting average and ERA. He is batting .363 with five home runs and a team-best 36 RBIs in 46 games, including 38 starts. On the mound, Head has made 15 appearances, drawing two starts, and is 3-1 with a 0.99 ERA. He has also recorded 10 saves to set a new Ole Miss freshman record.
Head has earned both SEC Player and Pitcher of the Week honors this season and was named the National Pitcher of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association back on April 28.
Smith, 6-feet-3, 215 pounds from Terry, Miss., has recorded a .335 average with four homers and 25 RBIs in 49 games this season. He has also drawn a team-high 31 walks for a team-best .441 on-base average. Last season, Smith batted .402 en route to setting six Ole Miss freshman records and earning the Southeastern Conference's Freshman of the Year award. He was also a first team All-SEC selection and first team Freshman All-America honoree.
Ole Miss is 29-21 on the season, including 13-11 in the SEC. The Rebels are tied with Alabama and Arkansas for fourth-place in the SEC Western Division, 3.5 games behind first-place LSU, entering this weekend's series with Florida in Oxford.
Game one of the series is set for Friday evening at 6:30 p.m., at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field, and will be televised by the Sunshine Network. Game two is Saturday at 4 p.m., and Sunday's series finale is set for noon.
Florida is 32-15-1 on the year, including 11-12-1 in the SEC. The Gators are second in the SEC Eastern Division, 1.5 games behind South Carolina, and hold a 1.5-game lead over both Tennessee and Vanderbilt for the final spot to the SEC Tournament.
Senior right-hander T.J. Beam (6-1, 2.57 ERA) is scheduled to start on the mound Friday for Ole Miss, opposite Florida sophomore right-hander Tommy Boss (2-2, 3.08 ERA). The Rebels have yet to announce starters for Saturday and Sunday.
Florida is slated to start sophomore right-hander Justin Hoyman (7-4, 3.12 ERA) on Saturday, while the Gators are undecided on a starter for Sunday.
