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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Set To Host Mississippi State In SEC Showdown
4/27/2007 | Baseball
#18 Ole Miss Rebels (28-15, 10-8 SEC) vs. #17 Miss. State Bulldogs (27-10, 9-7 SEC)
April 27-29 Friday - 6:30 p.m./Saturday - 3:00 p.m./Sunday - 1:30 p.m.
Oxford, Miss. O-U Stadium/Swayze Field
Series Information:
Television: Comcast Sports - Friday; FSN South - Saturday; SportSouth - Sunday
Radio: Locally on 105.5 WTNM-FM Supertalk Mississippi; Air time is one hour prior to first pitch.
Statewide on the Ole Miss Radio Network with David Kellum and Richard Cross
Satellite Radio: No Sirius radio for this weekend's game.
Internet Availability: Live Stats and video will be available at www.OleMissSports.com
Series History: Mississippi State leads the all-time series with the Rebels 223-189-5. The Bulldogs
won the non-conference meeting at the inaugural Governor's Cup earlier this year 14-9. Ole Miss won
the regular season series last season 2-1 in Starkville.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCH-UPS:
FRIDAY, 6:30 P.M.
MSU - Chad Crosswhite (So., RHP, 5-1, 41.2 IP, 3.24 ERA)
OM - Will Kline (Jr., RHP, 5-1, 78.0 IP, 3.23 ERA)
NOTING KLINE: Kline posted his fifth win of the season to open the series against #4 South Carolina Kline. Kline has struck out 87 and walked only 25 on the season as he is second on the team in strikeouts. He is holding opponents to a .215 batting average to date.
SATURDAY, 3 P.M.
MSU - Justin Pigott (Jr., LHP, 3-3, 59.2 IP, 5.58 ERA)
OM - Lance Lynn (So., RHP, 4-3, 71.2 IP, 2.64 ERA)
NOTING LYNN: Two-time SEC Pitcher of the Week, Lynn leads the Rebels in strikeouts with 90 while walking only 25 on the year. Lynn is coming off a complete game shutout of #4 South Carolina on Saturday that saw him strikeout a career-high 12 batters while only allowing three hits on the afternoon. Lynn has posted five double-digit strikeout performances this season.
SUNDAY, 1:30 P.M.
MSU - Josh Johnson (Sr., RHP, 2-2, 39.1 IP, 6.18 ERA)
OM - Nathan Baker (Fr., LHP, 5-1, 46.2 IP, 3.86 ERA)
NOTING BAKER: Baker will make his fourth SEC start on Sunday and is 2-0 in three starts to date. He is tied with Will Kline for the team lead in wins with five on the year. He has struck out 31 and walked only 12 on the season as he moved from mid-week starter to weekend starter against the Georgia Bulldogs.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS:
Mississippi State enters the weekend coming off a two-game sweep of Southern Miss in the mid-week, but a series loss to LSU last weekend. The Bulldogs are hitting .340 as a team and are led at the plate by Brandon Turner with a .444 average. Edward Easley leads in power with 10 home runs and 48 RBI. As a pitching staff, Mississippi State holds to a 5.36 ERA and is led by Chad Crosswhite's 3.24 ERA. Crosswhite has struck out 32 and walked 15 on the season as the Friday starter.
MISSISSIPPI STATE SERIES OUTLOOK:
Ole Miss enters the weekend looking to overtake the Bulldogs in the SEC standings and Western Division race, while Mississippi State hopes to put some distance between themselves and the Rebels in the overall standings and Western Division race. The Bulldogs hold a slight edge in the standings thanks to a pair of rainouts in Knoxville that puts Mississippi State two games short on the schedule.
THROUGH 43 GAMES IN 2006:
Through 43 games a year ago, the Rebels had posted an 28-15 record, perfectly even with this season's pace. Ole Miss was batting .311 as a team, while the pitching staff was holding to a 4.14 ERA through 380.1 innings pitched. The Rebels were 61-of-77 in steal attempts on the year and were coming off a 10-5 win over Tennessee in Oxford. Ole Miss had hit three fewer home runs with 34 on the year at the same point last season.
