Rebels Welcome Southern Miss, Troy, Sam Houston in NCAA Regional

 OXFORD, Miss. For the fourth-straight season the 19^th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels will play host to post-season action as one of 16 sites selected to host an NCAA Regional. Coming to compete alongside the Rebels in the first round of action will be Sam Houston State, Southern Miss and Troy.

Ole Miss is one of only two teams in the nation to have hosted NCAA Regional action each of the last four seasons, joining Texas in the distinction.

Troy and Southern Miss will face off in the first game of the day with a 3 p.m. first pitch on Friday. Ole Miss and Sam Houston State will take the field in the second game of the day with a 7 p.m. first pitch.

“We’re excited to be hosting a Regional for the fourth-straight season,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “It says a lot about where we are as a program and where we want to be that we are one of only two teams to host a regional for each of the last four seasons. We are excited to be bringing post-season baseball back to Oxford and looking forward to playing in front of our fans again.”

The Rebels enter the 2007 NCAA Tournament fresh off an appearance in the semi-finals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament and a third place finish in the SEC Western Division. Ole Miss (37-23, 16-14 SEC) enters the post-season having played the nation’s toughest schedule according to NolanWarren.com, as the Rebels have played 30 games against teams in the NCAA Tournament.

Ole Miss is led by starting pitchers and All-SEC selections Will Kline and Lance Lynn, as the duo have been a part of the top pitching team in the SEC with a 3.51 ERA on the year. Both pitchers have broken the 100 strikeout mark on the year as Lynn has posted 130 strikeouts on the year and Kline is hot on his heels with 123 strikeouts. Also in the mix in the pitching staff are All-SEC relief pitcher Cody Satterwhite and left-hander Nathan Baker, who was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team.

At the plate, the Rebels are led by several different players including SEC Freshman of the Year Jordan Henry, All-SEC First Team selection Zack Cozart, All-SEC Freshman Team selection Zach Miller and SEC All-Tournament team member Justin Henry. The elder Henry served as team-captain for the second straight season and is the first player to be named to the SEC All-Tournament team three-straight years at three different positions.

Southern Miss enters the post-season after posting a 38-21 record on the year and a third place finish in Conference USA behind fellow NCAA participants Rice and East Carolina. The Golden Eagles and Rebels split the regular season series with Ole Miss claiming a 6-5 win at Trustmark Park before Southern Miss won 4-2 in Hattiesburg.

The Golden Eagles have posted a 3.74 team ERA and are led by Ryan Belanger with a 7-4 record and a 2.63 ERA. Belanger has fanned 82 batters and walked only 18 in his time on the mound as a Golden Eagle ace. At the plate, Southern Miss is batting .285 on the season and is paced by Trey Sutton. Sutton has posetd a .368 batting average with eight home runs and 38 RBI.

Troy comes to Ole Miss after having posted a 34-25 record and a second-place finish behind Louisiana-Lafayette. The Trojans hold a team ERA of 5.54 and are led on the mound by Josh Dew. Dew, a two-way player, earned All-Sun Belt honors as a relief pitcher. He holds a 76-2 record with a 2.56 ERA.

At the plate, the Trojans are led by All-Sun Belt performer Clint Robinson who posted a .359 batting average with 17 home runs and 69 RBI. The outfielder started all 57 games he played for Troy. The Trojans have seven players hitting above .300 on the season.

Sam Houston State enters the NCAA Regional as the Southland Conference Tournament Champions and posted a third place finish in the conference’s Western Division. The Bearkats finished fifth in the overall standings of the conference.

Sam Houston has posted a team ERA of 4.11 heading into the post-season and is led by Jacob Howard, who has posted an 11-5 record on the year. The right-hander has struck out 76 and walked 28 on the year. At the plate, the Bearkats are led by a trio of All-Southland Conference selections. Keith Stein leads the way with a .386 average and has 36 RBI, while Bobby Verbick is hitting .373 with a team-leading 13 home runs and 75 RBI. Rounding things out is Karl Krailo with a .357 average, five home runs and 46 RBI on the year. As a team, Sam Houston State is hitting .319 on the season.

Regional play begins on Friday with Southern Miss and Troy facing off at 3 p.m.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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