Diamond Rebs Kick Off Fall World Series On Thursday

OXFORD, Miss. While the Ole Miss Baseball team won’t hit the diamond to compete for a championship until next February, the Rebels will hit field to compete for a different set of bragging rights this weekend with the 2008 Fall World Series.

Thursday, the Red and Blue teams will face off in a best of three series to determine the winner of the annual fall event for the Rebels. All games will be played at Oxford High School and fans are welcome to come out for the event, but asked to be mindful of the fact that school will be in session for Oxford High. Admission is free.

The squad will be divided into two teams and will face-off up to three times this weekend. The first game begins at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday with the second game being held at the same time on Friday. Sunday’s game, if necessary, will begin at 1:00 p.m.

While there are a lot of new faces on the diamond this season who will be experiencing the Fall World Series for the first time, leading the two squads are a pair of savvy veterans who have been through their share of fall contests.

Serving as captain of the Blue is senior southpaw Brett Bukvich, while leading the Red will be junior right-hander Wade Broyles. Unlike past seasons where a member of the coaching staff managed each team, this year will find each team under the management of its respective captain.

Both captains are confident heading into the weekend and expect big performances out of their teams.

“It’s going to be a good weekend,” Broyles said. “These games are a big tradition and it’s going to be fun. We had a great draft and got a good team with some power arms and some really good bats. We’re going to be aggressive, steal a few bases, pick people off, hit the ball and win some games.

“It looks like it should be a tight contest, but we’re going to make it seem not as close and try to take this thing in two victories. I think good pitching beats good hitting any day, so we’ll be just fine with our roster.”

Bukvich echoed the excitement felt by Broyles, but felt that his team would come out on top thanks to the experience on his bench.

“I’m excited about this weekend,” Bukvich said of the Series. “We have a lot of guys with experience and a really strong bullpen. We’re going to open up with Nathan Baker on the mound in the first game, but I’m keeping my lineup a little closer to the vest. We have a lot of pop in the bats and are ready to get out there and compete.

“We’re planning on taking this thing in two games. It’s a David vs. Goliath kind of matchup this weekend, but Goliath is going to take this one.”

RED TEAM ROSTER                               BLUE TEAM ROSTER

Captian Wade Broyles                         Captain Brett Bukvich

Kyle Barbeck                                         Nathan Baker

Aaron Barrett                                        Scott Bittle

Brett Basham                                        Chris Corrigan

Evan Button                                          Scott Haltom

Tim Ferguson                                        Kyle Henson

David Goforth                                       Michael Hubbard

Taylor Hashman                                    Rory McKean

Jordan Henry                                        Zach Miller

Taylor Hightower                                  Jake Morgan

Brett Huber                                          Kevin Mort

Phillip Irwin                                          David Phillips

Cullan Kight                                          Drew Pomeranz

David Kindred                                       Logan Power

Michael Park                                        Matt Smith

Zach Rutland                                        Matt Snyder

Kyle Thornton                                       Michael Snyder

Matt Tracy                                           Cliff Vaughn

Jeremy Travis                                       Blair Wright

Logan Williams                                     

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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