The University of Mississippi Athletics
Bittle Named Preseason All-America; Rebels Tabbed 11th
12/24/2008 | Baseball
OXFORD, Miss. The Ole Miss baseball team found itself in familiar territory recently with the announcement of the preseason rankings by Collegiate Baseball magazine, as the publication ranked the Rebels 11th in the 2009 preseason.
Ole Miss reliever Scott Bittle was also named as a first-team All-America selection in the preseason publication, marking the second All-America honor for the closer in the weeks preceding the 2009 season.
It is the sixth-straight season the Rebels have been ranked in the preseason polls.
Bittle is the top returning pitcher for the Rebels as the right-handed closer chose to return to Ole Miss for his senior season after being drafted by the New York Yankees with the 75th overall pick of the 2008 MLB Draft. He also garnered All-America honors from Baseball America, Rivals.com and the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association.
As a junior last season, Bittle led the nation in strikeouts per 9.0 innings pitched and tallied 130 strikeouts on the season. The 130 strikeouts is third all-time on the single season list behind Lance Lynn and Will Kline, who set the top two marks during the 2007 season.
The junior led the Southeastern Conference in strikeouts during the regular season, earning All-SEC Second Team honors as he also was named a semi-finalist for the Clemens Award and the Stopper of the Year.
Bittle posted an 7-1 mark on the season, picking up wins in relief over Mississippi State, No. 6 Vanderbilt, at No. 8 Georgia, Auburn, at No. 20 Kentucky and against No. 12 Missouri to send the Rebels to the NCAA Coral Gables Regional Championship game. In the win over Missouri, Bittle struck out a career-high 12 batters in 4.1 innings pitched and accounted for all 13 outs in his time on the mound.
Bittle also posted eight saves on the season, including preserving Rebel victories over Southern Miss, LSU, at No. 10 South Carolina, Arkansas and No. 6 Georgia in the SEC Tournament.
Ole Miss is coming off a sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008 as the Rebels traveled to the NCAA Coral Gables Regional, defeating 12th-ranked Missouri to earn a berth in the Regional Championship game before falling to No. 1 Miami to end the season. It was the fourth straight season the Rebels advanced to compete for at least a Regional Championship - making the Rebels one of only six schools to achieve that feat over the past four seasons.
The Rebels posted a 39-26 record in 2008 and advanced to the Championship game of the SEC Tournament for the second time in three seasons.
Returning for the Rebels this season is a bevy of players, including three who were drafted in the 2008 MLB Draft but opted to return to Ole Miss for their senior season. Among those returning are right-handed pitcher Scott Bittle, catcher Brett Basham and outfielder Logan Power. Bittle is a preseason All-America selection and candidate for the Brooks Wallace Award, while Basham was the top defensive catcher in the SEC last season and Power is the top returning hitter on the team.
Ole Miss opens the season on February 20 at South Alabama in a weekend tournament as the Rebels will face Liberty at 1 p.m. The tournament will continue with a game against Mercer on Saturday and host South Alabama on Sunday.
The Rebels open the home portion of their schedule on Tuesday, February 24 against Central Arkansas.
