The University of Mississippi Athletics
Pitching Matchup Highlights Rebels' NCAA Tournament Opener Against Mizzou
5/29/2008 | Baseball
NCAA TOURNAMENT REGIONAL HOST: MIAMI
Ole Miss Rebels (37-24) vs. Missouri Tigers (38-19)
Coral Gables, Fla. Mark Light Field
Friday, May 30 11 a.m. CT
Television: ESPNU (Dave Cohen play-by-play and Brian Jordan color commentary)
Radio: Locally on 105.5 WTNM-FM; Full network coverage on the Ole Miss Radio Network
Announcers: David Kellum (play-by-play) and Gary Darby (color)
XM Radio: None
Internet Radio: Yahoo (click here at gametime)
Live Internet Stats: OleMissSports.com
THIS SERIES: Ole Miss and Missouri have faced off six times in the history of the series with a 3-3 record in the overall series. The Rebels and Tigers last met in the 1987 season with Ole Miss claiming the series win two games to one in Oxford. The first time the two teams met was in the 1958 season with the Tigers claiming both games played between the two teams. Ole Miss and Missouri also faced off in a singe game in the 1978 season with the Tigers claiming the victory.
BIANCO VS. MIZZOU: Rebel head coach Mike Bianco has never led a team against the Missouri Tigers in his time as a head coach at McNeese State or at Ole Miss.
HOW REBELS GOT HERE: Ole Miss is coming off a solid run at the Southeastern Conference Tournament where the Rebels advanced to the Championship game for the third time in the last four seasons and went 3-2 in the tournament. The Rebels defeated regular-season champion and top-seeded Georgia in the opening round of the tournament before knocking off Kentucky on a Michael Guerrero two-run walk-off to advance to the semifinals in the winners bracket. Ole Miss then split a doubleheader with Vanderbilt in the semifinals, losing the first game before fighting off the Commodores with an 8-7 win in the elimination game for the right to face LSU in the Championship Game.
HOW TIGERS GOT HERE: Like the Rebels, Mizzou is making its sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and is 38-19 on the year after finishing fourth in the Big 12 Conference. The Tigers are led by junior RHP Aaron Crow, who was the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year. Crow is tied for the lead nationally with a 12-0 record and led the Big 12 with 117 strikeouts on the year. Joining Crow on the All-Big 12 First Team were sophomore LF Aaron Senne and senior DH/RF Jacob Priday. Senneo is hitting .358 on the year with 13 home runs and a team-best 63 RBI, and Priday leads Mizzou with 16 home runs on the year, hitting .343 with 62 RBI.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCH-UPS:
FRIDAY, NOON
UM - Aaron Crow, Jr., RHP (12-0, 2.56 ERA)
OM - Lance Lynn, Jr., RHP (7-3, 4.21 ERA)
NOTING LYNN: Lynn enters the NCAA Tournament game against Missouri coming off a solid outing in the opening round of the SEC Tournament that saw the junior pick up the win over top-seeded Georgia. Lynn tied his career-high with 12 strikeouts and moved to 103 strikeouts on the season to become only the second Ole Miss pitcher to break the 100 strikeout mark in consecutive seasons. Lynn set the single season record last year with 146 strikeouts and is the career record holder with 325 strikeouts to date.
LYNN IN THE NCAA REGIONALS: Lance Lynn will be making his third start in an NCAA Regional on Friday when he takes the mound against Missouri. Lynn drew his first start as a freshman when he posted a win over Tulane in the championship game of the 2006 NCAA Oxford Regional. The 6-5 right-hander followed that up with a complete-game shutout of Southern Miss in the 2007 NCAA Oxford Regional to propel the Rebels into the Regional Championship.
REBS UNDER BIANCO IN NCAA REGIONALS: Ole Miss has experienced success in NCAA Regionals under head coach Mike Bianco, especially the past few seasons. The Rebels have advanced to an NCAA Regional seven of eight seasons under Bianco and have won three straight NCAA Regional Championships heading into the 2008 NCAA Tournament. Ole Miss is 11-6 in NCAA Regional play under Bianco since 2001. Ole Miss currently holds a nine-game win streak in NCAA Regionals dating back through the 2005 season.
ALL-SEC REBELS: Four Rebels were named to All-SEC honors by the league's coaches this season and it was a pitching heavy group that represented the Rebels on the honor rolls. Starter Lance Lynn and reliever Scott Bittle were both named All-SEC second team selections, while freshman LHP Drew Pomeranz was named to the All-Freshman team. Junior catcher Brett Basham was named to the inaugural All-Defensive team as a part of a squad that recognizes exceptional defensive play throughout the course of the season.
BITTLE FOR STOPPER OF THE YEAR: Junior reliever Scott Bittle was named one of five finalists for Stopper of the Year, the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association announced on Wednesday. It is the latest award consideration for Bittle who has already claimed the 2008 Cellular South Ferriss Award honoring the top collegiate baseball player in Mississippi. Bittle has also been named as one of 10 semi-finalists for the 2008 Clemens Award honoring the nation's top pitcher. Most recently, Bittle leads the SEC in strikeouts with 118 on the season and is tops nationally in strikeouts per 9.0 innings pitched. The junior has posted a 6-1 record on the year with eight saves and currently sits third on the career saves list at Ole Miss with 15 for his career.
POMERANZ TO USA TEAM TRIALS: Freshman left-handed pitcher Drew Pomeranz accepted an invitation to participate in USA Baseball's National Team Trials, the organization announced on Tuesday. In all, 32 players will be invited to the National Team Trials with 22 of those players being selected for the National Team roster which will be announced on June 24. Pomeranz is the latest in a long line of Rebels invited to participate in USA Baseball over the past few seasons, joining Seth Smith, Stephen Head, Zack Cozart, Lance Lynn and Cody Satterwhite as players who have been invited to participate in the National Team trials. The southpaw was named an All-SEC Freshman Team selection by the league's coaches last week after posting a 4-3 record on the year. Among Pomeranz's wins are a shutout of then No.6 Vanderbilt along with wins over LSU and then No. 10 South Carolina on the road.
