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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Close Out Regular Season At Arkansas Starting Thursday
5/13/2009 | Baseball
#9 Ole Miss (37-15, 17-10 SEC) at Arkansas (32-17, 14-12 SEC)
Fayetteville, Ark. Baum Stadium
May 14-16 6:35 p.m./6:35 p.m./2:05 p.m.
Radio: Full Network coverage on the Ole Miss Radio Network
Announcers: David Kellum (play-by-play) and Gary Darby (color)
Television: None
XM Radio: None
Live Internet Stats/Broadcasts: www.OleMissSports.com
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCH-UPS:
THURSDAY, 6:35 P.M.
ARK - Dallas Kuechel, Jr., LHP
OM - Drew Pomeranz, Soph., LHP
NOTING POMERANZ: Sophomore southpaw Drew Pomeranz makes his first trip to Fayetteville with the Rebels and will take the mound for the opening game. Pomeranz leads the Rebels in strikeouts with 72 on the year and has walked only 26 batters on the year. Opponents are hitting .247 against Pomeranz in 2009 as he has been the Rebels' Friday night starter this season. Pomeranz drew the start against the Razorbacks last season in the first game of a doubleheader as he worked 5.0 innings but took the loss.
FRIDAY, 6:35 P.M.
ARK - Brett Eibner, Soph., RHP
OM - Brett Bukvich, Sr., LHP
NOTING BUKVICH: Bukvich will make his third SEC start and a weekend start for the second straight week when he takes the mound on Friday. In his last start in Fayetteville in 2007, Bukvich handcuffed the Razorbacks as he worked 7.0 innings and held Arkansas scoreless on two hits with five strikeouts in the regular season finale. This season, Bukvich has struck out 54 and walked only 13 and has combined for two shutouts in starts in 2009. He also leads the team in wins with an 8-2 record on the year.
SATURDAY, 2:05 P.M.
ARK - Justin Wells, Sr., RHP
OM - Phillip Irwin, Jr., RHP
NOTING IRWIN: Irwin takes the mound against Arkansas in the regular season finale coming off a strong outing against Mississippi State last weekend. The junior struck out a career-high 10 batters and pitched 6.1 scoreless innings and held the Bulldogs to four hits while only walking two. Irwin has pitched a team-leading 67.0 innings this season and has struck out 54 and walked only 16 on the season while posting a 6-3 record.
REBELS VS. RANKED FOES IN 2009:
When the Rebels and TCU faced-off on February 28, it was the first ranked foe of the season for Ole Miss. The Rebels by a score 19-13. Ole Miss picked up its first win over a top 25 foe with an 8-7 win over Alabama in the Friday night game and is 7-6 against ranked foes this season.
REBELS IN THE RANKINGS:
For the sixth straight season Ole Miss opened the year ranked in the preseason polls. Currently, the Rebels are ranked as high as 9th (Baseball America) and appear in the top 13 of all of the major college baseball polls.
LAST TIME OUT VS. ARKANSAS:
Ole Miss faced off against the Razorbacks last season in Oxford, dropping a three-game series to Arkansas 2-1. The Rebels claimed the Friday game before dropping both games of a doubleheader on Saturday. It was the first series loss against the Razorbacks since the 2003 season. Ole Miss won the first game 12-4 in 2008 before dropping the second game 11-13 and the third game 4-12.
OLE MISS VS. UA UNDER BIANCO:
The Rebels lead the series against the Razorbacks over the last eight seasons under head coach Mike Bianco, holding a 14-13 advantage in meetings. Ole Miss won four straight series from 2004-2007 before seeing the streak snapped in 2008. Ole Miss swept the Razorbacks in Fayetteville in 2005 for the Western Division title. The two teams have won four series each over the least eight seasons.
THE REBELS VS. ARKANSAS:
Ole Miss and Arkansas have played 57 times in the all-time series and the Razorbacks lead the series 33-24. The two teams first met in the 1982 season with the Rebels losing the single game 7-2 after playing four games at Oral Roberts.
A LOOK AT THE RAZORBACKS:
Arkansas enters the weekend coming off a mid-week win over Oral Roberts 3-2 in a ninth-inning rally and a sweep at the hands of Alabama the previous weekend. The Razorbacks are 32-17 on the year and 14-12 in the SEC. Hitting .270 as a squad, Arkansas is led by Chase Leavitt at the plate with a .314 average, while Andy Wilkins holds a team-high 15 home runs and 37 RBI. As a pitching staff, Arkansas holds a 4.36 ERA and are led by Dallas Kuechel with a 7-2 record and a 3.99 ERA. He has 51 strikeouts and 16 walks.
