17th-Ranked Rebels Host No. 8 Louisville This Weekend

#17 Ole Miss (11-2) vs. #8 Louisville (12-0)
Oxford, Miss. • O-U Stadium/Swayze Field
March 12-14 • 6:30 p.m./1:30 p.m./12:30 p.m.

Radio: Full coverage on the Ole Miss Radio Network
Announcers: David Kellum and Gary Darby
RebelVision: www.OleMissSports.com
Announcers: David Kellum and Gary Darby
Internet Stats/Broadcasts: www.OleMissSports.com

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCH-UPS:
FRIDAY, 6:30 P.M.
UL - Thomas Royse, Jr., RHP
OM - Drew Pomeranz, Jr., LHP
NOTING POMERANZ: Pomeranz kicks things off for the Rebels on Friday night in a match-up of pitchers who have been stellar thus far in the season. Pomeranz holds a 1.59 ERA through three starts and has allowed only three earned runs in 17.0 innings of work. He has struck out an SEC-leading 28 strikeouts. The southpaw is 2-0 on the season and holds a 4:1 strikeout to walk ratio as he has walked only four batters on the year. Pomeranz took no decision in the season opener after leaving the game because of pitch count after four innings of work.

SATURDAY, 1:30 P.M.
UL - Dean Kiekhefer, Jr., LHP
OM - Aaron Barrett, Sr., RHP
NOTING BARRETT: Barrett makes his third start of the season on Saturday and holds a perfect 3-0 record coming into the contest. The senior has struck out 21 batters on the year, posting seven Ks in each of his starts and allowed only two earned runs in a team-high 18.1 innings of work for a 0.98 ERA. The right-hander has allowed one run in each of the last two outings after combining for a shutout in the season-opener against Louisiana-Monroe. Barrett's ERA is fourth in the league and he has held batters to a .167 average against so far this season.

SUNDAY, 12:30 P.M.
UL - Tony Zych, Soph., RHP
OM - Matt Tracy, Jr., LHP
NOTING TRACY: Junior southpaw Matt Tracy is slated to make his first weekend start of the year and third start of the season when he takes the mound on Sunday. Tracy has made two starts in mid-week games, posting a win over Arkansas State in a tight contest and taking no decision despite striking out a career-high 10 batters in a win over Memphis. Tracy left the game with the score tied at two after 5.0 innings against the Tigers. Tracy holds the fifth-best ERA in the league at 1.08 and second best on the team through 16.2 innings of work.

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 17th (ESPN/USAToday Coaches) and appear in the rankings of all of five major college baseball polls.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME:
The home field has been kind to the Rebels during Bianco's tenure as Ole Miss has posted a 246-86-1 record within the friendly confines of O-U Stadium/Swayze Field for a (.740 winning percentage) at home.

REBELS VS. THE BIG EAST:
Ole Miss has faced off against three teams from the Big East over the years and has posted a .500 or better record against those three teams in the limited amount of games played. In 2010, the Rebels will face one team from the Big East with a three-game series against Louisville. All-time, the Rebels are 8-3 (.727 win percentage) against Big East schools. Three Big East schools do not compete in baseball: DePaul, Marquette and Providence.

OLE MISS VS. NON-CONFERENCE FOES UNDER BIANCO:
Ole Miss has posted an impressive non-conference record over the course of the past nine seasons under head coach Mike Bianco. Since Bianco's arrival in Oxford in 2001, the Rebels have posted a 200-67-1 (.748 win percentage) mark in non-conference foes. Just a year ago, the Rebels were 24-11 in non-conference games, posting a .686 win percentage.

FRIENDLY FOES:
When the Rebels take on the Louisville Cardinals in March, it will mark a matchup of longtime friends and colleagues. Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell took over the Cardinal program after serving as the top assistant under Mike Bianco at Ole Miss. It will be the first time the two coaches have faced-off on the diamond since McDonnell left to take the position at Louisville following the 2006 season. Also on the coaching staff at Louisville is former Rebel catcher Xan Barksdale, who played at Ole Miss from 2003-2004.

A LOOK AT LOUISVILLE:
The Louisville Cardinals enter the weekend with a perfect 12-0 record on the season and are coming off a 9-7 win over the Hoosiers of Indiana on Tuesday night. As a team, Louisville is batting at a .331 clip and is led at the plate by Adam Duvall who bats at a .400 clip. Leading the team in RBI is Phil Wunderlich with 18 on the season and six home runs. The Cardinals are aggressive on the base path, posting 27 steals in 33 attempts to date. On the mound, Louisville boasts a team ERA of 2.54 and are led by Friday night starter Thomas Royse with a 3-0 record and a 0.50 ERA to go along with 19 strikeouts. The pitching staff has fanned 101 batters to date and walked 27 while allowing teams to score 42 runs - 31 of them earned.

HIT STREAKS ON THE LINE:
Ole Miss has several players boasting hit streaks currently, but none longer than freshman Alex Yarbrough. Yarbrough has hit safely in nine straight games and is tied for the season-long with junior Tim Ferguson. Ferguson saw his 10 game hit streak (dating back to 2009 - nine games in 2010) snapped on Saturday at Tulane. Also holding hit streaks heading into the weekend are Kevin Mort (4), Tim Ferguson (3), Mike Snyder (3), Taylor Hashman (2), Zach Miller (2) and Matt Smith (2). Other players on the roster hit safely in their last game played includes Miles Hamblin, Taylor Hightower, Matt Tracy and Cliff Vaughn.

NEXT WEEK FOR THE REBELS:
Ole Miss will play a single mid-week contest against the University of Arkansas at PIne Bluff on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. before taking back to the road for a weekend series to open Southeastern Conference play. The Rebels open league play on the road for the fifth time in the Bianco era with a three-game set at Kentucky.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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