The University of Mississippi Athletics
No. 19 Rebels Host No. 5 LSU In Weekend Showdown
4/22/2010 | Baseball
#19 Ole Miss (25-13, 8-7 SEC) vs. #5 LSU (32-6, 11-4 SEC)
Oxford, Miss. • Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field
April 23-25 • 8:45 p.m.(NEW TIME)/3:00 p.m./1:30 p.m.
Radio: Full Ole Miss Baseball Radio Network
Announcers: David Kellum & Gary Darby
Television: ESPNU (Friday); Fox Sports Net (Saturday); CSS (Sunday)
Live Audio: RebelVision
Live Stats: OleMissSports.com
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCH-UPS:
FRIDAY, 8:45 P.M. (ESPNU)
LSU - Anthony Ranaudo, Jr., RHP
OM - Drew Pomeranz, Jr., LHP
NOTING POMERANZ: Pomeranz enters the weekend contest coming off another solid outing at South Carolina with 7.0 scoreless innings of work and 10 strikeouts with only two hits. On the year, the southpaw leads the SEC in strikeouts with 90 and also leads the SEC in ERA (1.38) and opposing batting average (.165) this season. Pomeranz needs only 38 strikeouts to take over the top spot on the career strikeout list at Ole Miss, currently held by Lance Lynn (332).
SATURDAY, 3:00 P.M. (FOX SPORTS NET)
LSU - Joey Bourgois, Soph., RHP
OM - Aaron Barrett, Sr., RHP
NOTING BARRETT: Barrett enters the weekend holding to a 6-2 record and is coming off only his second loss of the season at #5 South Carolina a week ago. The right-hander is currently second in the SEC in strikeouts at 66 and holds an ERA of 3.07 to rank in the top 10 in the SEC. Barrett is also ninth in the league in opposing batting average, holding teams to a .234 batting average against. He has turned in eight quality starts in his nine appearances on the mound.
SUNDAY, 1:30 P.M. (CSS)
LSU - Chris Matulis, Soph., LHP
OM - TBA
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 19th (Baseball America) and appear in the rankings of all of five of the major college baseball polls. The Rebels were ranked 11th nationally the week of March 28-April 4 before dropping a weekend series to Tennessee - the highest ranking of the season for the Rebels.
A LOOK AT LSU:
The Tigers of LSU enter the weekend series with an overall mark of 32-6 and are 11-4 in conference play. LSU is coming off a pair of midweek wins over Northwestern State. At the plate, the Tigers are htiting at a .326 clip and are led by catcher MIcah Gibbs who is batting .408 on the year with 38 RBI. Matt Gaudet leads LSU with 11 home runs, while Blake Dean is the top run producer with 49 RBI. On the mound, the Tigers hold a team ERA of 4.84 and have struck out 289 batters while walking 141. Friday night starter Anthony Ranaudo has worked his way back into the lineup with five starts and holds a 3.00 ERA with a 2-0 record. he has struck out 22 and walked 10 in his time on the mound since returning from injury earlier this season.
REBELS VS. LSU:
Ole Miss and LSU have faced off 299 times with the Rebels trailing141-158 in the all-time series between the two teams.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME:
The home field has been kind to the Rebels during Bianco's tenure as Ole Miss has posted a 255-93-1 record within the friendly confines of O-U Stadium/Swayze Field for a (.732 winning percentage) at home.
HIT STREAKS ON THE LINE:
Ole Miss enters the weekend with only one Rebel holding to a hit streak of more than one game - Matt Smith who has hit safely in three straight games. Smith saw a career-long 18 game hit streak snapped on Friday at South Carolina. That hit streak tied for 5th longest in Ole Miss history with T.Y. Gunter's 18 game hit streak in the 1974 season. Currently, six other players have hit safely in their last game played.
