The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Open SEC Tournament With South Carolina Wednesday
5/25/2010 | Baseball
#21 Ole Miss (36-20) vs. #7 South Carolina (43-13)
Hoover, Ala. • Regions Park
May 26 • 1:00 P.M.
Radio: Full Ole Miss Baseball Radio Network
Announcers: David Kellum & Gary Darby
Television: SportSouth
Announcers: Matt Stewart & Rusty Ensor
Internet Stats/Broadcasts: www.SECSports.com
THIS WEEK FOR OLE MISS:
Ole Miss will head to Hoover, Alabama, for the Southeastern Conference Tournament for the eighth consecutive season when the Rebels play for the Tournament Title at Regions Park. The double-elimination event begins on Wednesday and runs through Sunday. The sixth-seeded Rebels will face third-seed South Carolina in the second game of the day on Wednesday, beginning approximately 30 minutes following the conclusions of the day's first game between second-seeded Auburn and seventh-seeded Alabama at 9:30 a.m.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCH-UPS:
WEDNESDAY
SC - Nolan Belcher, Soph., LHP
OM - Drew Pomeranz, Jr., LHP
NOTING POMERANZ: Pomeranz enters the SEC Tournament slated as the Wednesday starter for the Rebels in the game against South Carolina. The left-hander holds to a 7-2 record on the year and leads the league in strikeouts (127), earned run average (2.39) and is first in the league in opposing batting average (.189). Against Auburn on Thursday night, Pomeranz tied the career strikeout record at Ole Miss and holds 332 to tie with Lance Lynn for his career. WIth one more strikeout he will break the school record for strikeouts. The junior southpaw was also named the fourth recipient of the 2010 Cellular South Ferriss Award, recognizing the top player in the state of Mississippi and named for Red Sox Hall of Famer "Boo" Ferriss.
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 21st (Collegiate Baseball) and appear in the rankings of four of the five 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. Ole Miss matched that ranking the week of May 3 before falling to ninth-ranked Arkansas in a weekend series.
A LOOK AT SOUTH CAROLINA:
The Gamecocks of South Carolina enter the SEC Tournament with an overall record of 43-13 and finished the year ranked second in the SEC Eastern Division with a 21-9 mark on the year. As a team, the Gamecocks are batting .303 and are led by Jackie Bradley Jr. with a .364 average. Whit Merrifield leads the team with 12 home runs, while Adrian Morales holds a team-high 45 RBI. The pitching staff holds a 3.69 ERA and Wednesday starter Nolan Belcher holds a 3-0 record with a 2.03 ERA. The southpaw has struck out 29 and walked 16 in 26.0 innings.
REBELS VS. SOUTH CAROLINA:
Ole Miss and South Carolina have faced off a total of 47 times with the Rebels trailing 18-29 in the overall series. This season, the Rebels fell to the Gamecocks 2-1 in Columbia.
REBELS VS. USC IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT:
Ole Miss and South Carolina have faced-off twice in the SEC Tournament, splitting the two games. The Rebels won the first game in 1999 by a score of 2-0. USC won the second game 7-6 in 10 innings in 2004.
REBELS IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT:
Ole Miss will be making its 13th appearance in the SEC Tournament - eighth consecutive - and has posted a 23-21 record in those appearances. The Rebels stormed through the event in 1977 and 2006 to win the tournament and fell in the Championship game in 2005 and 2008, making four total appearances in the Championship game.
HIT STREAKS ON THE LINE:
Matt Snyder and Kevin Mort enter the Tournament holding hit streaks of thre and two games, respectively. The season's longest hit streak belongs to Matt Smith who saw a career-long 18 game hit streak snapped on April 16 at South Carolina.
FERRISS AWARD WINNER:
Junior southpaw Drew Pomeranz became the fourth Ole Miss player to win the Cellular South Ferriss Award on Monday night when he was named the 2010 recipient by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. The award is presented annually to the top collegiate baseball player in the state of Mississippi. Stephen Head (2004) claimed the inaugural award. Other Rebels to claim the award are Brian Pettway (2005) and Scott Bittle (2008). Finalists for the award who did not win were Zach Cozart (2007) and Scott Bittle (2009).
