The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Continue Road Trip At No. 17 LSU
3/31/2011 | Baseball
March 31, 2011
Ole Miss (18-8, 3-3 SEC) at #17 LSU (18-7, 1-5 SEC)
Baton Rouge, La. รโข Alex Box Stadium
April 1-3 รโข 7:00 PM/6:30 PM/1:00 PM
Radio: Full Ole Miss Baseball Radio Network
Announcers: David Kellum & Keith Kessinger
Television: Cox Sports
Announcers: Lyn Rollins & Ben McDonald
Internet Stats/Broadcasts: www.OleMissSports.com
THIS WEEK FOR OLE MISS:
Following a hard fought contest at #20 Southern Miss that Ole Miss dropped 4-3 in extra-innings on Wednesday night, the Rebels head south to Baton Rouge for a three-game series at LSU. Friday's game begins at 7:00 p.m., while Saturday's game will be on Cox Sports at 6:30 p.m. Sunday's contest is set for a 1:00 p.m. first pitch.
NEXT WEEK FOR THE REBELS:
The Rebels close out an eight game road swing on Tuesday night at AutoZone Park when Ole Miss takes on Memphis at 6:30 p.m. The Rebels then return home for a three-game series in conference play as Ole Miss will host the Georgia Bulldogs at O-U Stadium/Swayze Field. Friday's game is set for 6:30 p.m., while Saturday's game is at 2 p.m. on SportSouth. Sunday's game starts at 1:30 p.m.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCH-UPS:
FRIDAY, 7:00 P.M.
LSU - Kurt McCune, Fr., RHP
OM - Matt Crouse, Jr., LHP
NOTING CROUSE: Junior left-hander Matt Crouse takes the mound on Friday night with an overall record of 6-0 and coming off a complete-game in the win at Tennessee last weekend. The southpaw has pitcked two complete-games in the last three weeks and has allowed only two runs in the last 29.2 innings of work dating back to a start against Tulane on March 4. For the year, Crouse has tallied 35 strikeouts and walked only four batters while holding hitters to a .187 batting average. Two of those four walks came last weekend at Tennessee.
SATURDAY, 6:30 P.M. - Cox Sports
LSU - Kevin Gausman, Fr., RHP
OM - David Goforth, Jr., RHP
NOTING GOFORTH: Goforth takes the mound on Saturday looking for his first win of the season despite several solid outings in his first six starts this season. Despite an 0-4 record, the right-hander holds a 3.38 ERA and is holding hitters to a .261 batting average against. He has allowed 14 earned runs in 35.1 innings of work and has allowed only four extra-base hits in his time on the mound.
SUNDAY, 1:00 P.M.
LSU - Ben Alsup, Sr., RHP
OM - Austin Wright, Jr., LHP
NOTING WRIGHT: Wright enters the weekend slated to make the Sunday start for the Rebels and is coming off a win at Tennessee last weekend with 8.0 scoreless innings of work and eight strikeouts. The southpaw has struck out 34 batters and walked only 11 in his time on the mound, while holding opposing hitters to a .256 batting average against. The big lef-hander is 3-2 on the year entering the weekend and is 1-1 in Southeastern Conference play.
A LOOK AT LSU:
The Tigers of LSU enter the weekend coming off a 6-0 win over McNeese State on Wednesday night at Alex Box Stadium after dropping the series at Georgia in the previous weekend. The Tigers are 18-7 overall and 1-5 in SEC play this year. As a team, LSU is hitting at a .309 clip and is led at the plate by Mikie Mahtook. Mahtook is batting .375 for the season and leads the team with eight home runs and 27 RBI. The Tiger pitching staff holds a 3.62 ERA and has struck out 184 batters while walking 84. They have allowed 103 runs on 187 hits. Friday night starter Kurt McCune leads the staff with a 4-0 record and a 1.56 ERA this year. He has struck out 28 batters and walked only eight while holding teams to a .168 batting average against. He has started all six of his appearances and talllied one complete game this season.
OLE MISS VS. LSU:
Ole Miss and LSU have faced off 303 times with the Rebels trailing 144-159 in the overall series. Last season, the Rebels swept the series in Oxford by winning a doubleheader on Saturday and claiming the Sunday win on a walk-off hit from Kevin Mort. Ole Miss last won a series in Baton Rouge in the 1982 season.
SOME HAVE HIT STREAKS ON THE LINE:
Three Rebels hold hit streaks of more than one game heading into the weekend's series against Tennessee. Matt Smith leads the way with an 11-game hit streak, while Tanner Mathis has hit safely in nine consecutive games. Alex Yarbrough (7) are right behind them on the list as the only other Rebel with a hit streak of more than five games heading into the weekend series.
OTHERS KEEP REACHING BASE:
While hit streaks are an eye-catching stat, an often overlooked stat is reaching base. Tanner Mathis (15) leads the team in consecutive games reaching base, while Matt Smith (11) is right behind him. Alex Yarbrough has reached base safely in seven straight games. Mathis' 15 game streak of reachign base is the longest on the team this season.
CROUSE CONTINUES TO SHUT TEAMS DOWN:
Junior LHP Matt Crouse continues to be a dominant force for the Rebels on the mound. The southpaw holds a 6-0 record to date, he ran a streak of 23.0 innings of scoreless baseball, including a complete-game shutout of Lipscomb (3/11). Crouse has allowed only two runs in his last 29.2 innings of work, a run against Tulane (3/4) and a solo home run against Tennessee (3/25) are the only two runs allowed by Crouse in the month of March.
