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The University of Mississippi Athletics
No. 12 Rebels Open SEC Play With Auburn This Weekend
3/15/2012 | Baseball
March 15, 2012
#12 Ole Miss (14-3, 0-0 SEC) vs. Auburn (10-7, 0-0 SEC)
Oxford, Miss. • O-U Stadium/Swayze Field
March 16-18 • 6:30 PM/1:30 PM/1:30 PM
Radio: Full Ole Miss Baseball Radio Network
Announcers: David Kellum & Keith Kessinger
Television: None
Internet Stats:
Internet Audio/Rebelvision: Click Here
THIS WEEK FOR OLE MISS:
Coming off a midweek series split at No. 22 Louisville that saw the Rebels fall 4-3 in the first game before rallying to an 18-8 win on Wednesday, Ole Miss returns home to kick off Southeastern Conference play with a weekend series against the Auburn Tigers at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field. Friday's game begins at 6:30 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday's games starting at 1:30 p.m.
NEXT WEEK FOR THE REBELS:
Ole Miss will continue to play at home on Tuesday night, hosting in-state rival Southern Miss in a single game beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Swayze Field. The Rebels will then go on the road for the first time in Southeastern Conferene play to face the Alabama Crimson Tide in a three-game series in Tuscaloosa.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCH-UPS:
FRIDAY, 6:30 P.M.
AU - Derek Varnadore, Sr., RHP
OM - Bobby Wahl, So., RHP
NOTING WAHL: Sophomore right-hander Bobby Wahl will make his fifth start of the season and first in Southeastern Conference play when he takes the mound against Auburn on Friday night. Wahl currently leads the Rebels with a 1.96 ERA - the 10th best in the league. Wahl holds a 3-0 record through four starts with 28 strikeouts in his 23.0 innings of work. Wahl ranks sixth in the SEC in strikeouts and is seventh in the league in opponent's batting average as he has held foes to a .183 batting average against.
SATURDAY, 1:30 P.M.
AU - Will Kendall, So., LHP
OM - R.J. Hively, Sr., RHP
NOTING HIVELY: Senior right-hander R.J. Hively will make his first start in Southeastern Conference play when he takes the mound on Saturday to face the Auburn Tigers. Hively holds a 3-0 record on the year through four starts and enters the weekend leading the Rebels in strikeouts with 29 - fifth best in the Southeastern Conference. Of those 19 strikeouts, nearly half (13) are batters struck out looking for third best in the league. In his 21.2 innings of work, Hively has allowed only five earned runs on 19 hits with six walks. He is holding opponents to a .224 batting average aginst this season.
SUNDAY, 1:30 P.M.
AU - Daniel Koger, Fr., LHP
OM - Mike Mayers, So., RHP
NOTING MAYERS: Sophomore right-hander Mike Mayers makes his fourth start of the season when he takes the mound on Sunday. Mayers, who holds one fewer start than the rest of the rotation, missed a start because of a rain-shortened series at No. 10 TCU to open the season. Mayers holds a 2-1 record entering the weekend and has allowed eight runs on 15 hits with 18 strikeouts and eight walks in 21.0 innings of work across four appearances. The sophomore has held opponents to a .205 batting average this year, second best among the Rebel starters.
A LOOK AT AUBURN:
The Tigers of Auburn enter the weekend holding a 10-7 record on the year and are coming off a series win over Belmont this past weekend. The Tigers' midweek contest against South Alabama was not played due to inclement weather. Auburn is led at the plate by Creede Simpson who is batting at a .439 clip through 17 games and a team-leading 15 RBI to date. Friday night starter Derek Varnadore holds a 1-1 record with a 5.55 ERA through four starts. He has posted 21 strikeouts and walked only five while allowing 15 earned runs on 31 hits. Saturday starter Will Kendall has not allowed an earned run and holds a 2-0 record through five appearances that includes two starts this season. He picked up his two wins against Belmont and Charleston Southern in the past two weekends.
OLE MISS VS. AUBURN:
Ole Miss and Auburn have faced-off a total of 152 times with the Tigers holding a slim 76-75-1 lead in the all-time series. Auburn grabbed the series lead last season when the Tigers won the weekend series 2-1 on the Plains at Auburn. The teams first met in 1938 and split the two-game series with a 5-6 loss in game one before the Rebels won 4-3 in game two.
LAST TIME OUT VS. AUBURN:
Ole Miss and Auburn met in Auburn last season with the Tigers grabbing the weekend series 2-1 the weekend of April 21-23. Matt Snyder led the Rebels against the Tigers that weekend, hitting .417 with a home run and six RBI. Ole Miss fell 6-3 in game one, before winning 10-7 in game two. The Rebels dropped the series with a 9-7 loss in the finale. Bobby Wahl made picked up the save in game two against the Tigers.
GAMES ON REBELVISION:
Fans of Ole Miss baseball who can't make it to Swayze Field can catch all the action live on the subscription based RebelVision or listen to the games online. Both features can be found at www.OleMissSports.com on any game not carried live on television as a part of the Southeastern Conference's 2012 television package.
LISTEN TO THE GAMES ONLINE:
Rebel fans who can't make it to the game at Swayze Field have options for catching all the action with Rebel Baseballl. In addition to the RebelVision option for video and audio, fans can also download the Ole Miss App for their phone and receive live stats and streaming audio right in the palm of their hand.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME:
The home field has been kind to the Rebels during Bianco's tenure as Ole Miss has posted a 295-109-1 record within the friendly confines of O-U Stadium/Swayze Field for a .730 winning percentage at home.
