University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Travels To Ole Miss on Tuesday
3/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Southern Miss Travels To Ole Miss on Tuesday
Hattiesburg, Miss. - After finishing with a 2-1 record this past weekend in the Conference USA opening series at TCU, the Golden Eagles have a busy week, travelling to Ole Miss for a televised game on Tuesday and New Orleans on Wednesday before coming home to host Cincinnati in the second conference weekend series.
The live telecast, set for 6:30 p.m., will be available on the Comcast System in Hattiesburg (Ch. 11), Laurel (Ch. 7) and Meridian (Ch. 12), and on the Time-Warner System in Jackson (Ch. 77). Other systems may be added as the game day nears.
This marks the 100th meeting between the two schools. Under Corky Palmer, the Golden Eagles are 5-5 against the Rebels, including a 5-1 earlier-season victory for Southern Miss in Hattiesburg. Overall, Ole Miss leads the series, 64-35. Southern Miss won games two and three at TCU this past weekend, winning Saturday, 10-9, in 10 innings and on Sunday, 8-3, after dropping the opener, 8-6. The Rebels were swept in their Southeastern Conference opener this past weekend in Gainesville, Fla. The Gators downed Ole Miss, 24-5 in game one, 7-6 on Saturday and 17-6 in Sunday's final game.
In the earlier game between the two schools this season, the Golden Eagles (14-5) posted the victory, scoring five runs on 11 hits and committing one error, while the Rebels (13-6) scored one run on eight hits and committed three errors. Stephen Castleman started on the mound, pitching 5.1 innings for the victory, giving up one run on eight hits, walking two and striking out four. Cliff Russum came on in relief, pitching the final 3.2 innings, giving up two walks and striking out four.
Jeff Cook had a big game, going 4-for-5 on the night, while Carlos Velasquez and Bobby Garner each added two hits. Burney Hutchinson and Seth Smith led the Rebels with two hits each. T.J. Beam was the Ole Miss starter, pitching 3.1 innings, giving up two unearned runs on five hits, walking two and striking out three. Al Simontis came on in relief in the fourth inning, giving up one unearned run on four hits and striking out one. Josh Grant pitched 1/3 of an inning, giving up two runs, one earned, on two hits, and Nathan Lyons completed the game, pitching 2/3 innings, giving up one walk and striking out two.
The Golden Eagles will send Daniel Stewart to the hill on Tuesday. He is 1-1 with a 5.73 ERA in 22.0 innings of work. He has surrendered 19 runs, 14 earned, on 31 hits, striking out 21 and only walking four. Ole Miss senior Pete Montrenes gets the start for the Rebels. He is 4-1 with a 4.30 ERA in 29.1 innings of work. He has given up 18 runs, 14 earned, on 31 hits, striking out 25 and walking 14.
Southern Miss is hitting .311 with 40 doubles, three triples and 16 homers. They are led by junior outfielder Jeff Cook, who is hitting .416, with one double, a triple, six home runs and has drove in a team-leading 21 runs batted in. He on-base percentage is .505 and his slugging percentage is .688. Sophomore outfielder Carlos Velasquez is second on the team, hitting .375, with six doubles, one triple and three home runs. Senior third baseman Allen Winningham is hitting .373 with eight doubles, one triple, four home runs and has driven in 16 runs.
The Rebels are hitting .345 with 46 doubles, six triples and 18 home runs. They are led by outfielder Seth Smith, who is hitting .473 with one triple, four homers and has driven in 21 runs. Designated hitter Bryce Morrison is hitting .448 with four doubles, one triple and three homers. Third baseman Chad Sterbens rounds out the team's .400 hitting with a .421 batting average. He has five double, one homer and has 18 runs batted in.
Southern Miss travels on Wednesday to New Orleans, La., for a 6:30 p.m., contest with the Privateers of New Orleans at Privateer Park.
