University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Baseball Hosts Ole Miss On Wednesday
4/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Baseball Hosts Ole Miss On Wednesday
Hattiesburg, Miss. - The Southern Miss baseball team (No. 23 BA/No. 25 NCWBA/No. 27 CB/No. 28 USA Today Coaches Poll) will host instate-rival Ole Miss for a midweek contest at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field (3,678) on Wed., Apr. 9, at 6:30 p.m.
The game will be broadcast on Zoo 107.1-FM with Lance Pittman and John Cox handling the play-by-play duties. For those outside of Hattiesburg, the game can be heard by logging onto SouthernMiss.com.
The Golden Eagles (23-9) enter Wednesday's contest after winning 2-of-3 games against Cincinnati this past weekend. Southern Miss won Friday's game, 15-8, and lost Saturday's, 7-3, before winning the rubber match, 3-2, on Sunday. Southern Miss has won 14 of its last 20 games, dating back to the start of the Southeast Missouri State series on Mar. 7.
The Rebels (20-11) enter the contest after winning 2-of-3 games at Tennessee last weekend. The Vols won Friday's game, 7-2, and Ole Miss won both Saturday's game, 6-3, and Sunday's, 9-8, to win the series. Ole Miss has won 15 of its past 20 games, dating back to Mar. 7, including a 6-3 win over the Golden Eagles on Mar. 26, in Oxford.
This marks the 102nd meeting between the two schools in a series that began in 1913. The Rebels hold a 66-35 series advantage over the Golden Eagles. Southern Miss Head Coach Corky Palmer is 6-8 against Ole Miss and is 1-4 against Rebel Head Coach Mike Bianco.
Southern Miss is hitting .318 with 70 doubles, eight triples and 40 home runs. The pitching staff has a 4.09 ERA in 282 innings, has struck out 242 batters, walked 121 and opponents are hitting .269 against the staff. Ole Miss is hitting .279 with 62 doubles, three triples and 22 home runs. The pitching staff has an outstanding 2.51 ERA in 280 innings, has struck out 214, walked only 91 and opponents are hitting .228 against them.
Southern Miss will send Cliff Russum (So., RHP) to the mound to face Ole Miss' Brae Wright (Fr., LHP). Russum is 3-4 with a 3.59 ERA in 42.2 innings pitched. He has given up 19 runs, 17 earned, on 24 hits, walked 21 and struck out 46. Opponents are hitting only .161 against him. In his last outing, he pitched a complete-game, three-hit victory at Southeastern Louisiana last Wednesday night. He gave up one run on three hits, walked three and struck out nine. In his last two outings, he has pitched two complete games, giving up one run on six hits, walking five and striking out 22.
Wright is 2-1 with a 3.52 ERA in 23.0 innings pitched. He has given up 10 runs, nine earned, on 22 hits, walked four and struck out 10. Opponents are hitting .250 against him. He earned the win the last time the two teams met in Oxford, pitching five innings, giving up three runs on six hits, walking one and striking out three.
Sophomore outfielder Clint King continues to lead the Golden Eagles offense, hitting .397 with nine doubles and is tied for the team lead with 10 home runs. He also has 35 RBIs and six stolen bases. Senior outfielder Jeff Cook is tied with King for the home run lead and now leads the team in RBIs with 39. He is hitting .356, has five doubles and leads the team in stolen bases with nine. Sophomore catcher Brad Willcutt is hitting .339 with a team-leading 15 doubles and has seven home runs to his credit.
Freshman infielder Stephen Head leads the Rebels, hitting 374 with five doubles, one triple, three home runs and has 22 RBIs. Sophomore outfielder Seth Smith is hitting .337 with three doubles, two home runs, 16 RBIs and a team-high 20 walks. Senior infielder Chad Sterbens is hitting .302 with a team-leading 13 doubles, one home run and has driven in 21 runs.
After Wednesday's game, the Golden Eagles host Charlotte for a three-game Conference USA weeke]nd series as part of EagleFest Weekend. Friday's game starts at 6:30 p.m., Saturday's at 4 p.m., and Sunday's at 1 p.m.
