University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Baseball Faces Intrastate Rival Ole Miss Tuesday In Jackson
4/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Baseball Faces Intrastate Rival Ole Miss Tuesday In Jackson
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The University of Southern Mississippi (27-8, 10-5 Conference USA) baseball team will travel to Jackson, Miss., and Smith-Wills Stadium (5,200) to face the University of Mississippi Rebels (24-12, 7-8 SEC) for the final meeting between the two teams this season. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
The contest will be broadcast on WMXI-98.1 FM, with Lance Pittman and John Cox providing the play-by-play. The broadcast also will be available online by going to SouthernMiss.com, clicking on the Audio/Video link, and going to the baseball schedule from there. LiveStats will be available by clicking the LiveStats icon on the baseball homepage.
This will be the 108th meeting between the two teams, with Ole Miss leading the all-time series 67-40. The teams already clashed twice this season, first in a midweek contest in Oxford, Miss., where the Rebels claimed a 9-1 victory over the Golden Eagles, and the second time in Hattiesburg, Miss., with Southern Miss coming out on top, 10-9, thanks to a three-run walk-off home run by senior third baseman Beau Griffin in the bottom of the ninth inning. Last season, Southern Miss went 3-0 against Ole Miss in meetings at Hattiesburg, Oxford, and Jackson, Miss.
Southern Miss Head Coach Corky Palmer is 11-9 against the Rebels, while Ole Miss Head Coach Mike Bianco is 5-6 against the Eagles.
The Golden Eagles went 3-1 last week, hosting New Orleans on Tuesday night for a midweek nonconference match and Saint Louis over the weekend for a three-game Conference USA matchup. Southern Miss was victorious on Tuesday, 8-1, and Friday, 10-4, but fell on Saturday, 5-1, before bouncing back to claim the series over Saint Louis on Sunday with an 11-4 win. The Golden Eagles currently sit in third place in the Conference USA standings.
Ole Miss is coming off of a week that saw them grab a 10-8 midweek road win from Southeastern Louisiana, then drop 2-of-3 to No. 12 LSU in Baton Rouge, La. The Rebels claimed Friday?s game, 14-8, but fell on Saturday, 7-6, and Sunday, 5-1. Ole Miss currently is tied for fourth with LSU in the SEC Western Division standings.
Southern Miss is scheduled to start junior left-hander Cole Basinger, while the Rebels will send junior right-hander Stoney Stone to the mound.
Basinger is 3-0 with a 7.45 ERA. He has pitched 29 innings in eight appearances and five starts, allowing 26 runs (24 earned) on 41 hits, striking out 23, walking 14 and opponents are batting .333 against him. In his last appearance, against New Orleans last Tuesday, Basinger pitched one inning of relief, giving up one hit, striking out one, and walking one.
Stone is 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA. He has pitched 5.1 innings in three relief appearances, allowing two earned runs on six hits, striking out four and walking two. Opponents are batting .286 against him. In his last appearance against Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday, Stone earned his first win of the season by pitching 2.2 innings of relief, giving up one run on five hits, striking out two and walking one.
The Golden Eagles are currently batting .319 as a team, with 80 doubles, five triples, 41 home runs, and 270 RBIs. The pitching staff has an ERA of 4.61 with 269 strikeouts and 98 walks.
Leading the offense for Southern Miss is junior first baseman Marc Maddox, who is batting .380 with 54 hits, nine doubles, 10 home runs and 36 RBIs. Maddox leads the team in stolen bases with 10, and also leads Conference USA in runs scored, with 47. Beau Griffin is hitting .367 with a team-high 55 hits and 13 doubles, and also has one triple, two home runs and 34 RBIs. Freshman second baseman Trey Sutton is .352 from the plate with 51 hits, six doubles, two triples, five home runs and 28 RBIs, while senior centerfielder Jason Lowery is batting .340 with 51 hits, 11 doubles, one triple, two home runs and 31 RBIs. Redshirt junior Kevin Coker is hitting .318 with 28 hits, five doubles, three home runs and 23 RBIs.
Senior catcher Brad Willcutt broke another Golden Eagle baseball record this past weekend, passing Tommy Davis on the all-time career RBI list. Willcutt surpassed the old record of 204 with a two-run double in Friday?s game against Saint Louis, and his career total currently stands at 209. For the season, he has 55 RBIs and 12 home runs, which is the highest on the team and in Conference USA. He also leads the conference in sacrifice flies with five. Willcutt is currently batting .333 with 47 hits and 12 doubles.
Ole Miss is batting .320 as a team with 86 doubles, six triples, 44 home runs and 263 RBIs. The pitching staff has an ERA of 4.13 with 292 strikeouts and 97 walks.
Junior Brian Pettway leads the offense for the Rebels. He is hitting .446 with 62 hits, 15 doubles, 11 home runs and 40 RBIs. Sophomore outfielder Mark Wright is batting .370 with 37 hits, 10 doubles, eight home runs and 30 RBIs, while sophomore Chris Coghlan is .347 from the plate with 51 hits, 13 doubles, one triple, five home runs and 34 RBIs. Junior Stephen Head is hitting .329 with 47 hits, eight doubles, one triple, 11 home runs and 40 RBIs.
Following Tuesday?s game, Southern Miss will return home to host the No. 1 ranked Tulane Green Wave for a three-game Conference USA weekend series. Friday?s game will begin at 6:30 p.m., Saturday?s at 4 p.m., and Sunday?s at 1 p.m.
For ticket information, contact the Jackson Senators office at 601-362-2294 or by logging on to www.jacksonsenators.com.
