University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
This Week in Southern Miss Baseball
2/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 16, 2009
This Week's Schedule:
Monday 2/16: Practice at Pete Taylor Park
Tuesday 2/17: Practice at Pete Taylor Park
Team autograph session after the men's basketball game vs. East Carolina at Reed Green Coliseum. Tip off is set for 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday 2/18: Practice at Pete Taylor Park
Thursday 2/19: Practice at Pete Taylor Park
Friday 2/20: Lehigh University at Southern Miss- 4:00 p.m.
Saturday 2/21: Lehigh University at Southern Miss- 3:00 p.m.
Sunday 2/22: Lehigh University at Southern Miss- 11:00 a.m.
*All practice dates and times are tentative and subject to change without prior notice
TWIB Notes:
· Southern Miss enters the 2009 season ranked No. 33 in the preseason poll by the Collegiate Baseball Magazine
· Senior Brian Dozier enters the 2009 season leading the NCAA in career hits with 253, eighth in runs with 141 and sixth in total bases. Bo Davis is seventh in triples with 11 and Michael Ewing is third in walks with 102.
· Dozier and second baseman James Ewing were selected by the C-USA coaches to the preseason All-Conference Team. Ewing was also selected to the Baseball America All-C-USA preseason team.
· Both Dozier and Ewing were named to the preseason Brooks Wallace Award watch list, given annually to the national player of the year
· Dozier will start his 97th consecutive game at shortstop on Friday, a streak that dates back to April 6, 2007 vs. UCF
· Friday's season opener begins an eight game homestand at "The Pete" and starts a stretch in which 20 of the next 23 games will be played at home for the Golden Eagles
· Southern Miss is 75-19 since the 2006 season at "The Pete"
· The Golden Eagles have won five consecutive season openers with the last opening day loss coming in 2003 to McNeese State, 4-2
· Southern Miss is 9-2 under Palmer on opening day
· This weekend's series will be the first match up between Lehigh and Southern Miss
· The only other school Southern Miss has ever played from Pennsylvania is Gannon College (Erie, Penn.) who the Golden Eagles defeated 32 times between 1970-85 without suffering a loss
· The Golden Eagles have not ever played a game in the state of Pennsylvania and Lehigh has never played a game in Mississippi nor faced a team from the state.
The Week's Opponent:
Lehigh University, which is located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 50 miles south of Philadelphia and 75 miles east of New York City, relied heavily on its freshman class in 2008, with five of the regular starters coming from the new class. Those players now have a full season of experience under their belts and look to be the foundation of the team as sophomores.
The 2009 Mountain Hawks will be a more battle-tested squad than the previous edition of the Brown and White. They will have plenty of depth at most of the positions to choose from, and head coach Sean Leary said they will use speed and energy to have success in the Patriot League this year.
Record Watch:
· Brian Dozier needs only 60 hits to break Trey Sutton's school career hit record of 312
· Dozier needs only 31 singles to break the school's single record of 224 held currently by Trey Sutton
· With 47 hits Dozier will join Sutton as the only Golden Eagle players in school history to accumulate 300 career hits
· Bo Davis needs only two triples to tie the school's career triple record of 13 set by Chad Herbert from 1989-92
Preseason Awards and Honors:
Brooks Wallace Award Watch List
(National Player of the Year)
All-Conference USA
(Selected by C-USA Coaches)
Baseball America All-Conference Team
SEBaseball.com All-Conference First Team
SEBaseball.com All-Conference Second Team
Rivals.com All-Conference Team
Following the Golden Eagles:
WXHB The Hub, 96.5 will once again serve as the flagship radio station for Golden Eagles baseball in 2008. John Cox is in his 27th year calling Golden Eagles baseball. He will be joined in the booth this season by Jack Duggan and Jason Baker.
Southernmiss.com will once again stream live stats of all 52 games on a real time basis and live video will be available for all home games and selected road games through Southern Miss All-Access
This Week at "The Pete":
Youth Baseball League Recognition Day on Friday February 20. Any youth 13 and under wearing their little league jersey will receive free admission.
Tickets:
Individual game tickets can be purchased through the Pat Ferlise Athletic Ticket Office on West 4th St., from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday, over the phone at 1-800-844-TICK (8425) or online at SouthernMiss.com. The Pete Taylor Park ticket office will open approximately two hours prior to first pitch.
Also, season tickets packages are still available in the reserved bleacher and general admission sections but the reserved chair back seats have already been sold out.
Discounted group tickets are also available for groups of 15 or more. For more information on bringing your group to "The Pete" contact Brain Morrison at 601.266.6866
Conference USA Tournament:
The 2009 Conference USA Tournament will be held this season at Pete Taylor Park from May 20-24. Tournament Ticket books are now on sale at the Southern Miss ticket office.
