March for Omaha|Rebels open home regional vs. Monmouth
Published 12:00 am Friday, May 29, 2009
Hopefully for Ole Miss, the home confines of Oxford University Stadium will be more favorable than last week’s short stay at Regions Park for the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
The Rebels (40-17) went two and out at the SEC, but today, they get another chance at the NCAA Tournament’s Oxford Regional, hosting a four-team field. Ole Miss has the nightcap at 7 against Northeast Conference champ Monmouth University (32-23) of New Jersey.
Oxford Regional
Today
Game 1 — Missouri vs. Western Kentucky, 3 p.m.
Game 2 — Ole Miss vs. Monmouth, N.J., 7 p.m.
Radio: 1490 AM
The double elimination tournament opens this afternoon at 3 when the Big 12’s Missouri Tigers (34-25) meet Western Kentucky (39-18) of the Sunbelt Conference.
Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said this week being at home will be a big plus for his team. It better be. Reports said the school bid nearly $250,000 to host the regional.
“We know the surroundings, the mound and the field, so it should help us,” Bianco said. “We’re real excited to host a regional for the fifth time in the last six seasons. We’re excited our fans get to see us play another weekend and for us to play in an atmosphere that we feel is as good as any in college baseball.”
The Rebels know little about Monmouth but they are familiar with Missouri. The two teams met twice last year at the Coral Cables Regional hosted by the University of Miami. The Tigers won the opening game behind their ace, Kyle Gibson. Gibson shut out the Rebels 7-0, but Ole Miss came back through the loser’s bracket and won the rematch against Missouri 9-6 to advance to the finals against Miami.
“We know something about Missouri, having seen them twice last year. We know little about Monmouth other than they won their league. We also know that Western Kentucky comes in pretty hot,” Bianco said.
Monmouth is led at the plate by Chris Callazo, who has a .385 average and has driven in 46 runs.
Gibson is back to lead Missouri, which advanced to the Big 12 title game before falling to Texas 12-7. Gibson is 10-3 with a 3.47 ERA and has struck out 123 batters.
Western Kentucky is paced by Matt Rice with a .393 average and 66 RBIs. The Hilltoppers were 21-8 in the Sunbelt.
Ole Miss will counter with leadoff batter and All-SEC pick Jordan Henry of Vicksburg. The former Gator led the SEC with 34 steals and 50 walks. He batted .342 with a .477 on-base percentage while scoring a team best 65 runs.
Bianco will send Drew Pomeranz to the mound against Monmouth. He is 6-4 with a staff-best 88 strikeouts. The Hawks will counter with Ryan Buch (7-4, 4.11 ERA, 87 strikeouts).
Monmouth opened its season with a pair of series against Conference USA schools East Carolina and Central Florida. They lost all three games against East Carolina, which also happens to be hosting a NCAA regional this weekend. They went 1-2 against Central Florida.
Missouri played Pac-10 power Arizona State to three close games, going 1-2. They also finished 1-3 against Texas. Both Texas and Arizona State are national seeds.
Scott Bittle, the 2008 Ferriss Tophy winner, remains a day-to-day decision for the Rebels. Bittle (6-2) missed the last two weekend series and all of the SEC Tournament with a bicep injury.
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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com