"We know we have a tremendous challenge in front of us, playing a very talented Ole Miss team in a hostile environment," said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. "We only have each other to rely upon when we're on the road, and I know our players are going to perform with a lot of confidence. LSU-Ole Miss is a great rivalry, and I expect that it will bring out the best in both teams this weekend." LSU has not won a series in Oxford since 2004 - the Tigers are 1-8 in their last nine games at Ole Miss. LSU was swept by the Rebels in Oxford in 2006 and 2010, and the Tigers dropped two of three at Ole Miss in 2008. This season, LSU is 4-5 on the road in SEC play (lost series @ Auburn 1-2, lost series @ Kentucky 1-2, won series @ Florida, 2-1) Ole Miss is 21-6 at home this season, including winning their series vs #5 Florida and #13 Arkansas "I think we have the best home-field advantage in the nation," said Friday night ace Bobby Wahl. "Especially our student section out there; you can just hear them giving a hard time to the guy warming up or the right fielder." The Rebels feed off the energy of their crowds—which regularly check in between 10,000 and 11,000 on weekends—and are very tough to beat at Swayze Field. So if Ole Miss can host a regional, its path to its first College World Series since 1972 will be much more navigable. And a series win this weekend is critical for hosting to remain a viable possibility. Fortunately, the Rebels are at home. "We're going to have a very, very, very strong crowd this weekend," Senior first baseman Matt Snyder said. "They're definitely going to be out supporting us. They're going to be going crazy. I can't wait to see how they are out there. I'm already getting goosebumps for it." the Ole Miss single-game attendance record is 10,323 in 2009, their biggest attendance vs LSU was 9,412 in 2008 (5th-best in Ole Miss history) Team ERA 3.20 (#5 in SEC) -- LSU 3.32 (#6 in SEC) -- Ole Miss Team Batting Average .307 (#3 in SEC) -- Ole MIss .301 (#4 in SEC) -- LSU Fielding Percentage in SEC Play .979 -- Ole Miss .974 -- LSU
Saturday's game will be televised by SportSouth/Fox Sports Houston (Cox Cable Ch. 38), and it can also be viewed at www.ESPN3.com.
PITCHING MATCHUPS Game 1 LSU - So. RHP Kevin Gausman (7-1, 3.12 ERA, 75.0 IP, 20 BB, 97 SO) UM - So. RHP Bobby Wahl (5-1, 2.09 ERA, 60.1 IP, 23 BB, 67 SO) Game 2 LSU - So. RHP Ryan Eades (5-2, 3.29 ERA, 65.2 IP, 17 BB, 47 SO) UM - So. RHP Mike Mayers (4-2, 3.69 ERA, 63.1 IP, 19 BB, 43 SO) Game 3 LSU - Fr. RHP Aaron Nola (5-2, 3.90 ERA, 55.1 IP, 4 BB 54 SO) UM - TBA Baseball America: Bobby Wahl his showdown against LSU's Kevin Gausman—a leading candidate for the No. 1 overall pick this June—should be a gem. Both guys are dogged competitors with fastballs that reach the mid-90s and quality secondary stuff. "Gausman is a great pitcher, and I know he's got unbelievable stuff," Wahl said. "I love that. I love that battle, to match a guy pitch for pitch and try to win the game." R.J. Hively -- his 81-84 mph slider is a wipeout pitch that misses bats against both righties and lefties. He'll attack hitters with that pitch over and over again, much like former Ole Miss closer Scott Bittle used to dominate with his cutter. He also has a quality 90-92 fastball that he can cut or sink, and even an occasional changeup—but the slider is his bread-and-butter. "When you see a closer, a lot of times you see a closer like Mariano (Rivera) or somebody like that who has an offspeed or a breaking pitch that can really shut the door," Snyder said. "That's what he has. He throws that thing as fast as his fastball sometimes. When you've got that thing coming at you, it's tough. It's fun to have him back there, kind of like Bittle." Bianco originally planned to use Hively in more of a flex role, where he would pitch in relief if needed Friday or Saturday and otherwise would start on Sunday. But after seeing Hively bounce back from an extended relief outing Saturday to strike out two in a 1-2-3 ninth Tuesday against Southern Miss, BIanco indicated he was inclined to leave Hively in the bullpen stopper role. Josh Laxer -- pitches in the 91-94 range and effectively mixes in a sharp 82-83 power slider. He has the ability to be a major weapon down the stretch for Ole Miss. Dylan Chavez -- Bianco said he is likely to start lefthander Dylan Chavez this Sunday. His 88-92 mph fastball, 80-81 slider and funky delivery has made him a key bullpen option all year, and ideally the Rebels would keep him as a key southpaw in the bullpen, if Laxer takes the Sunday job.
Ole Miss had to leadoff guys on in the 10th. Rumbelow and then Bouvillon(?) struck out 2 batters to end the inning. Tied 3-3 going to the 11th.
after 10, 3 all Ole Miss' best hitter, Yarbrough, was up with 2 outs and 2 runners on base, and Bonvillain K'd him!
to start off the bot 11, Bonvillain K's Snyder, the other best hitter for Ole Miss (clean up hitter and top slugger)!
Bonvillain down in the count 3-1, Ole Miss fans going crazy now full count after foul now fly out 2 away
