Ole Miss and Vandy set to meet in a SEC showdown
By: Adam Brown, Sports Editor of Hottytoddy.com
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com
The Ole Miss baseball team returns to the diamond tonight at Swayze Field to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Ole Miss (23-6, 4-5 SEC) currently sits at number 16 in the nation according to the USA Today / ESPN Coaches poll. This is after dropping back-to-back weekend series against the Texas A&M Aggies and the Florida Gators.
The relief pitching for the Rebels was solid against Florida, only allowing one earned run through 12 innings of play.
Junior Stuart Turner leads Ole Miss at the plate with a .418 average, while also driving in 34 RBI’s on the season.
No. 2 Vanderbilt (26-4, 8-1 SEC) rolls into Oxford after a come-from-behind weekend series sweep of the Tennessee Volunteers. They picked up a midweek win at Middle Tennessee State on Tuesday.
Commodores junior Tony Kemp brings a .375 batting average to lead the team, while driving in a total of 19 RBI’s in the series.
The pitching rotation by Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin for this weekend’s matchup includes junior left-hander Kevin Ziomek (tonight), sophomore right-hander Tyler Bleede (Saturday). Sunday’s pitcher has not yet been announced. The Rebels will send Wahl, Mayers and Smith to the hill.
Ole Miss and Vanderbilt have met 113 times on the diamond since the first encounter between the two in Oxford back in 1900. The Rebels hold a 59-52-2 lead in the all time series, and Ole Miss has a 30-17 lead in the all time series played in Oxford.
Fans can catch all of the action between the Commodores and the Rebels on the radio at Q 93.7 or on ESPN 3. Game times for this series are at 6:30 p.m. (Friday), 4:00 p.m. (Saturday) and 1:30 p.m. (Sunday).
