Collegiate Baseball's New Poll

1. Vanderbilt (39-8)
2. Florida St. (39-7)
3. Arkansas (35-12)
4. Virginia (37-10)
5. North Carolina (37-10)
6. Rice (37-11)
7. Texas (37-12)
8. Oregon St. (34-9)
9. Arizona St. (34-12)
10. San Diego (34-14)
11. UCLA (24-18)
12. Wichita St. (36-12)
13. Michigan (30-8)
14. Mississippi (30-16)
15. Mississippi St. (28-12)
16. U.C. Riverside (27-16)
17. South Carolina (33-13)
18. Arizona (32-11)
19. Pepperdine (30-15)
20. Cal. St. Fullerton (27-15)
21. Missouri (31-12)
22. Oklahoma St. (31-13)
23. Clemson (29-15)
24. Georgia Tech. (27-17)
25. Texas A&M (35-11)
26. U.C. Irvine (31-12-1)
27. Texas Christian (34-10)
28. Stetson (32-12)
29. St. John’s (29-12)
30. Coll. of Charleston (34-10)

As Predicted

As predicted former Ole Miss linebacker Patrick Willis was picked up early in the first round by the San Francisco 49er's. His was the first linebacker drafted and was picked 11th overall. This is great news for Willis, who had it tough growing up in Tennessee. The 49er's are picking up a great football player. Some project he could be one of the best linebackers in the league in the next few years. I think it will be interesting to see how Willis makes the adjustment in the near future.

Something I did not see coming was the drafting of Trumaine McBride. McBride was picked up in the 7th round by the Chicago Bears. This flew right over my head. I guess I did not realize that McBride was on the radar screen to be drafted by some teams. But congrats to McBride.

Other NFL news is that Rory Johnson(Rufus French) signed as a free agent with the Green Bay Packers. Johnson left the Rebels after one year of playing linebacker and not going to class. This guy has been said by some to have put up a 0.0 GPA after last semester. It is also being reported that Johnson failed two drug tests and that is the reason he went undrafted. What an idiot. This obviously did not go as planned for Johnson. But to be honest it does not surprise me.

Only other free agents I have seen is that Andrew Wicker has signed with the Jets and Lawrence Lilly has been picked up by the Browns.

Little Henry Named Freshman of the Week

(SID)Jordan Henry was named Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week the league office announced on Monday.

Henry becomes the second member of the squad to be named to the honor as he helped lead the 18th-ranked Rebels to a 3-1 record on the week, including a series win over No. 17 Mississippi State this past weekend.

Henry led the Rebels at the plate for the week, hitting .565 as he went 13-for-23 with multiple hits in all four games. He scored seven runs and notched a double and a triple as he posted four multiple hit games on the week. The outfielder went 5-for-6 in Friday’s series opener against the Bulldogs as he scored four runs and was a home run away from the cycle.

In Sunday’s game against the Bulldogs, Henry was 4-for-8, tying the single game record for at bats by an individual player.

It marked the fourth straight series win for the Rebels over Mississippi State as Ole Miss has now won 12 of the last 17 games against the Bulldogs.

Henry tallied a .696 slugging percentage and a .583 on base percentage for the week.

Ole Miss will return to action on Wednesday when the Rebels travel to take on Memphis at AutoZone Park. First-pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.

A Long One

It was a long weekend and a long game today. I will post more of the weekend later, but due to the length of the game, I was late getting home and will just copy the SID report from today for everyone's discussion tomorrow.


(SID)OXFORD, Miss. – It took almost five hours, but after 17 innings of baseball it fell the way of the Bulldogs as No. 17 Ole Miss (30-16, 12-9 SEC) fell to No. 18 Mississippi State (28-12, 10-9 SEC) by a score of 4-1.

Mississippi State pushed three runs across in the 17th inning to snap a 1-1 tie and avoid the sweep in the weekend series as Ole Miss was unable to answer in the bottom half of the inning.

The 17 inning game tied for the longest in Ole Miss history and was the longest in the series between the two teams. Ole Miss also played a 17 inning game against Arizona on March 3, 2001, a 5-4 win for the Rebels in head coach Mike Bianco’s first season with the Rebels.

Scott Bittle (2-5) suffered the loss after entering the game in the 17th inning as he gave up three runs on five hits with a strikeout. Starter Nathan Baker worked 7.0 innings as he allowed only one run on five hits with a walk and five strikeouts. Cody Satterwhite, who entered in relief in the seventh, worked 9.0 scoreless innings of relief as he allowed only three hits with two walks and four strikeouts before Bittle replaced him to open the final inning.

One of the Biggest Ever

This weekend's baseball matchup between Ole Miss and Mississippi State could be one of the bigger weekend's in Ole Miss baseball history. Both Mississippi State and Ole Miss RPI are ranked in the top 12. Both teams are playing for the chance to host a regional and a possible super regional. State is .006 percentage points ahead of Ole Miss in the SEC West standings, mostly due to a two game rain out against Tennessee several weeks ago.

Ole Miss is coming off a big series win agianst top 5 South Carolina and MSU is coming off a series loss to LSU at home. State was rocky at the beginning of the season, but has since worked out it's pitching rotation and have improved alot since the rotation was changed. It is my prediction that Ole Miss will win 2 out of 3 this weekend, however I think all the games will be close. Below is the pitching matchup released by the SID.

FRIDAY, 6:30 P.M.
MSU - Chad Crosswhite (So., RHP, 5-1, 41.2 IP, 3.24 ERA)
OM - Will Kline (Jr., RHP, 5-1, 78.0 IP, 3.23 ERA)
NOTING KLINE: Kline posted his fifth win of the season to open the series against #4 South Carolina Kline. Kline has struck out 87 and walked only 25 on the season as he is second on the team in strikeouts. He is holding opponents to a .215 batting average to date.

SATURDAY, 3 P.M.
MSU - Justin Pigott (Jr., LHP, 3-3, 59.2 IP, 5.58 ERA)
OM - Lance Lynn (So., RHP, 4-3, 71.2 IP, 2.64 ERA)
NOTING LYNN: Two-time SEC Pitcher of the Week, Lynn leads the Rebels in strikeouts with 90 while walking only 25 on the year. Lynn is coming off a complete game shutout of #4 South Carolina on Saturday that saw him strikeout a career-high 12 batters while only allowing three hits on the afternoon. Lynn has posted five double-digit strikeout performances this season.

SUNDAY, 1:30 P.M.
MSU - Josh Johnson (Sr., RHP, 2-2, 39.1 IP, 6.18 ERA)
OM - Nathan Baker (Fr., LHP, 5-1, 46.2 IP, 3.86 ERA)
NOTING BAKER: Baker will make his fourth SEC start on Sunday and is 2-0 in three starts to date. He is tied with Will Kline for the team lead in wins with five on the year. He has struck out 31 and walked only 12 on the season as he moved from mid-week starter to weekend starter against the Georgia Bulldogs.

Where Will Willis Go

One thing I have failed to mention this week is the NFL draft which will take place on Saturday. Ole Miss should have one of the top 10-15 draft picks with linebacker Patrick Willis. Willis draft stock has definately jumped since the end of the season in November. At one point last season I questioned Patrick's speed, probably one of the more stupid posts I ever made. Willis impressed alot of scout's with his speed at combines, at one point recording a sub 4.3 in the 40, which is extremely fast.

I looked at several sites that had Willis anywhere from a 12-15 pick. Patrick will be very rich come Saturday, and it could not happen to a better guy.

(NFL.com)One of the few bright spots during the Rebels' rebuilding process, Willis established himself as the best middle linebacker in college football the last two years. He played most of the 2005 season with a broken right hand, but still ranked sixth in the nation in tackles per game (10.9). He surpassed those totals in 2006, again ranking sixth nationally with an average of 11.42 tackles per game.
One of the most respected players in the country, Willis is also one of the most liked personalities away from the game. A leader both on the field and off, he is heavily involved in community service. Despite all of the accolades he has received the last two seasons, he quietly goes about his job.
How far he has come on and off the field is because of his tireless work ethic. Willis came from a split family environment, as his mother left home more than 15 years ago. At age six, Patrick was cooking breakfast for his younger sister and brothers. At 10, he was picking cotton around his home. The proceeds went to his father, Ernest, to pay the utilities. Even now, Patrick says it wasn't that bad.

Going Out on Top

Carol Ross made it official today as she resigned from the University of Mississippi as the Lady Rebel basketball coach. Many people were in shock and disbelief when this was rumored, due to the success that Ross has had at Ole Miss. Some people rumored there was bad blood between Ross and the administration, but I searched for that and it appears to be nothing but a bunch of internet non sense. What Ross will do in the future, I do not know. What I do know is that Ole Miss is losing a heck of a coach.

Assistant Coach Renee Ladner will take over the head coaching duties. Some in the internet world will complain that Ole Miss do not do a nationwide search for this, but I think it is a good hire. Ladner, an Ole Miss alum, has coached with Ross for the past 6-8 years and learned everything she knows. I think it is a good move for the program.

(SID)OXFORD, Miss. -- In a busy day for Ole Miss Director of Athletics Pete Boone, it was announced here that Carol Ross would resign as the women’s basketball head coach after four successful seasons, while it was also announced that current assistant coach Renee Ladner would be promoted to the position of head coach. Ladner’s appointment is pending approval of the Board of Trustees, State Institutions of Higher Learning.

Upon becoming the fifth head coach in Ole Miss history, Ross set forth to put the winning tradition back into the Rebel program. As her fourth season has come to a close, Ross is stepping out of the role as head coach knowing she has accomplished exactly what she came back to do.

“My responsibilities as head coach of this program were two fold: to give back to Ole Miss and to restore the women’s basketball program to national prominence. Today, I resign as the head women's basketball coach at Ole Miss confident my mission has been completed.”

In her four seasons at the helm of the Rebel program, Ross has taken the Rebels from the doormat of the Southeastern Conference to the upper echelon of the nation’s top conference for women’s basketball.

Is Ross Out

Rumors are floating around that Carol Ross has possibly resigned from Ole Miss. This idea is being thrown around on several internet sites on the web. Yes I know some of you are thinking this is women's basketball, who cares. But this would be a shock to me. Ross just led Ole Miss to one of if not the most successful season in Lady Rebel basketball history. Ross brought a program out of the cellar of the SEC and has converted them into a pretty good team over the past few years. She graduated from Ole Miss and was a good player for the Lady Rebs. Pete Boone made a statement today which is posted below. I guess we will find out tomorrow. But it would be a total shock if she has resigned.

(SID)OXFORD, Miss. -- Ole Miss Athletics Director Pete Boone said Wednesday night that an announcement concerning the women's basketball program is expected on Thursday.Boone also noted that additional information will be released on the University's Official Athletics Site when it becomes available.

Rebs Add Another One to the Win Column

Ole Miss was back in the mid week win column with a win tonight over Murray State. The Rebels had a good night and alot of guys got to play. It was also a good night for the pitching staff only allowing two hits all night. Granted Murray State was a pretty week team, but the guys performed well all around. At the plate the Rebels connected for eight hits and won the game 9-0. Cody Overbeck was 2-2 for the night with 2 rbi's and a home run.

This is the only game the Rebels will play during the mid week before a tough weekend matchup against the guys from Starkville.

Lynn Pitcher of the Week

(SID) OXFORD, Miss. – Sophomore right-hander Lance Lynn was named Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Week, the league office announced on Monday.

Lynn picked up the honor for the second time this season after pitching a complete-game shutout of fourth-ranked South Carolina on Saturday as the Rebels clinched the weekend series with a 6-0 win. The sophomore struck out a career-high 12 batters in the outing and allowed only three hits on the afternoon.

It is the second time this season Lynn was named Pitcher of the Week by the SEC office. He also received the award after pitching the Rebels to a 6-1 win on the road over No. 1 Vanderbilt. Lynn has now posted wins over two top-5 teams this season on his way to a 4-3 record.

Against the Gamecocks on Saturday, Lynn retired the first seven batters before allowing a runner on base with a walk. Only six runners reached base on the afternoon in 30 at bats, with no base runner advancing past second. Only two batters advanced past first. Lynn did not give up his second hit of the game until the eighth inning on an infield single.

A GREAT Weekend

It was a great weekend of Ole Miss baseball. The Rebels took 2 of 3 from South Carolina in three games in which the Rebels played some of the best ball they have played all year. This series win means big things for the team. I think it restored some confidence the team had lost in the last week or so.

The game this afternoon was one of the craziest I had seen in a while. For different times in the game, all a player at the plate had to do was make any kind of contact with the pitch and it was going out of the park. The wind played a huge impact in the game.It benefited both teams, but it definitely helped South Carolina more than the Rebs.

South Carolina got up big on the Rebs early, but the Rebels answered throughout the game, eventually tieing the Gamecocks. However they came up short in the end losing 11-9. The Rebs out hit South Carolina 16-9, but once again had trouble getting those hits into runs. However I liked the way the Rebs played and fought in this game.

In state rival MSU is on tap next weekend. State has a very slight edge in the SEC standings, so alot is at stake for both teams. I anticipate alot of Dogs and Rebs in the stands for this one, it is going to be one of the bigger series these two have had with each other. More on this series as the week goes by.

Rebels vs Gamecocks

It is a big weekend in my opinion for the Ole Miss baseball team. Over the past week or so the Rebels have struggled with their opponents and aside from one game have had trouble getting runners to the plate. The Rebels really need a sweep this weekend, however I will settle for a two game series win. But I think a sweep could do wonders for not only the team but also the fans. However if they are going to get a series win, they will need to play a heck of alot smarter and better than they have been. I think they have only played up to their talent level a couple of times this season. They are a very talented team, but really need some breakthrough games.

I have not seen the pitching rotation for USC yet, so I am not sure what their pitchers are like. However, coach Ray Tanner and the USC baseball team are always good and are one of the best again this year.

The weather in Oxford should be great, so there is no excuse for bad crowds this weekend. I do not think the crowds have been as good the past few weeks, part could be due to weather or other circumstances. But I expect this weekend will be the biggest crowds thus far.

Evans Back in the SEC

(AP)FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. — Rob Evans, a former head coach at Ole Miss and Arizona State, has joined the Arkansas basketball staff as an assistant to John Pelphrey, hired this month from South Alabama.

Evans, with 38 years of college experience, was fired from Arizona State last year after an 11-17 season. The 60-year-old coach had a 119-120 record while coaching the Sun Devils from 1999-2006. His final team led the Pac 10 in three-point shooting (37 percent) and lost four games by four points or less, with another loss in overtime.At Ole Miss from 1993-1998, Evans led the school to consecutive SEC Western Division titles and NCAA Tournament bids. He took over a program that had had just one winning season in the previous nine seasons and only one NCAA Tournament bid in its history.In 1997, he was named SEC coach of the year.

WHO??????????????

There was Troy State and then there was Gardner-Webb. Who? Mississippi State announced today they will play Gardner-Webb in football next season to fill a void in the schedule left open by Jacksonville State. Who?

Some of you may be asking if Gardner-Webb is a residence hall on State's campus, because the name sounds like one. You may be wandering if CroomsDogs might be playing an intramural team. No, that is not the case. Gardner-Webb is an actual university. Who?

Gardner Webb is a Division 1 AA school located in Boiling Springs, NC and a member of the Big South Conference in football. They have only been a Division 1 AA school since 2000 and has a whopping enrollment of 4,000. Who?

I knew State was in trouble when it announced a few weeks ago that they needed to fill a hole in their schedule. But I had no clue they would schedule like this. This will do wonders for their RPI and strength of schedule.

Gardner-Webb is coming off a 6-5 2006 season, below were a few of their opponents:

Glenville State(W)
Coastal Carolina(L)
Wofford(L)
Charleston Southern(L)
UT-Martin(L)

Just two years ago in 2005 Gardner-Webb played another stellar Mississippi football school-Bellhaven.

There have been rumors floating around that State tried to contact the Delta Devils form Mississippi Valley State to play them, but the Valley wanted $15,000 and 75 hamburgers for the bus ride home after the game, but State refused to meet those obligations.

Egg Bowl Change

The powers that be have moved the Egg Bowl to the Friday after Thanksgiving with a noon kick-off in order to accomodate tv. I do not like this move at all. I think it is a terrible time and it will more than likely be on a terrible network, I would assume the Dave Show of Lincoln Financial will broadcast this game. Which will air before the LSU-Arkansas game. I would much rather see this game after the LSU-Arkansas game, there would be a bigger crowd at the game and more people watching it on tv. With the way these two teams have played in the last two years, I will be surprised if there are 40,000 people at the game in Starkville. I really hope they bargain for a better time next year in Oxford.

(SID) OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss and Mississippi State announced Wednesday that this year’s “Battle for the Golden Egg” will be played in Starkville on Friday, November 23, in order to accommodate television. The game had been scheduled for Saturday, November 24.

“After not being on TV the last few years, it’s good to see the Ole Miss-Mississippi State game returning to television,” said Rebel head coach Ed Orgeron. “We are excited about this opportunity and the exposure it brings to our program.”

It will mark the 13th time for a football game between Ole Miss and Mississippi State to be telecast on a regional or national basis, with the Rebels holding a 7-5 victory advantage. Kickoff time for this year’s game at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field is set for noon and will be televised by one of the Southeastern Conference broadcast partners.

Dogs Defeat Rebels

The Governor's/Mayor's Trophy returned to Starkville for the first time in 6 years tonight as the Bulldogs defeated the Rebels 14-9 at Trustmark Park in Pearl, MS. By all accounts for the Rebels, it was an ugly game allowing 7 runs in the fifth inning, in which the Rebels walked multiple runs in. The Dogs got on top early and kept that lead for most of the game except for a couple of innings in which the game was tied 4-4.

Once again the Rebels were able to get a high number of hits, but not able to get those runners to home plate. The Rebels were only able to score 9 runs off of 16 hits compared to State who scored 14 runs off 14 hits and four errors by the Rebels. The Bulldogs seemed to have more desire to win this as the Rebels seemed to be a step slow all night long, committing the most errors in a game this season.

All in all it should be an interesting weekend in two weeks as the Rebels and Dogs square off in Oxford for a three game weekend series. No confirmation yet if Sam H. will be performing on the Square in conjunction with the Double Decker festival that weekend. Now that his musical act has been published on the internet, it is only a matter of time before he is picked up by an agent.

Kennedy Adds Two to Team

(SID)OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss basketball team picked up a pair of athletic additions in the late signing period Tuesday, inking Georgia prep guard Trevor Gaskins and Mississippi JUCO wing Wesley Jones to national letters of intent.

“We are excited about Trevor and Wesley joining the program,” said Rebel head coach Andy Kennedy. “These are two outstanding players that have the opportunity to make an immediate impact. Both possess the physical attributes to help us elevate our overall team athleticism.”

A 6-foot-2, 205-pound native of Alpharetta, Ga., Gaskins played under coach Duke Mullis at Chattahoochee High School, where he averaged 21 points and 8 assists and led the squad to a 22-8 record and the second round of the 5A state playoffs. In a key region game, he turned in a 34-point, 14-assist performance against Wheeler, one of the top teams in the state.
Jones was listed among the nation’s top JUCO prospects following a freshman campaign a year ago that saw him score 16.3 points and grab a team-high 8.9 boards, while shooting 54.0 percent. He poured in 30 points against Holmes in the region tourney semifinals.

A Beatrice, Ala., native, Jones led J.F. Shields High School to the state championship his junior and senior seasons and was an AHSAA All-State honoree.

As Expected

The Clarion Ledger is officially reporting that three Rebel basketball players have left the team. Trey Hampton, Andy Ogide, and Xavier Hansboro have officially left the team according to the C-L and this was confirmed by David Wells of UMAA. This was expected and reported on this site several weeks ago. Look for at least one of them to possibly end up at Georgia State to play for former coach Rod Barnes. I am sure all we be granted releases by the program and free to play wherever. This opens up three more scholarships for Kennedy who signed the two above. Word is Kennedy is still actively recruiting and look for him to pick up possibly a transfer or another player who has yet to sign somewhere. Remember the class Kennedy was able to bring in last year with just Spring recruiting, expect that class to be very similar this year.

Back Online

After almost a week without the internet, and with the help of a tech-savvy roommate the staff of Worldclassglass is back online and operating.

First Baseman Leaves Team

Coach Mike Bianco announced today that freshman first baseman Andrew Clark is no longer with the team. Clark was a highly recruited player out of Indiana last year and one of the top recruits for the Rebels.

There are many rumors on the internet about Clark leaving. Some say it is classroom attendance others have say it is Clarks attitude. I have to go with the later. I do not think Clark ever caught on to the idea that he was a freshman, and that he must earn his spot on the team and repect of those around him. Don't be surprised if you see him on the Louisville roster next year playing for former Rebel assistant Dan McDonnel.

(C-L)OXFORD — Starting first baseman Andrew Clark was dismissed from the Ole Miss baseball team today for violating team rules, coach Mike Bianco said.
“I met with him this morning and after thinking about it over the weekend and for about four days, I thought it was in the best interest of the program that we end his career here as and Ole Miss baseball player,” Bianco said. “It’s disappointing but it’s something we will overcome.”
Ole Miss left Clark behind on its four-game road trip last week because of what Bianco called a violation of team rules. He declined to reveal specifics on Clark’s dismissal Monday, but said the freshman will remain in school the rest of the semester.
Clark, who was a Louisville Slugger All-American as a junior at New Palestine (Ind.) High, started 30 games at Ole Miss and was hitting .311 with 4 home runs and 12 RBIs. His spot in the lineup will be filled by C.J. Ketchum and Peyton Farr.
“It’s just breaking team rules that, over time, we thought it was in the best interest for him not to be a part of it any more,” Bianco said.

Rebs Avoid Sweep

The Rebels rebounded today in full force as they put it on LSU to. avoid the sweep. It started with Evan Button's career first home run to get the bats going. If only the Rebels could have had some of those runs in the previous two games.

Well they did what I ask and avoided a sweep. It was the first time in three games they were able to get runners that were on base to home. They need to carry over the momentum to the Governor's Cup and to South Carolina this coming weekend. It is going to be four tough games.

(SID)BATON ROUGE, La. – Evan Button hit a three-run home run in the second inning to jump-start the Rebel offense as No. 13 Ole Miss (25-13, 8-7 SEC) defeated LSU (21-16-1, 6-8-1 SEC) by a score of 16-5 on Sunday.
 
Ole Miss out hit the Tigers 15-to-10 en route to the win, avoiding the series sweep. Button led the Rebels at the plate with a 3-for-6 performance as he tallied four RBI and scored two runs. Zack Cozart and Fuller Smith also went 3-for-5 on the afternoon as both players drove in a run and scored two runs each.
 
Nathan Baker (5-1) picked up the win as he worked 5.1 innings, allowing four runs, two earned, on eight hits with no walks and three strikeouts. Justin Cryer and Cody Satterwhite closed out the final 3.2 innings, holding the Tigers to one run on two hits the rest of the way.

Still Down

Well my internet is still down, and it will be that way until probably Wednesday. I talked with the cable company, who as always were unhelpful and gave me no set time that they would be here to repair it. So until then I will be posting from my phone. With that being said post may be a little slower and may look weird due to some formatting issues. Iunderstand some people are having withdrawals, but hang in there we will be back soon.If you are reading this just be glad you have internet access as I have not been able to read anything or watch/listen to a single pitch this weekend.

Tigers Dominate Rebels

Although I was not able to listen to the game, I have gotten several accounts from those that did listen to the game. It was evidently another dissapointment for the Reb fans,the third this week alone. Many Rebs were hoping for a series win this weekend, due to the fact the Tigers appeared to be down this year as opposed to previous years. Now that a series win is not going to happen, it is imperitive the Rebels avoid a sweep tomorrow, if they want to stay in contention. If the Rebels can play like they did last Sunday, it should not be a problem. However if they continue to leave runners on base and not get hits like the last three games, they will be facing a sweep.

(SID)BATON ROUGE, La. – For the third straight game the Rebels were unable to string hits together and put up a big inning as No. 13 Ole Miss (24-13, 7-7 SEC) fell to LSU (21-15-1, 6-7-1 SEC) by a score of 8-2 on Saturday.
 
LSU put up three runs in the first inning and never trailed in the game. With the win, the Tigers claimed the series over the Rebels. Ole Miss has not won a series against the Tigers in Baton Rouge since the 1982 season.
 
Lance Lynn (3-3) suffered the loss for the Rebels as he gave up five runs on seven hits with four walks and seven strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work.
 
Ryan Byrd (5-1) picked up the win as he worked a complete game against the Rebels, allowing two runs on seven hits with three strikeouts. He did not walk a batter in the game.
 
Jordan Henry led the Rebels with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate, while Cody Overbeck hit a solo home run in the second in a 2-for-4 performance.
 
“We let it get away from us today,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “We don’t let that happen to us often. We didn’t get it done offensively. We didn’t get it done in the field or make the key pitch.”

Internet Down

My internet is down, so I am posting from a phone. A couple of headlines from today:

-Ole Miss loses 4-2 to Southern Miss tonight. From what I hear the Rebels just could not get the runs to the plate.

-Former Ole Miss womens basketball coach and hall of famer Van Chancellor has accepted the womens job at LSU. Chancellor recently retired from the WNBA. While he is definately qualified, Chancellor is a little old to be starting a new program. Find it a little odd he took this job. Shows he really loves women's basketball.

-MSU is searching for an opponent for it's 12th game next year. Jacksonville State who the dogs were supposed to play are backing out for various reasons. It seems a little late to me for them to going through this search. Somebody told me Troy State had an opening they were looking to fill also.

Props

I have not recognized him all year, but one of the loyal readers of the site put in a good performance for the Rebels this week. Brice Bailey, a Rebel golfer, shot his collegiate best this weekend on the opening round of play, with a 67. Bailey followed that with two rounds of 73 which put him in 12th place. With Brice's play the Rebels were able to bring home a third place finish, one of the many top five this season. Congratulations Brice and good luck at the SEC's.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Led by seniors Callum Macaulay and Brice Bailey, the Ole Miss men’s golf team recorded its lowest 54-hole score of the year, shooting a 286-285-287-858 to take third at the Palisades Collegiate Tuesday.

With the third-place showing, the Rebels earned their fifth top-five finish of the year in 54-hole tournament play. The tournament featured several teams ranked in the GolfWeek Top 50, including No. 4 Lamar, No. 20 Louisville, No. 24 Charlotte, No. 38 Southeastern Louisiana, No. 42 Chattanooga and No. 49 Sam Houston State. In fact, the Rebels finished just two strokes back of second-place Lamar. Host Charlotte won the event with an 849. Ole Miss beat the only other SEC team in the field, as Mississippi State came in ninth with an 878.

Bailey tied for 12th with a career-best 54-hole tournament score of 67-73-73—213. His opening round 67 was also a career-low.

“We equaled our best finish of the spring and shot our lowest score of the year,” head coach Ernest Ross said. “The guys have worked really hard to improve their scores and it showed in this tournament. We are proud of Callum for finishing second in a strong field. He played great. I would also like to congratulate Brice for carding his best score as a Rebel.”(SID)

Davis Leaves Team

I do not know the story behind this. All I know is one of the persons I was sitting with at the game saw him walk off the field late in the fourth quarter. It is evidently a mutual agreement between the two and there are no hard feelings. Obviously Cliff was not going to be given a shot any time soon at QB. I hate to see this happen. I never saw him play, but was really hoping he would turn out into something. With him being the age he was, I felt like he could help us out in ways other QBs couldn't. A little dissapointed to see this happen, but it obviously was just not working out for him.

(SID)OXFORD, Miss. ­- Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron announced Monday that quarterback Cliff Davis has decided to leave the Rebel football squad.

“Cliff informed us of his decision to no longer be a part of our football program and we wish him well,” Orgeron said.

After spending three years in the Houston Astros organization, Davis gave up his baseball career and joined the Rebels as a non-scholarship player prior to the 2006 football season. A 6-5, 221-pound freshman from Eupora, Miss., Davis did not see any action and was redshirted, which left him with four years of eligibility remaining.

Davis originally signed a football scholarship with University of Alabama in 2003, but chose to begin a professional baseball career.

He compiled an outstanding prep career at Eupora High School and as a senior passed for 1,938 yards and 29 touchdowns, while passing for 1,553 yards and 21 TDs his junior season.

Rebs Win Series

It was a long weekend in Oxford for the Rebel baseball team. It had it's ups and downs to say the least. Friday night the Rebels pulled out a win, that they tried to give away. After being up 6-0, it took the Rebels 13 innings to beat Georgia 9-8. I will probably never witness another game like that in the rest of my life, where the opposing team drops two pop flies to keep the home team alive to eventually win the game.

Saturday did not turn out well for the Rebels as the Bulldogs held on to win 4-3. The Rebels uncharacteristically made 3 turnovers on the day. They got down early and were never able to come back. A late inning small ball rally fell short as Jo Jo Tann popped up a bunt to get a critical out in the bottom of the ninth.

Sunday saw the Rebel bats come alive as they defeated the Dogs 9-0 to win the series. The Bulldogs never really threatened in the game. A more detailed SID report is below.

All in all a series win is good. I was really hoping for a sweep as were most people that are fans of the program, probably including the head coach. I had this one circled as a sweep for quite some time. The Rebs will now have to pick up a win on the road they had not counted on early in the year. Southern Miss and LSU are on tap this week for the Rebs. Should be a tough week.

OXFORD, Miss. – Pitching was the name of the day for the Rebels as freshman Nathan Baker led a trio of young arms on Sunday as No. 10 Ole Miss (24-10, 7-5 SEC) shut out Georgia (11-21, 4-8 SEC) by a score of 9-0.

The win gave the Rebels the series win over the Bulldogs and marked the first time Georgia had been shut out in conference play since the 2005 season. Ole Miss’ last shutout win in conference play also came in the 2005 season.

It is the third combined shutout of the year for the Rebels. Ole Miss out hit the Bulldogs 12 to 4 on the afternoon.

Baker (4-1) picked up the win in his first weekend start as he allowed only three hits, one walk and struck out four batters in his 6.0 innings on the mound. Justin Cryer walked two and struck out one in 2.0 innings of work, while Cody Satterwhite allowed only one hit in the ninth.

Justin Earls (2-2) suffered the loss for the Bulldogs as he gave up four runs, three earned, on five hits with four walks and a strikeout. The Bulldogs used three other pitchers on the afternoon who gave up five more runs on seven hits and three strikeouts.

Cody Overbeck led the Rebels at the plate with a 3-for-5 performance with three RBI and two runs scored. Zack Cozart also went 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored, while Zach Miller was 2-for-3 with an RBI. (SID)

Weekend Preview

It is the annual Red-Blue weekend coming up and I am heading over tomorrow, so I will go ahead and comment on it. As far as football goes, I am not the biggest fan of spring games. I will go and watch for a little while, but will not break it down. Spring has little indication of what the team will be like. I will be interested to see how some of the newcomers play. But basically what will happen is some new freshman or walk on will look outstanding and the people on the Spirit board will praise him and then some veteran will be terrible and the Spirit will knock him down.

As far as the baseball weekend goes, the Rebels are hosting Georgia. With this being a home weekend, there should be big crowds and I am looking for a sweep. The Bulldogs are 10-18 and 3-6 in the SEC. They started the season with a sweep over Auburn, but have lost the last two series. They have not released the weekend rotation yet, so we do not have that to preview. Another Friday win is big in order to solidify the series.

Full report on Sunday night on Monday from the weekend.

Rebs Romp Indians

For the second time this season Ole Miss dominated Arkansas state with a 19-3 victory last night. The Indians, coached by former Rebel Keith Kessinger, have always played us tough. But evidently his team has dropped off a whole lot this year. Good to see the Rebel bats come out again and have alot of people on the mound.

(SID) OXFORD, Miss. – The Rebels set season-highs in hits and runs on Tuesday as No. 10 Ole Miss (22-9) powered past Arkansas State (11-19) by a score of 19-3.

The Rebels pounded out 21 hits in the win, powered by the bat of Kyle Mills as the junior went 2-for-4 at the plate with two home runs. Both home runs were two-RBI shots. The Rebels belted out four home runs as Logan Power and Alex Kliman both got in on the action with two-run shots of their own.

“We had great performances from several different players tonight,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “It’s difficult when you aren’t getting at-bats to come in and produce, but we challenged our guys that they have to come in and perform when they get the chance. We were able to extend the lead tonight and put together big innings that were helped by the home runs.”

Brett Bukvich (4-1) picked up the win as he allowed three runs on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts in his 4.0 innings on the mound. All three runs came on a home run from Tyler Doke in the second inning.

New Baseball Stadium

The virual tour for the new baseball stadium is finally available. This is supposed to be the final release and the one that bids will go out for. Follow this link and click play on the stadium. I would love to hear everyone's thoughts. How this will be complete by February 2008, I have no idea.

http://www.umaafoundation.com/

Chancellor Joins the Hall

ATLANTA (AP) - Former Ole Miss women's basketball coach Van Chancellor joined Phil Jackson and Roy Williams in heading a class of seven named Monday to enter the Basketball Hall of Fame in September.
Chancellor, who attended today's announcement, directed the Rebels from 1979 until 1997 and is the program's all-time leader in coaching victories with a 439-154 record. He was a three-time Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year and was selected National Coach of the Year in 1992, when he guided Ole Miss to the SEC championship.
From 1982-96, Chancellor's Rebels missed only one NCAA Tournament, earning 14 bids including the program's first postseason berth. They advanced in 10 tournaments and reached the Sweet 16 seven times and the Elite Eight on four occassions.
Chancellor went on to lead the WNBA Houston Comets to four straight championships from 1997 through the 2000 season. He also coached the 2004 U.S. gold medal team and has a 38-0 record in international competition.

Chadwick At It Again

A sport I have not commented on much by mistake this spring is the men's tennis team. Coach Billy Chadwick is at it again with his team. They are yet again in the top 10 in the nation and have dominated the SEC thus far this season. I look forward to writing more on them over the next couple of months. Congrats to Chadwick and his guys.

(SID)
OXFORD, Miss. – In the SEC, every match is a tough one, and especially on the road. That’s why it’s always nice to win the home matches. For the No. 10 nationally ranked Ole Miss netters, success at home has been key in capturing two of the last three SEC Championships and five straight SEC West titles. After beating No. 13 LSU 4-3 on Friday and dominating Arkansas 6-1 on Sunday, the Rebels finished the regular season 12-0 at home.

With both wins, the Rebels improved to 18-2 overall and 7-1 in the SEC. Ole Miss heads into a very important road trip next weekend with a two-match lead over LSU and Alabama in the SEC West standings.

“This was a great weekend for us,” head coach Billy Chadwick said. “We took down a very strong LSU team. We showed something when we lost the doubles point to be able to come back and win five of the first sets. LSU has a stronger team than Arkansas, but you always have to watch out for a letdown. We were able to get the doubles against Arkansas, which made it tough for them.”

Two Outta Three

Well the Rebels did what I asked of them on the road at Auburn this weekend. On Thursday I asked for them to get a Friday night win and to take 2 out of 3 from the Winning a series on the road is big in the SEC, and it is very tough to accomplish. Fortunately, the Rebels come back to Oxford now, with midweek matchup against Arkansas State and Red Blue Weekend brings Georgia to town for SEC action.

AUBURN, Ala. – It was a tough day on the diamond Sunday as No. 13 Ole Miss (21-9, 5-4 SEC) saw its five game winning streak snapped in a 3-2 loss at the hands of Auburn (20-11, 1-8 SEC). Ole Miss won the series, but was unable to come up with the road sweep.

The Tiger win snapped an eight-game losing streak in Southeastern Conference play this season, and an 18-game losing streak in SEC play dating back to last season for Auburn.

Ole Miss out hit the Tigers 9-to-7, but the Rebels left nine runners stranded. Zack Cozart and Fuller Smith led the Rebels at the plate as Cozart went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Smith went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Jordan Henry also recorded multiple hits with a 2-for-5 performance and a run scored. (SID Sunday Report)