Bianco's Boys

Below is the release from UMAA on the Number 4 pre-season ranking by Baseball America. It is hard to imagine that first pitch is about a month away. These Rebels will be very talented and possibly the most talented ever to suit up for the Rebs.

We will discuss this team in further detail at a later date, as I am anxious to see what people think this Rebel team will accomplish.

On a side note, notice that the season is starting a little later this year. The northern schools complained about having to go on the road for the first month of the season. I think this will effect pitching as the year goes on. Teams will need alot more depth due to the fact they will be playing more mid week games in the same amount of time as previous seasons.

(UMAA)
OXFORD, Miss. – When Ole Miss takes the field on opening day, the Rebels will do so as the fourth-ranked program in the country according to Baseball America, the publication announced on Tuesday.

Baseball America is the fourth poll to be released this season and third to have the Rebels ranked in the top 10 in the preseason. The publication also joins Collegiate Baseball as ranking the Rebels in the top five, as both publications placed the Rebels fourth.

Ole Miss enters the 2008 season off a third-straight appearance in an NCAA Super Regional and posted a 40-25 record last season before falling to third-ranked Arizona State in the round of 16. The Rebels are one of only two teams to host a regional each of the last four seasons and one of only four teams to advance to a Super Regional each of the last three seasons.

The Rebels have also been the top performing team in the Southeastern Conference over the last five years, posting more wins in SEC play than any other team (86). Ole Miss is also the only team in the Southeastern Conference to post a winning record in conference play each of the last five seasons.

In 2008, the Rebels return one of the top pitching staffs in the nation as Ole Miss posted a 3.58 ERA and held opponents to a .240 batting average a year ago. The seven shutouts posted by the Rebels was also the most in the SEC.

Ole Miss returns two All-SEC performers on the mound, as junior right-handers Lance Lynn and Cody Satterwhite are expected to help lead the Rebels in the upcoming season. Lynn posted an 8-5 record in 2007, including wins over No. 1 Vanderbilt and complete-game shutouts of No. 4 South Carolina and Southern Miss in the NCAA Oxford Regional. Lynn also set the school record for strikeouts in a season with 146. Satterwhite posted four saves and four wins in relief as a closer for the Rebels as he posted saves over Auburn, No. 4 South Carolina, and Tennessee twice, while also notching wins in relief over No. 25 Alabama, No. 9 Arkansas, Georgia and Southern Miss.

The Rebels also return a solid offensive lineup and a bulk of its position starters including Freshman All-America selections Jordan Henry and Zach Miller. Henry, who was also named SEC Freshman of the Year, is the top returning hitter for the Rebels as he hit .376 as a freshman with 17 RBI, a home run and 60 runs scored. Miller hit .368 on the season with four home runs, 31 RBI and 39 runs scored for the Rebels. Also returning to the lineup are the top two power hitters from a year ago in junior Cody Overbeck, who hit a team-leading 14 home runs, and junior Logan Power who hit 11 home runs.
The fourth-ranked Rebels will open the 2008 season at home on Friday, February 22, 2008, when Ole Miss will host Minnesota in the first game of a three-game set. First-pitch of opening day is set for 3:00 p.m. at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field.