On Deck: Tulane

The last time Ole Miss and Tulane battled on the baseball diamond was in Oxford during the 2006 Regional hosted by the Rebels.

Ole Miss captured victory 12-4 to win the regional in undefeated fashion. The Rebels went on to a Super Regional then things went down hill, we won't focus on that.

Tulane fans were rowdy during the series, easily the second most attending fan base during the regional. The Green Wave also have a history of an above average if not great baseball program.

Here's a quick look at the pitching match-ups for this weekend:

FRIDAY, 6:30 P.M.
TU - Conrad Flynn, Jr., RHP
OM - Drew Pomeranz, Jr., LHP

I'm fairly certain Conrad Flynn moonlights as a surly barkeep in South Boston. He and Drew might have even met perchance then. Both pitchers know what they are doing when they are on the bump, and Pomeranz has not disappointed so far this year, striking out 15 in his last appearance. Flynn has held opposing batters to a sub-.200 average in his 14 IP. This will not be an especially low-scoring game by any means, I think Flynn and Pom will both give up a couple dingers in a close game.

SATURDAY, 2:00 P.M.
TU - Matt Petition, Sr., LHP
OM - Aaron Barrett, Sr., RHP

Barrett will look to continue his masterful start to the 2010 season. His 0.75 ERA from 12 IP leads the team, and it seems that Barrett has settled down from last year's struggles. Petition could give the Rebels some match-up issues being a southpaw with a couple years of experience. This is again most likely going to be a close game and surprisingly low scoring.

SUNDAY, 1:00 P.M.
TU - Robby Broach, Soph., RHP
OM - Trent Rothlin, Jr., RHP

Broach has only started one game for the Green Wave, and though he was credited the win, he sports a 7.20 ERA. Although it is early in this season, Broach had a 5-2 record last year with a 5.15 ERA. Rothlin has been a rock on Sundays so far, but this will be his first road start in a Rebel uniform. I think the Rebels capture the series with a more impressive win in this game.

Offensively, Tulane can flat out hit the ball all over the field. Blake Crohan is batting .500 after starting the first six games, though he is not a power hitter from what the stats read. Tulane has five home runs on the season, and for a team that produces over six runs per game, it looks like they use fundamental small ball to move players around the bases.

Tulane's 5-3 record comes from a fairly unimpressive schedule thus far. Losing a three-game home series to Boston College is no way to start a season. The Green Wave were also toppled by South Alabama earlier this week in Mobile, though the Jaguars are usually a fairly solid team. 

I plan to make it down to NOLA for at least one game LIKE ANY GOOD REBEL SHOULD. Just a heads up, the good tickets are about $20 per Ticketmaster, but bleacher seats are $13. Might as well spring for the chairbacks.

I've also heard they sell booze in the stadium. I'll update this as soon as possible to make sure everyone has plenty of cash on hand to go to the game if so.

Final Prediction

Rebels take two of three from Tulane, losing either the Friday or Saturday match-up.