After last night's win against Southern Mississippi in Pearl, the Rebels look to move on to exact revenge from another team that beat them last year. That's right, we lost 15-11 to St. Louis. Learn more about the 11-9 Billikens after the jump.
So... That's what a billiken is?
On Tuesday, the Billikens were unsuccessful in their road trip to Southeastern Missouri State, and they are searching for a more successful trip and are trying to get their second consecutive win in Oxford. For those of you that were fortunate enough not to witness last year's debacle in Oxford, the old Aaron Barrett allowed five runs in four innings, and McKean, Broyles, and Park all combined to allow the other six.
The Billikens offense is paced by senior first baseman Danny Brock who is hitting .405 with ten homers and 36 RBIs. Jon Myers' average is close behind at .391 with seven homers and 29 RBIs. Junior outfielder Cody Cotter went 2-for-6 in his last trip to Oxford, and he is hitting a solid .320 this season. As a team, they bat .318 and score 8.3 runs per contest.
The Billikens defense is not where they'd like it to be. The team ERA is 7.17 and opponents hit a healthy .355 against them. They field at a .963 clip and allow 8.2 runs per game. Making his first career start for the Billikens will be sophomore southpaw Mike Schrader. He has not figured into a decision this season and has a 13.50 ERA in 2.2 IP. It will be interesting to see how he handles pitching in Swayze.
Let's put this in perspective... The numbers do not look too good for St. Louis, but they have had success against teams in the top 25 this season with a 3-1 record. They defeated Ohio State on opening weekend and took two from Kansas this past weekend. They have some players that are statistical leaders in the Atlantic-10 conference. Danny Brock is the league leader in home runs with ten, runs scored with 24, walks with 17, RBIs with 36, and slugging percentage at .892. Jon Myers has a league leading 34 hits, and the Billikens' .318 batting average is second in the league.
Despite the relative positives, I see St. Louis' Oxford win streak halting at 1.
Prediction... Ole Miss 12 .... St. Louis 5