Twas a rough week on the diamond for the Rebels. After a decisive victory in game 1, our offense disappeared for the final 18 innings of the series. The Tulane pitching staff is really good, but one cannot help but worry that we are regressing the our old ways of not scoring very many runs at all.
Now, a chance at redemption against one of our mortal enemies of the baseball postseason. Remember losing to them in 2004 in our first regional as a host? Remember losing to them in 2009 and having to have Pomeranz pitch again to get us to the Super? I do, and I hope that our boys do as well.
Western Kentucky comes to Oxford for a two-game, midweek series. WKU's visit marks the final two games of their 10 game road stretch. Our schedule has been stacked early, and it sure does not get any easier in this set of midweek games.
Their record of 6-5 is not that impressive, nor is their road/neutral site record of 3-5. After a great 5-0 start, they have gone 1-5 since then. However, they come in batting .338 as a team and average 7.8 runs per game. Matt Rice comes into the series hitting .408 with 4 doubles and 1 long ball. Jared Andreoli has a .362 average on the season, but he may be the hottest hitter on the team after a weekend in which he hit .571 with 8 RBIs. They will be hard to keep off of the base paths, and we will have to score in bunches to keep up. This is the challenge that our Rebels need right now: score early, and score often. The Hilltoppers' defense is decent with a solid fielding percentage of .979 and an ERA of 4.33. WKU Ross Hammonds is lights out in the closing role with a 0.71 ERA on 5 appearances.
Our Rebels enter with a 10-3 record. We are 1-2 in our last 3. Offensively, our batting average fell from .325 to .299 after the lackluster weekend. Matt Tracy is now the leading hitter with a .412 average and 2 hr. The Ole Miss staff ERA fell to 3.20 after a good weekend on the mound. Jake Morgan leads the way with a 0.00 ERA on 11.2 innings pitched.
Pitching Match-ups:
Tuesday:
Sophomore LHP Tanner Perkins (2-1, 3.86 ERA)
Senior LHP Matt Tracy (1-0, 4.76 ERA)
Wednesday:
Senior RHP Brian Edelen (0-0, 5.27 ERA)
Frosh RHP Mike Mayers (1-0, 4.82 ERA)